Looking Back: 2015 Gold King Mine Settlement

Utah recently received the final settlement payment from the federal government in the 2015 Gold King Mine lawsuit. You may recall the dramatic pictures of bright yellow and orange water flowing down Colorado’s Animas and San Juan Rivers into Utah and Lake Powell. That water was at least 3 million gallons of mine tailings full of arsenic and heavy metals from the Bonita Mine. Utah sued the EPA, which caused the spill, and now the legal case is complete.

Even though the blowout was an accident, the EPA admitted responsibility and a settlement came after some hard work by the attorney general’s office. The state received more than $7 million, and the final payment came recently.

Meanwhile, the pollution in that water was significant enough that Governor Herbert at the time declared a State of Emergency to preserve the health, safety and welfare of citizens as well as the interests of Utah farms and businesses, which led to the lawsuit.

In this edition of Legally Speaking, Craig Anderson, the Director of the Environment and Health Divisions at the Utah Attorney General’s Office shares some details about the case that weren’t available until now.