Now we must make sure EPA follows through
Supporters of a cleanup to the abandoned New Idria mercury mine
received the best news yet in the decades-long effort.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s placement of the San
Benito County mercury mine on the Superfund priorities list
– announced last week, along with inclusion of 14 other sites
throughout the nation – was the only realistic mechanism toward
getting this massive environmental disaster abated.
Now we must make sure EPA follows through
Supporters of a cleanup to the abandoned New Idria mercury mine received the best news yet in the decades-long effort.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s placement of the San Benito County mercury mine on the Superfund priorities list – announced last week, along with inclusion of 14 other sites throughout the nation – was the only realistic mechanism toward getting this massive environmental disaster abated.
For decades, and in recent years as well, local officials and environmental interests have lobbied for funding and involvement from the state and federal governments. Again and again, they have been denied, mostly because that area of the county is remote with a sparse population.
The EPA’s historic perception was that the abandoned mine and the acidic flow of water it spews into the nearby San Carlos Creek, picking up sediment and mercury along the way, had no impact on humans.
And the agency has stated that in prior years its priorities have weighed heavily in favor of problems potentially affecting the health and welfare of people. With New Idria, the federal government did not believe there was a human risk involved.
That perception has swung significantly. The EPA now acknowledges that it not only is a major, local headache of a waste site, but also that the system of tributaries to which San Carlos Creek connects leads right into the San Francisco Bay, possibly contaminating the once-pristine ecosystem and spiking the levels of mercury in a globally crucial waterway already troubled by its presence.
Despite the long haul getting to this point, local officials and environmentalists should welcome the EPA’s New Idria team with open arms and accommodate their needs – while at the same time keeping a close watch on their progress and making every effort to prevent delays or roadblocks that might stand in the way of finally getting this mess cleaned for good.
