Gold King Mine: CERCLA Reimbursements and CWA Grants (August 5, 2016 version)

This information is no longer current. The current reimbursement information is on Reimbursement Totals.

Updated August 5, 2016

Gold King Mine: CERCLA Reimbursements and CWA Grants

What is EPA doing to address the financial needs of the states, tribes and local governments impacted by the release?

EPA takes responsibility for the cleanup of the Aug. 5, 2015 Gold King Mine release. To date, EPA has dedicated more than $29 million to address the Gold King Mine incident, including more than $2 million in Clean Water Act grants and $3,092,958 in reimbursements for emergency response expenses under CERCLA.

Additional details:

• Allocated $2 million in Clean Water Act funding to support states’ and tribes’ monitoring plans. Utah, New Mexico, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Navajo Nation, and Colorado are eligible and may apply those funds to spring monitoring and preparedness planning as well. Some entities have applied and some have not.

• Agreed to contribute an additional $628,000 in Clean Water Act funds to enable states and tribes to fund a real-time water-quality monitoring alert system. This real-time monitoring would also serve to ensure successful coordination and implementation of notification and preparedness activities for communities downstream.

• Provided $197,792 to La Plata County through a pre-existing cooperative agreement with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). These funds were a reimbursement for the County’s allowable removal response expenses related to the Gold King Mine release.

• Provided an additional $72,786 to La Plata County through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016. EPA is in the process of evaluating additional expenses requested by La Plata County, and expects to reimburse additional allowable response costs under the cooperative agreement soon.

• Provided $220,667 to San Juan County/Town of Silverton through a pre-existing cooperative agreement with CDPHE. These funds were reimbursement for the county’s and town’s allowable removal response expenses related to the Gold King Mine release.

• Provided an additional $5,529 to San Juan County/Town of Silverton through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016.

• Provided $2,471 to the City of Durango through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016. EPA is in the process of evaluating additional expenses requested by the City of Durango and expects to reimburse additional allowable response costs under the cooperative agreement soon.

• Provided $71,571 to San Juan Basin Health through a pre-existing cooperative agreement with CDPHE and an additional $969 through a Superfund Cooperative Agreement awarded on April 1, 2016.

• Provided $157,000 through a cooperative agreement with Navajo Nation government agencies for costs incurred during the response to the August 2015 Gold King Mine release, and requested additional information from the Navajo Nation about remaining reimbursement requests to determine their eligibility under the EPA's response authorities and federal grant principles. The Tribe submitted additional documentation in late July, and EPA is reviewing that documentation now. These cooperative agreement funds are in addition to more than $1.1 million spent by the agency in response costs on the Navajo Nation immediately following the release to provide hay and agricultural water to Navajo Nation farmers and ranchers.

• Reimbursed the Southern Ute Indian Tribe $116,372 for costs incurred during the response. EPA is in the process of evaluating additional expenses requested by the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and expects to reimburse additional allowable response costs.

• Provided $19,460 in funding through a cooperative agreement with Arizona for costs incurred during the response to the August 2015 Gold King Mine release. EPA is reviewing requests from Arizona for reimbursement of additional costs.

• Allocated an additional $159,900 of recertified tribal funds to the Southern Ute Indian Tribe to further support their water quality monitoring plans.

• EPA has funded about $1.64 million in reimbursements and monitoring costs for New Mexico, including $1,072,585 for costs incurred during the response. We continue to review additional requests and will expedite payments for allowable costs. New Mexico also has $5.67 million available in unallocated federal funds - of which $108,000 has already been approved to fund real-time monitors in the river.