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October 02, 2015 10:53 AM UTC

Tipton Screws Thousands To Save Silverton's "Reputation"

  • 13 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Rep. Scott Tipton (R).
Rep. Scott Tipton (R).

As the Durango Herald’s Peter Marcus reports, the longstanding debate over how to clean up heavy metal minewater pollution into the Animas River, which took on added urgency after the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally triggered a huge spill of polluted water into the river in August, is starting to expose real gaps between who is genuinely interested in solving the problem–and, well, not:

U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton on Thursday expressed concerns with the prospect of federal officials moving forward with a Superfund listing for Silverton near the inactive Gold King Mine.

A divide has emerged over the Superfund question, with some residents and officials of Silverton worried the listing would be a stain on the community. Silverton and San Juan County officials in August clarified their perspective, suggesting that they are open to a listing but that they have not “foreclosed any options.”

In comments before the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Tipton, a Cortez Republican, stated: “Designating Silverton a Superfund site … could severely damage the town’s reputation and prove costly to the local economy.” [Pols emphasis]

Downstream along the Animas River, which flows out of Silverton (population 629) and through communities of tens of thousands of people in southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico, there’s a lot less concern about Silverton’s “reputation”–and more about their own health and their local economy. As the Denver Post’s Jesse Paul reported from the same Senate hearing:

“The spill makes clear the piecemeal approach of the past isn’t working,” Andy Corra, owner of 4Corners Riversports in Durango, said of cleaning up mine contaminants in southwest Colorado. “It’s an ongoing problem. We need a comprehensive approach to cleaning this up.”

Corra, who favors Superfund designation in the area of the spill, said his business saw a roughly $30,000 loss in revenue after the disaster.

“As a business owner, it makes me reluctant to invest in the future if this is going to happen again,” he said.

Animas River fouled by minewater spill near Silverton.
Animas River fouled by minewater spill near Silverton.

One of the reasons that Republicans lurched into overdrive attacking the EPA following the accidental spill of millions of gallons of minewater into the Animas River was the perceived need to deflect from the underlying true cause of the disaster: pollution that had been building up for years since the mines were closed while mine owners dickered and pointed fingers at each other. Talk about protecting “Silverton’s reputation” from the blight of a Superfund designation is largely a cover for local and multinational corporate desires to resume hard-rock mining in this area. Obviously, if the federal government is spending millions to clean up old pollution, it would be a bit of a problem to create new pollution through renewed mining.

And this is where you realize just how completely Rep. Scott Tipton has abandoned the best interests of the vast majority of his constituents along the Animas River. There’s no question in Durango and points downstream about what’s needed–whatever resources necessary to prevent another devastating minewater release. The way to do that is to bring in the “big guns” to clean up the mess in a comprehensive way. And in the United States of America, that means the EPA’s National Priorities List–a.k.a. the Superfund.

On a purely political level, to choose mining companies and a couple hundred holdouts in Silverton over tens of thousands downstream is stunning to us. Has CD-3 really become such a safe seat for Tipton that a he can disregard the health and safety of an overwhelming majority to keep so few people happy?

It shouldn’t be, folks. It should never be.

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13 thoughts on “Tipton Screws Thousands To Save Silverton’s “Reputation””

  1. with some residents and officials of Silverton worried the listing would be a stain on the community. [emphasis mine]

    I don't even know how to process this.  Not for nothing, but the goddamn toxic mine and its effluent (around long before the EPA showed up) may be the literal and figurative stain on your certifiably insane community.

  2. Socializing any and all external costs to maximize a few individuals' profits …

    … It's what Republicans do!

    (And, if you can't immediately socialize those costs, of course sweep them under the rug, stand atop that rug, and then deny they even exist …)

    1. Flash backs to the War on Rural Colorado – (an outright lie: Tri-State was negotiating for these wind farms while they were simultaneously, in part, funding this misinformation campaign) – and McConnell & Co., wanting to make us believe there is an actual war (other than the geologic one) on coal.  They parade around as if the only way to rebuild our economy is to double-down on dinosaur poop – while they simultaneously bankrupt our environment (and economy) with their externalities.  

       

  3. "Has CD-3 really become such a safe seat for Tipton…?"

    Apparently it has.  If I remember correctly, Sal Pace and Abel Tapia ran campaigns against Tipton and both lost.

    I detest that Tipton seems to be unopposed in the next election cycle.

    1. Buffie MacFadyen maybe had a chance to take Tipton's seat, if her campaign had gotten off the ground. Rumors of an extramarital affair (kind of an open secret in Pueblo town), took her out of the running, unfortunately. So that was why Abel  Tapia got into the race so late.

      Sometimes Democrats are our own worst enemies.

      1. Redistricting made this a Republican seat. The Dems need  a Ben Nighthorse Campbell sort — back when he was a Dem. There isn't one on the horizon, so Tippy is safe.

        Great job on the LWCF, Tippy. There are lots of Rs who will remember, too.

         

        1. Yeah that back when he was a Dem part's kind of critical. Little did Dem primary voters know that in selecting Campbell they were getting two Rs to choose between in the general. What a schmuck.

  4. That headline reminds me of the young-bull-old-bull joke …

    … Run down and screw one of 'em?  Nah, I'm gonna' saunter down and screw that entire herd …

  7. I don't understand how he stays in office when he works against so may of his constituents. Looking at the census data, you can see that the second and third largest employers in CO-3 are "Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services," and "Retail Trade." Otherwise known as "Tourism," which is basically how a quarter of his constituents make a living. (BTW, "Agriculture, Mining, Forestry, Hunting and Fishing" only represent about six percent and arguably even some of those industries are hit by river pollution).

    Yes Tipton, you're protecting the "reputation" of Silverton and costing your constituents their livelihoods by not getting these polluting mines cleaned up. Durango is a huge tourist town and has a lot more people than Silverton….maybe you should consider your actual constituents instead of the mining interests that are lining your pockets.

    Keep in mind this is the same guy who voted for the government shutdown in 2013, which closed the three National Parks in his own district that his constituents rely on to provide tourism dollars. 

     

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