Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy will find herself in the hot seat this week, as she testifies before both House and Senate committees on a toxic mine spill the agency caused last month in Colorado.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee holds its first oversight hearing Wednesday on the Aug. 5 wastewater spill at the Gold King Mine in Colorado. The House will follow up with a rare joint committee hearing where McCarthy and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell are both slated to testify.
Republican environment committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma said he wants “to ensure the EPA is held accountable to this grave incident and that those impacted are provided the necessary support to move forward.” That includes the three states, local communities and American Indian tribes. The Navajo Nation in New Mexico is threatening to sue the EPA over the spill, fearing that the clean up costs will incur a significant burden on its communities for years to come.
The massive spill was caused when an EPA contractor breached the wall of the abandoned gold mine, sending three million gallons of toxic wastewater into the Animas River. The spill caused a yellow plume of sludge containing arsenic and mercury to pollute the waterways of Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The hearing was called for by both Democrats and Republicans who serve on the committee, including Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and New Mexico Democrats Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich.
Democrats from New Mexico were one of the first groups of lawmakers to criticize the agency after the spill. Their criticism primarily stemmed from the EPA’s lackluster response in communicating with local and tribal leaders. They urged McCarthy to rectify the situation by going to Colorado. Soon after they made their request, the EPA administrator traveled to the scene to head up the EPA’s response efforts.
The House also will conduct hearings this week, holding a special joint session between the natural resources and government oversight committees Thursday. It will be the second week of hearings into the spill for the House.
Republican science committee Chairman Lamar Smith of Texas held a hearing Wednesday immediately after returning from the August congressional recess. He said the spill demonstrates negligence on the part of the EPA, which was warned a year earlier that a spill was likely.
