The boss of the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy is upset about the fouling of the Animas River in Colorado last week and says, as Tomothy Cama of The Hill reports, that
The river, as Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times writes, is
But since Wednesday, the Animas has been grievously polluted with toxic water spilled from one of the many abandoned mines that pockmark the region — a spill for which the Environmental Protection Agency has claimed responsibility, saying it accidentally breached a store of chemical-laced water.
On Sunday, anger over the spill boiled over after the agency announced that the amount of toxic water released was three times what was previously stated — more than three million gallons rather than one million — and that officials were still unsure if there was a health threat to humans or animals.
So one can understand Ms. McCarthy’s pain over what she calls “a tragic and very unfortunate incident…”
After all, as she said
So, she and her agency are
Full responsibility? Will she, or anyone else be fired? Jailed? Or will it be the usual Washington version of “full responsibility,” which is a statement laced with self pity – really, who cares how much the poisoning of that river pains Ms. McCarthy – followed by something about how it is now time to “move on.”
Which she will do. She is scheduled to give
Meanwhile, the people on along the course of the Animas River who depend on it for drinking, irrigation, recreation … livelihoods? Well they can rest easy since
E.P.A.’s regional director, Shaun McGrath is assuring them that
Uh huh.
