The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Nearing 30 years of uncertainty
A segment of Coal Creek that runs through the town of Crested Butte will be the focus of the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission in September.
U.S. Energy Corp has asked the commission to extend temporary modifications to water quality standards on the section of the creek that runs from just below the town’s water supply intake to the creek’s confluence with the Slate River.
The segment is out of compliance with state water quality standards, and has been since temporary modifications were first put in place in the early 1990s. Jennifer Bock, water director for High Country Citizens Alliance (HCCA), explained that temporary modifications are put in place when a discharger releasing pollutants into a water body can’t meet quality standards and needs more time to assess the situation.
“The legal word in the regulations is uncertainty, so if there’s uncertainty about why there’s a pollution problem it does give the discharger time to resolve it,” Bock said. In this case, U.S. Energy Corp is requesting an extension of the temporary modifications and more lenient standards on cadmium, zinc and copper.
Initially, U.S. Energy proposed loosening the temporary modifications in addition to extending them. Yet the current temporary standards are already significantly above state standards: 2.3 micrograms per liter for cadmium as opposed to the more typical range of .15 to 1.2, and 667 micrograms per liter for zinc. State standards for zinc are typically between 34 and 428 micrograms per liter.
After some back and forth however, U.S. Energy is proposing a slight tightening of the temporary modifications to 2.1 micrograms per liter for cadmium and 440 for zinc. In HCCA’s eyes, that amounts to the status quo, but that’s okay for the time being if steps are taken to understand where that pollution is coming from.
HCCA has joined the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, Gunnison County, and the Gunnison Stockgrowers Association in asking the commission to require an in-depth study of the pollution sources, including a clear timeline. In order to move beyond temporary regulations and develop a Total Maximum Daily Load for each of the metals, dischargers need to understand the full spectrum of geographical influences, including mining, on water quality.
“Our point is that it’s been more than 20 years, approaching 30 years, of uncertainty,” HCCA’s Bock said. “We are in agreement that it’s okay to keep the status quo for now, but we want to see a really thorough plan from U.S. Energy with teeth and expectations about when the study results will come out and how comprehensive they will be. We think we need ground water monitoring on Mt. Emmons. Right now, there’s surface water monitoring but we think a lot of pollution is coming from submerged mine workings.”
Bock doesn’t expect the commission to consider a plan until December, however, because U.S. Energy has only provided a one and a half page study outline. The upcoming September 10 vote will instead focus on appropriate levels for cadmium, zinc and copper, and the commission will also vote on whether or not to designate that same segment of Coal Creek as a water supply.
The segment officially lies below the water intake for the town, but the Division of Water Quality recently identified three residences pumping domestic well water adjacent to the creek. U.S. Energy opposes the designation, arguing that the wells might not be connected to Coal Creek. But if the designation passes, which HCCA and its partners support, it will force the company to comply with stricter standards for elements like arsenic. Bock acknowledged that there are some uncertainties around arsenic regulations.
“It means all the rules get stricter, and the most concerning one, arsenic, drops down to .02 micrograms per liter,” Bock explained. “The state is reconsidering that level because there’s been some issues around the state. You can’t even really measure down to that level, so the state will do a ruling on that next April.”
U.S. Energy did not respond to Crested Butte News’s request for comment.
