Submitted by rscholfield on Fri, 2017-05-26 07:04 Conservation Colorado TU Colorado - 9CO Trout Magazine Outdoor Communicators Abandoned Mines Vote Up Down +99 + AnimasSuperfund.jpg By Randy Scholfield There’s no getting around a basic fact: cleaning up abandoned mines is a tough task that requires money. Time, commitment and money. So there must be an accounting error in the just-released Trump administration budget for the EPA. Because despite Secretary Scott Pruitt declaring that cleaning up toxic pollution would be a top priority of the EPA, the administration’s budget slashes funding for Superfund—the main EPA program for cleaning up old, leaching mines and other toxic sites—by $330 million, a whopping 30 percent of its nearly $1.1 billion budget. This at a time when Superfund budget has already been deeply cut—to about half of what it was in the 1990s. Moreover, the proposed budget completely eliminates the EPA’s Section 319 grant program, which provides funds to state projects to clean up nonpoint-source pollution such as the toxic tailings often found near mine sites. “The 319 program not only has been critical for leveraging important additional dollars for mine cleanups, but it also creates and maintains good jobs in local communities,” said Jason Willis, TU’s mine restoration project manager. “Without this vital source of funding, many projects that could improve fisheries as well as water quality for local communities will grind to a halt.” Overall, the Trump budget proposes cutting EPA by 30 percent—a devastating and demoralizing blow for an EPA staff already understaffed and overwhelmed. Budgets reveal a lot about priorities. And this is not the budget of an administration that’s serious about tackling the nation’s toxic mine cleanups or ensuring clean water and rivers for our communities and families. EPA estimates that there are some 500,000 abandoned mines in the West, contaminating 40 percent of headwater streams. “With federal help, Colorado has made remarkable progress in recent years cleaning up the Arkansas River and other waterways impacted by abandoned mine runoff,” said Ty Churchwell, San Juan Mountains Coordinator for Trout Unlimited. “By slashing the EPA’s budget and staff, the Trump administration is severely undercutting efforts in in the West to clean up these abandoned mines and keep our rivers and streams healthy. It’s shortsighted and irresponsible, both from an economic and environmental standpoint.” TU will be following the budget process and is counting on Congress to provide some common sense and balanced priorities for addressing our nation’s toxic pollution problems. As anglers and sportsmen, we’ll be watching closely, because this hits us where we live. To speak up, go to TU's Action Center and tell the administration you support strong funding for conservation programs. Randy Scholfield is TU’s director of communications for the Southwest.