The Trump administration listed the Superfund cleanup around Silverton as a top priority and will accelerate the work being done at the sprawling site.
The priority list means Silverton will get the direct attention of EPA Chief Scott Pruitt, which is only appropriate given that this site was created after the negligence of the EPA that caused the spill at Gold King Mine to begin with during the Obama administration.
In developing this initial list, EPA considered sites that can benefit from Administrator Pruitt’s direct engagement and have identifiable actions to protect human health and the environment. These are sites requiring timely resolution of specific issues to expedite cleanup and redevelopment efforts. The list is designed to spur action at sites where opportunities exist to act quickly and comprehensively. The Administrator will receive regular updates on each of these sites.
We’re not surprised it will be directly overseen by the EPA administrator, especially after what happened in October.
That’s when one of Pruitt’s senior advisors was touring the site and discovered that potentially toxic material from a waste pile was being used to build roads around the Superfund site.
As was reported, the advisor was “pissed” when he found what they were up to. So yes, this site is deserving of the EPA chief’s personal attention.