Six people vying for four seats

by Mark Reaman

The Crested Butte News hosted its Candidates Forum on Sunday, October 18. Given the length of the forum and the candidates’ answers, we will divide the story into parts. Part One deals with leadership, spending and Champagne. Part Two will look at how they feel about housing, economic development and priorities. You have until Tuesday, November 3 to return your ballot.

There were no questions about a potential molybdenum mine on Mt. Emmons or any queries about ski area expansion during the two-hour Crested Butte News Candidates Forum Sunday evening, but the issue of dysfunction within the current council and topics related to how much business is enough, affordable housing, and economic development and its impacts were put to the candidates.

Collaboration was a common theme among the candidates for Crested Butte Town Council and there were few major policy differences among those seeking to represent the citizens of town.

Moderator Denis B. Hall was chomping at the bit to grill the six candidates, particularly mayoral hopefuls Skip Berkshire and Glenn Michel, about the perceived culture of secrecy and “byzantine” decision making that had a heavy reliance on town staff ever since the Whatever USA event a year ago.

“I think there will be a new regime on council with this election,” said Michel. “The next council needs to learn to work better together.”

“These long meetings need to be fixed,” said Berkshire. “We had a recent retreat and it blew up. The hate and vitriol that characterizes this council needs to go away. We have to get the council and the staff to work together as a team and we need the council to not micromanage the staff.”

KBUT’s Chad Reich reminded Hall that the candidates should get an opening statement to introduce themselves and Hall invited each to do so.

Candidate Paul Merck said he wanted to work with the people on the council, but more important, to work hard to get the view of the citizens before major decisions are discussed. “You will need to help us out,” he told the audience.

Erika Vohman said she would be “excited about the opportunity to represent people in town. Sustainability, or ‘green,’ is my platform,” she said.

Laura Mitchell said her main focus would be safety for the local kids. “It is getting busy along Highway 135 and my main priority is safety. Our kids should be able to safely cross Sixth Street. Affordable housing and seasonal workforce housing is also an issue for me.”

Current mayor Aaron Huckstep is running for a council seat. “The council has been challenged with highs and lows the last few years,” he admitted. “My not running for mayor will shake things up, hopefully for the better. But I want to continue to focus on relationships with Mt. Crested Butte and Gunnison County.”

Michel explained how he got into the local political arena. He said when building his house in 2001, he wanted to install solar panels for hot water and electric.

But BOZAR (the Board of Zoning and Architectural Review) wouldn’t allow it. So he appealed to the council and was allowed. That led him to join BOZAR, which he eventually chaired. “Eventually BOZAR updated its guidelines to address solar and I want to bring that energy to being mayor,” he said.

Berkshire said his goal as mayor would be to keep Crested Butte authentic. “This is my home and I love it and I want it to continue to be an authentic small town. The council right now is dysfunctional but that is solvable and I think I have the skills to do it. We are an island surrounded by crazy people and I want to maintain the quality we have.”

Staff relationships

The audience then queried the candidates on their positions, with the candidates for mayor fielding most of the questions. When asked about council and staff relationships, it was Berkshire and Michel who responded.

“The council and the staff need to clearly define their roles,” said Berkshire. “It should be clear but it’s not. Out of that process, there should be some value definition. What is it the council wants? We also need a realistic expectation of what answers we can get, when. We need clear expectations and understandings from both sides.”

Michel said, given the form of government, there was a need for a strong town manager. “We need strong leadership from the town manager so we can have clear understandings,” he said. “We are not always getting that right now. The council should set philosophical priorities and the staff needs to facilitate those. We haven’t gotten that to its full potential.”

Champagne taste on a beer budget?

Citizen Kathy Joyce followed up on her sales tax query and asked if the town “had too many ‘wants.’ Are we spoiled? Do we now have Champagne tastes on a beer budget?”

“Everyone should understand the care and thoughtfulness of the town staff,” responded Berkshire. “It is humbling. They are not extravagant. They make what we have work. Now, I think that ‘better’ is the enemy of ‘good enough.’ We need to do what works for this town. Look at the trails days, where 180 people are out there together building trails.”

“One of the things council can do in that regard is put up things like 2A [the sales tax increase proposal],” said Huckstep. “It didn’t pass last year and if it doesn’t pass again that is a clear message about the Champagne taste and the beer budget. How to address community needs is always a challenge.”

“Our Champagne is where we live,” said Merck. “2A will help us empty the garbage and sweep the streets. We have a lot of visitors coming here and we ask them too. We need to sweep the streets. I remember when people didn’t come here because it was too cold or too hard to get to. Now we’re asking for something different.”

Tony Borland asked the candidates for a show of hands from those in favor of keeping the town speed limit at 15 miles per hour. They, along with most of the people in the audience, raised their hands.

Spending limits

When asked about the voluntary local political spending limits, two of the candidates, Glenn Michel and Erika Vohman, had declined to participate.

“I have accepted contributions,” said Michel. “It takes money to run a campaign. Flyers cost money.”

“Newspaper ads cost money. I bought some carpenter pencils that cost money. You need money to afford that,” Michel continued.

“I accepted the town’s voluntary limit of about $325,” said Berkshire. “I believe in the old-school Crested Butte, where you do things on a budget and on a level playing field.”

Merck and Mitchell said they had spent some of their own money on newspaper ads and campaign materials.

Lessons learned

Former councilperson David Owen asked Huckstep if he had made any mistakes and learned any lessons over the last four years.

“That would take a lot more time than the minute-and-a-half I have,” he said. “I’ve certainly made mistakes. The heated discussions you and I had at the council table were probably mistakes. I’ve had similar discussions with Glenn that were a mistake. Those kinds of incidents stick out the most. As far as learning, as a decision maker there is a passion but it is not okay for folks to engage in conflict up on the council.”

Leadership

Margot Levy asked about leadership style and what differentiates the candidates from one another in that respect.

“My style is to just get it done and not stay on the sidelines. I like to take initiative,” said Berkshire. “Now the seven individuals have to come to some accord and I am always willing to buy into someone else’s reasoned argument.”

“Being one of seven is about consensus building,” said Michel. “As mayor you can help facilitate that. There is an inherent tension in democracy. Tension can tear apart or bring together. I think I can use it to bring together. My education base also would contribute to that.”

“The difference for me is perspective,” said Huckstep. “Having been mayor, I understand the perspective. I am looking forward to backing off a bit.”

“It seems the council is a machine that grinds on rather than gets things done,” said Mitchell. “I think outside the box and I think I can perhaps bring out different solutions outside the box.”

“I’ll bring a female voice to the council that is sorely lacking,” said Vohman. “Counter to popular belief, I’m an introvert and I will listen.”

“I make decisions based on homework and I want to talk to citizens before big decisions as part of the homework,” said Merck. “I am not afraid of hard work.”

Whatever

When asked if they would have voted for Whatever USA, the candidates not on council at the time pretty much agreed that it was easy to make a decision in hindsight and they would have all preferred a better public process. Vohman said she would have lobbied for more community involvement in the process, but knowing what she did now, would have voted against it. Mitchell said she would have voted for it. Berkshire said, looking back at the hate and discontent it stirred up, he would have voted against it but it wasn’t fair to just look in hindsight. He said that at the time, more openness and thoughtfulness might have made the incident better.

(Part 2 of the Forum story will run in the October 30 issue.)

No danger to drinking water

by Mark Reaman

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported last week that a contractor working for the EPA on the Standard Mine remediation project about five miles west of Crested Butte had accidentally spilled some wastewater into the town watershed.

Originally estimated to be no more than the 2,400 gallons that would be run through the vacuum truck sucking water from a holding pond to Elk Creek, that amount has been reduced to between 500 and 600 gallons of water and sediment.

All signs indicate there was no negative impact to Coal Creek or the town’s water supply, but complete testing results will come back within a week.

The town of Crested Butte contracted with Alpine Environmental Consultants, LLC to independently test the water in the creeks and the company took water and sediment samples on both Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10. The data has been submitted to a laboratory for analysis and full results are expected later this week.

According to Ashley Bembenek of Alpine Environmental, who is also the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition technical coordinator, the sediment that was accidentally pumped into Elk Creek travelled about 1,800 feet downstream of the holding pond and where the work was being done. “The depth of the sediment was typically less than half an inch and did not cover all of the substrate (cobbles, rocks, etc.),” Bembenek said. “Sediment was not observed downstream of the upper reach of Elk Creek. At the town’s drinking water supply diversion, the grey sediment was not observed in the structure or in the adjacent streambed.

“Based on initial observations in Elk and Coal Creeks, it does not appear that the spill had a permanent effect on Coal Creek. Field water quality parameters, such as pH and specific conductance, appeared similar to conditions measured prior to the spill event,” Bembenek continued. “The analytical results from the laboratory will be used to fully evaluate the effect of the spill.”

According to the EPA, the pond was constructed to retain sediment, pulverized un-mineralized rock from drilling operations, and water discharged from the lower mine adit of the abandoned Standard Mine.

The water contained in the sediment pond had been treated to reduce acidity to neutral pH levels and was being discharged to Elk Creek as part of planned maintenance activity at the site.

The release occurred when a vacuum truck siphoning water from the surface of the pond dipped too low and siphoned sediment material from the bottom of the pond, leading to the discharge of the sediment and grey-colored water to Elk Creek.

The material released to the creek contained a mixture of pH-neutral pulverized rock slurry and water from the mine.

The EPA has been conducting work on the abandoned mine, located above Crested Butte on Mt. Emmons, to stop it from leaking heavy metals into the town watershed.

“Following additional investigation of the details of this release, EPA has revised the estimate of the volume of this release from 2,000 gallons to between 500 and 600 gallons,” explained Lisa McClain-Vanderpool, public affairs specialist for Region 8 of the EPA.

“The sediments in the pond were a mixture of fine rock material created by advancing a tunnel through un-mineralized rock, sediments removed from the tunnel, and sediment generated from neutralizing the pH of the water in the sediment pond,” McClain-Vanderpool continued. “Previous EPA site investigations have identified cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, arsenic and manganese as contaminants of concern for aquatic life at the Standard Mine site. Based on previous investigations of water released from Standard Mine, and the volume of this release, it is highly unlikely that there would be measurable impacts to the watershed or to Crested Butte’s drinking water supply.”

Crested Butte public works director Rodney Due said the EPA notified them of the accident Tuesday afternoon about 4:30.

“Based upon the size and content of the spilled material as understood from the EPA, the flow levels downstream, and the 10-million–gallon storage reservoir at the town’s treatment plant, the town department of public works has determined that any impact to the town’s drinking water would be negligible,” Due stated last week. “The town has also hired an independent contractor to perform additional testing to ensure that there is no negative impact to the town watershed or drinking water.”

After doing the math, Due said based on the information received, the town wasn’t too concerned about a contamination of its water.

“We knew the impacts of the spill on the town’s drinking water was negligible from the information we received from the EPA on Tuesday,” emphasized Due.

“Elk Creek is flowing about four inches per second, which means it would take this water at least six hours to reach Coal Creek. Any ‘sludge’ settled out within the first 1,800 feet and we are having that tested and analyzed by Alpine Environmental. The only question we had that night was would there be any impacts on the town’s drinking water as a result of 2,000 gallons of alkaline water,” Due continued.

“Alkalinity neutralizes acid, which is the concern with acid mine drainage. This water would have been neutralized before it ever reached the confluence of Coal Creek. After the water reaches the confluence, the water mixed with the 7 CFS [cubic feet per second] of water flowing in Coal Creek. It then runs another couple of miles to our water intake, where 1 CFS is being diverted through another couple of miles of pipe into a 10-million–gallon reservoir. Of that water, approximately 159 gallons per minute is treated through micro-membranes at our water treatment plant. That is why the decision was made not to close the town’s water intake. Contamination was not a concern,” Due concluded.

In an October 8 statement from the EPA headlined “Standard Mine Vacuum Truck Release,” the agency said local and state governments were notified right away.

“EPA immediately notified the town of Crested Butte water treatment plant and [notified] the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment spill hotline that an EPA contractor dewatering a sediment pond into Elk Creek at the Standard Mine Superfund Site released an estimated 2,000 gallons of water and sediment into nearby Elk Creek,” the statement relayed.

“EPA made the determination to report the release to local and state partners out of an abundance of caution, although actual reporting thresholds that require notification were not exceeded,” said McClain-Vanderpool on Tuesday. “As for lessons learned, EPA will use the results of this review to identify causes for this particular incident and potential corrective measures for future work at this and other similar sites.”

The CCWC is monitoring the situation closely, and despite initial comparisons to the Gold King Mine accident by lawmakers, the organization is pleased with the EPA response.

“The spill that occurred at the Standard Mine last Tuesday was unfortunate,” said CCWC executive director Zach Vaughter. “However, we are pleased with the way the EPA and town of Crested Butte handled the response actions… We would like to review laboratory results and historic data prior to drawing conclusions regarding the spill. We are very fortunate that this incident was nowhere near the magnitude of the Gold King blowout in Silverton earlier this summer.”

Bembenek agreed with that assessment. “We feel the EPA and their contractors communicated effectively and with transparency to local stakeholders. During our site visit, the on-site project manager was professional, honest, and answered all of our questions as he provided a detailed account of the spill incident,” Bembenek said. “We are disappointed that [congressman] Scott Tipton compared this incident to the Gold King Mine blowout and used the incident as an opportunity to bash the EPA. In our experience the EPA has been a dedicated and competent partner throughout the Standard Mine reclamation efforts.”

Wants to see insurance bond and approved plan of operations

By Alissa Johnson 

High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA) filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service on Monday, October 5, challenging the agency for allowing the continued operation of the U.S. Energy-owned water treatment plant near Mt. Emmons without key regulatory measures in place.

HCCA filed the suit in District Court in Denver, citing the lack of an approved Plan of Operations (PoO), a bond to insure the plant’s ongoing operation, and any environmental review of those operations.

The plant, which is located about three miles upstream of Crested Butte, treats acid mine drainage from the Keystone Mine workings on the south side of Mt. Emmons. According to information provided by HCCA, the plant treats about 350 gallons of water per minute and ensures that heavy metals like cadmium, lead, and zinc are not released into Coal Creek in violation of water quality standards.

The cost of operation is from $1.8 million to $2 million each year, and yet no bond exists to cover that cost should U.S. Energy ever stop operating the plant.

“We’ve been working to address the bonding issue for just about a decade now,” explained HCCA’s public lands director Alli Melton.

Most recently, those efforts included meeting with stakeholders like the Town Council of Crested Butte and the Board of County Commissioners, encouraging them to ask the Forest Service to require a bond.

But for HCCA, a few key developments seemed to demand more action. In August, roughly 3 million gallons of toxic mine waste water and tailings spilled into the Animas River near Silverton, Colo. when a remediation project went awry, highlighting the consequences of acid mine drainage.

In addition, U.S. Energy started to make headlines with declining stock prices and a major corporate shakeup. Last week, the Larsen family, which founded and ran U.S. Energy for nearly 50 years, stepped down from top management positions.

“Our headwater community and down-stream communities are vulnerable as the result of the Forest Service’s inaction.  HCCA’s concern over the lack of a bond for the water treatment plant is not a new one–rather, it’s an issue we’ve raised for years with the Forest Service.  As we’ve watched U.S. Energy’s finances continue to decline over the last year, this outstanding concern has only become more pressing,” Melton said.

Melton pointed out that the Forest Service itself has admitted the need for both a PoO and a bond.

In a 2012 decision, the Forest Service wrote: “No bond currently exists for this very extensive operation on National Forest System lands. In accordance with 36 CFR 228.13(a), a reclamation bond is appropriate and is required.”

“We just want this to come to a solution that protects our community, and we don’t think it’s appropriate to have the Forest Service continue to leave our community and our community’s values at risk,” Melton said.

According to Forest Service spokesperson Lee Ann Loupe, the agency is unable to comment on issues in litigation.

Local stakeholders and new CEO would all love a “final” solution to mine question

by Mark Reaman

The company with mining rights to the molybdenum in Mt. Emmons and responsibility to operate the water treatment plant on Coal Creek has gone through a major corporate shake-up.

Larsen family members who founded and have run U.S. Energy Corp. for 49 years have stepped down from top management positions and the company headquarters will be moving from Riverton, Wyo. to Denver.

Both the board of directors and company workforce will be streamlined and the changes will be implemented before the end of the year.

Local stakeholder groups feel this could present another opportunity to resume serious discussions with the company to perhaps reach a final solution over the mining quandary on Mt. Emmons, also known as Red Lady. New U.S. Energy chief executive officer David Veltri said he too would like to see a final solution to the mining question on Mt. Emmons and the company will continue to pursue a variety of options toward that end.

“There have been some major changes within the company and it will mean a lot more work from my end,” Veltri said Tuesday afternoon. “Our view as a company in regard to the Mt. Emmons project hasn’t changed. We want to first continue running the water treatment plant and the operation there at the same quality standard it has been. We are trying to get into a financial position to handle it comfortably. It sounds like it has probably gotten more complicated with the Gold King mine situation but we are looking for a finality to the mine question.”

Veltri said U.S. Energy is “constantly negotiating with potential partners” but no agreement has been reached on a future mining project. “We want a final solution to the mine whatever that final solution could be,” he said. “Whether it is a mine, plugging it, development, whatever. We will continue to look at all options but there is nothing final at the moment.”

The company announced several major changes on Wednesday, September 23.

According to a press release from the company:

“During a recent meeting, the Company’s Board of Directors has approved the following initiatives to be implemented prior to the end of the year:

“—Relocation of the Company’s corporate headquarters to Denver, Colorado.

“—Reduction of current staff from eleven to four employees.

“—Reduction of the current number of directors from seven to five.

“Subsequent to the board meeting the following additional actions have taken place:

“—The Board of Directors appointed Mr. David Veltri, President & Chief Operating Officer to the additional position of Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Veltri will implement and oversee the Company’s transition to Denver.

“—The Board accepted the resignation of Mr. Keith G. Larsen, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, effective September 25, 2015.

“—The Board accepted resignations from Mr. Steven Richmond, Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Bryon Mowry, Principal Accounting Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective year end 2015 or earlier contingent upon transition timelines.”

Veltri’s past experience appears focused on oil and gas operations. He was appointed president and chief operating officer of U.S. Energy last January.

Red Lady Coalition president Bill Ronai said the corporate shake-up could present a new chance to re-open talks with the company. “These changes must have been a tough decision for both the Larsen family and the board of directors. I trust that under the new leadership, fresh eyes will be taking a look at the Mt. Emmons situation,” he said. “There’s the liability for the water treatment plant versus the mining rights, particularly in light of the outlook for moly. I would hope that all interested parties can come together and find a realistic solution that protects our water and amenity-based economy while preserving some value for U.S. Energy shareholders.”

High Country Conservation Advocates public lands director Alli Melton said no matter who is sitting in the company’s executive seat, the community needs some assurance that the town and the watershed will be protected.

“A lot of the concerns voiced over the summer remain true,” Melton said. “We need some sort of financial surety or bond to make sure the water treatment plant continues to operate to ensure our community is protected regardless of the financial status and ownership of U.S. Energy. What these recent changes mean for the company’s bottom line is something we will have to wait and see about once the company makes its quarterly financial report. HCCA remains concerned about the continued operation of the water treatment plant and our community shouldn’t be put at risk as a result of their tenuous financial situation.”

Attorneys from the town of Crested Butte and Gunnison County met with the Colorado Water Quality Control Division and Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety on Tuesday. Town attorney John Belkin said the meeting was very productive. “They are keenly aware of the changes at U.S. Energy and are looking at all options in regards to ensuring that the water treatment plant continues to run as it has,” he said. “We are pleased with the meeting and we look forward to working closely with the State in both the short and long term to ensure that the community’s water is protected.”

Veltri emphasized the company will be pursuing the same goals it always has in terms of the molybdenum mine project. While the company has certainly pivoted toward more oil and gas development, Veltri is a mining engineer, so not unfamiliar with hard-rock mining. The Mt. Emmons project is the company’s only physical mining property on the U.S. Energy books.

Veltri stated in the company announcement, “While difficult, we believe that in light of the current commodity price, that these reductions in staff and cost cutting measures are a necessary step in order to continue to assure the viability of the Company during these times. We intend for the move to enhance the Company’s opportunity to grow the Company and enhance shareholder value through attracting qualified technical personnel and to increase our networking within our industry, with an emphasis on deal flow and banking opportunities.”

Former CEO Keith Larsen said, “Riverton has been home for the Company and its employees since its inception. I, along with Steve and Bryon have chosen to remain in the community where we and our families have deep roots. I would like to thank our community for its support over the years, as we’ve had a good run. I am optimistic for the opportunities that the move will bring and I look forward to rooting for the team as they enter into a new era of U.S. Energy Corp.”

It costs U.S. Energy about $1.8 million per year to operate the water treatment plant. Its oil and gas operations have declined with lower energy prices and put a squeeze on the company. Its stock price is now at under 50 cents per share. Veltri has no current plans to visit Crested Butte but the company headquarters will be relocated to Denver before the end of the year.

Despite some information on recent financial blogs that says U.S. Energy has an approved plan of operations for the mine, Forest Service Spokesperson Lee Ann Loupe said that is not the case. “The Forest Service does not have any approved Plans of Operations from U.S. Energy for mine development,” she said. ”We have a proposal for geotechnical testing and monitoring wells proposed by U.S. Energy that will have to go through environmental analysis (NEPA). The Forest hopes to begin “scoping” for this project proposal sometime this fall.”

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only thing that is constant is change.” 

There is plenty of change happening right now.

—The leaves are the obvious one. We might be past the peak, so our recent glorious golden days will soon turn into a steady autumn brown. Enjoy the final colors before the wind takes them all.

—Mt. Crested Butte ski shops are changing hands like falling autumn leaves. Flatiron Sports is changing ownership. GJ and Oz have passed the torch to Christy Sports. Also, Steve Bunt sold Crested Butte Sports to a longtime customer from Longmont. Those are big changes up there. Good luck to all those guys.

—As we begin to change our thoughts from single track to powder stashes, it seems a change in the valley clientele now includes a lot more people from the Front Range in both summer and winter.

—Scientists say they are almost certain water flows part of the time on the surface of Mars. That could be a game changer.

—Colorado’s Republican and Democratic senators actually worked together on a good response to a threatened government shutdown. According to the Denver Post, Democrat Michael Bennet and Republican Cory Gardner planned to introduce legislation that would impose strict rules—including the possibility of arrest—on the Senate whenever one or more federal agencies were thrown into shutdown mode. The rationale, said Bennet and Gardner, was to keep lawmakers in town to negotiate. Just these two working together is sort of a change.

—At an economic forum in Gunnison last week sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Denver branch, and hosted by Gunnison Bank and Trust president Ashley Burt, who sits on the branch board—we saw statistics showing that the economy is changing in the state and the region. It is not a quick change but it is changing in the right direction.

—U.S. Energy just went through a major corporate shake-up. It’s too soon to know what that means for a potential molybdenum mine that looms over the upper valley, but change is not only constant, it can be good.

Let’s focus on that last one…

In the many years we have dealt with the Larsens and U.S. Energy, it hasn’t always been the smoothest of relationships. No surprise there. The Larsens would probably agree that they primarily see this valley as a place for a molybdenum mine to make the company some serious cash. I’ve always felt that given the huge start-up costs and giant regulatory hurdles, that idea has been a dream—especially as the price of moly sinks and is now at about five-and-a-half bucks a pound.

Most of us living here now view this place as our home that has shifted away from the mining history of the past and deliberately chosen a new road with recreation and tourism as the prime economic focus.

Mining and tourism naturally brings a certain conflict.

With just a few conversations and absolutely no proof, my gut feeling is that Mark and Keith Larsen have been emotionally invested in the idea of the high-grade molybdenum deposit in part because their father discovered the mother load of some of the highest grade moly in the world. But moly isn’t gold, especially at $5.50 a pound. So, despite gargantuan costs to really get a mine operation even started and the fact that real moly mining companies partnered and then walked away given the realities on the ground, the Larsens just couldn’t let go.

It now appears the Larsens have been pushed from the company founded by their father. New management headed by David Veltri is taking the reins of U.S. Energy. Changes at the top could mean new opportunity.

The Larsens actually changed the company when they expanded into oil and gas and for a while it brought U.S. Energy significant revenue. But oil and gas prices have plummeted this last year and the impact on the company is real. Revenues are shallow and the stock price is horrendous. But the legal obligation to run the water treatment plant on Mt. Emmons costs more every year and stands at about $1.8 million annually.

So the question now is whether there is opportunity with the changes at U.S. Energy to negotiate some sort of final agreement to rid the valley of even the possibility of a mine looming over the west side of Crested Butte. That industrial possibility has been there for decades and while mining has a large history in the community, few think a moly mine three miles from Third and Elk is a progressive idea in these times.

But what sort of solution is possible? The financial and regulatory cost of even getting a mine to pull up the first bucket-load of moly is so huge that it is a long shot unless molybdenum suddenly becomes many times more valuable than the current price. And given the fact that moly is a common byproduct of copper mining, there is absolutely no shortage of molybdenum in the world. A basic understanding of economics (that’s as much as I have) indicates the equation just doesn’t add up to a new mine up the road.

So while there is value in putting the specter of a moly mine to rest, it is not worth selling the farm for. But opportunity is opportunity, so it is certainly worth re-opening talks with a new U.S. Energy management team to see if the new people in charge want to get that liability off their books. We might be able to somehow help them with that.

Assisting the struggling oil and gas company to lose a hard-rock mine liability and make the company more solid financially might just be possible—if the company and community can somehow figure out how to pay for the water treatment plant in perpetuity. I’m not sure what the final solution is, but now could be a good time to start exploring for a new answer.

It seems everyone involved, including the new company CEO, would be open to the kind of change that puts an end to the question and to the fight.

Change is constant and change can be good.

—Mark Reaman

Keeping an eye on results from water study

by Mark Reaman

Crested Butte will ask the state to allow the town to be directly involved in the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission’s proceedings dealing with Coal Creek and temporary modifications currently in place.

The request for so-called “Party Status” comes at the request of the Coal Creek Watershed Coalition (CCWC). Coalition board president Steve Glazer came to the council Monday, September 21 with the request.

Temporary modifications of in-stream water quality standards have been in place for Lower Coal Creek for more than 20 years. Those standards are reviewed every three years by the state.

At the 2012 hearing, the state required U.S. Energy, the mining company responsible for the potential molybdenum mine and current water treatment plant on Mt. Emmons, to develop a study plan to address uncertainty regarding pollution sources impacting Coal Creek. Data collection from the study will culminate this year.

The Water Quality Control Commission is set to review the temporary modifications and evaluate progress on the study. Glazer feels the process will likely be continued into 2016 and may include new rule-making involving new standards for Coal Creek.

Given the town’s inherent interest in the watershed, CCWC felt it appropriate to have the town participate.

“The Water Quality Control Commission required U.S. Energy to develop a water quality monitoring program,” explained Glazer. “U.S. Energy was a year-and-a-half late in establishing a groundwater monitoring well. So we expect the company to ask for a year extension. We are inclined to support that request so we too can analyze the data. We are asking the town to get involved. It is in the best interest of the citizens.”

CCWC’s technical coordinator, Ashley Bembenek, added that the outcome directly affects Crested Butte. “It is definitely in the town’s best interest,” she said. “The thoroughness of the study matters to the town. There are pollution concerns that groundwater could be impacting the town’s drinking water supply. The bottom line is that the town has a stake in Coal Creek with things like recreation and drinking water.”

“Why wouldn’t we do this?” asked councilman Skip Berkshire.

“It buys you a ticket to the dance,” said town public works director Rodney Due.

All seven council members wanted to dance so they agreed to apply for “Party Status” in the proceedings. They anticipate the move will cost the town between $5,000 and $10,000 in legal fees.

Taking the cautious approach

By Mark Reaman

Remediation work resumed at the Standard Mine on Mt. Emmons west of Crested Butte last week after activity was suspended following the Gold King Mine accident near Silverton, Colorado. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken responsibility for the accident that spilled about three million gallons of contaminated water into Cement Creek from the Gold King and eventually tainted the Animas River that runs through Durango.

Shortly after the accident, the EPA suspended work at 27 mining projects across the country, including the Standard Mine. The idea was to have an independent contractor do a management review process at each site.

EPA Superfund project manager Christina Progess and EPA mining engineer Jim Hanley told the Crested Butte town council Tuesday evening that the review cleared the way to resume work at the Standard Mine at the end of last week. “We are grateful to be up and running again and we have two shifts back at work after the two-week suspension,” explained Progess.

“Lessons were learned from the Gold King incident,” added Hanley. “The bottom line was to have an emergency action plan and provide procedures for mine emergencies. That has been in place up here.”

Hanley said the remediation work is now behind schedule given the delay and weather will determine how fast some of the work gets done this fall. He said about 38 percent of the $2.3 million budget has been spent on the work. He also told the council that only about two feet of standing water is blocked in the mine.

“We are taking a cautious approach to have protection against a surge event which we think is highly unlikely,” he said. “To never be in a vulnerable position is the idea. We are taking a conservative approach to the project to protect the workers and the community.”

“We have plenty of capacity with our holding ponds if the 24,000 gallons of water we estimate is there would come out,” said Progess.

Hanley said there is also a concerted effort underway to inventory mines that might be leaking contaminated water into various drainages locally and across the west. “The idea is to get one list of historic drainage mines that put their watersheds at risk,” he said. “We are trying to get our arms around the issue and try to find funding to address it all over the west.”

“There is a collaborative effort with the state to look at mines up the Slate River and Oh Be Joyful for example,” explained Progess. “The Standard Mine is a priority because of the drinking water issue. We are glad to be back at work up there.”

EPA extra cautious after Gold King spill

By Adam Broderick

On August 5, a cleanup team for the EPA accidentally released nearly three million gallons of water contaminated with heavy metals into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River near the town of Silverton, Colo.

News of the accident traveled far and fast, and the EPA took grief from many. To reduce the risk of something similar happening at the Standard Mine on Mt. Emmons, the EPA has suspended work at the site “out of abundance of caution” while it analyzes exactly what happened at the Gold King and determines how to move forward at the Standard in the safest way possible.

Christina Progess, EPA Superfund project manager, said the goal at Gold King was to assess the ongoing water releases from the mine, treat the mine water, and assess the feasibility of further mine remediation.

“There are many differences between the known conditions of the underground workings at Standard Mine and the unknown conditions at the Gold King that make it unlikely that a similar sized event would occur at Standard Mine,” said Progess. “However, there are also some similarities between the two sites, namely the existence of water behind the collapse within Level 1 workings and the need to intercept those workings and remove the water in order to design and construct a flow-through bulkhead in Level 1. EPA is very concerned about what happened at the Gold King and very interested in ensuring the same thing does not occur to threaten the town of Crested Butte’s drinking water or the ecology of the Coal Creek and Slate River watersheds.”

Shortly after the Gold King accident, EPA administrator Gina McCarthy suspended operations at 27 mining projects across the country. Ever since, an independent third-party contractor, Tetra Tech, has been conducting a multi-layered management review process of each mine one-by-one.

According to EPA mining engineer Jim Hanley, the Tetra Tech team is composed of mostly engineers who have been in the business of optimizing Superfund sites. In other words, Hanley explained, a Superfund team shows Tetra Tech what they plan to do at a site, and Tetra Tech tweaks their plan to make sure it’s the most cost-effective, efficient plan possible.

“It’s called optimization of projects,” Hanley told the News. “This time, though, they’re not so much doing that as they are looking for vulnerabilities, fatal flaws, areas of risk that weren’t adequately accounted for in the design. So they’re looking at how the construction might be putting the mine and the people downstream at risk.”

The Tetra Tech team began their review of the Standard Mine on Monday, August 24, and will give the EPA its opinion by Thursday, August 27. Hanley says he doesn’t know exactly what has been discovered at Gold King, but says the Tetra Tech team was pretty positive in their response to current design plans. He predicts they won’t recommend the EPA do anything differently at the Standard Mine. He knows that operations could remain suspended for another week or two, and Progess says the earliest work could restart would be in that same timeframe.

Hanley believes that at the very best, “If we get a favorable opinion from them, we might have our construction crew back at work as early as Monday.”

The Standard Mine was not completely abandoned when operations were suspended. The EPA is paying for a caretaker crew to basically make sure nothing goes wrong, and since all water flows through the ponds by gravity and there is no pumping involved, pumps don’t need to be kept running. Hanley says the work crew is doing various repairs on equipment and other tasks they had deferred for a while, and making sure all ponds flow as they should.

With the anticipated installation of a bulkhead in the mine’s lowest level to reduce pressure buildup and avoid major catastrophe, this delay in work could potentially prevent the EPA from moving forward at a consistent pace. Still, Hanley says, things are still looking pretty good for the time being.

“We did a scheduled analysis to make sure we could complete all the work we planned before the snow comes, and we’re pretty sure we can finish work for the year before late October. Then we would close up the mine properly so we can get back in there and restart as soon as snow melts,” Hanley said.

According to Progess, the team plans to update the Town Council with study results at the September 8 meeting.

As for local concerns about health and human safety, according to Crested Butte’s Public Works director, Rodney Due, “Crested Butte has enough drinking water available in the town reservoir to supply the town for one month.”

U.S. Energy has obligation to environmental and human health

By Adam Broderick

The Gold King mine near Silverton leaked nearly three million gallons of toxic water into the Animas River two weeks ago, and sparked conversations regarding how to prevent something similar from happening elsewhere across the state.

On Tuesday, August 18, Gunnison County Commissioners and the Crested Butte Town Council agreed to send a joint letter to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment requesting that the Water Quality Control Division (WQCD) make it possible once again to ensure that area residents and visitors remain safe in the potential event that operations cease at the Water Treatment Plant west of Crested Butte on Mt. Emmons at Coal Creek.

Coal Creek supplies Crested Butte with drinking water and also has agricultural and recreational uses. Drainage from abandoned mines on Mt. Emmons flows into Elk Creek, then into Coal Creek, then through town.

According to the letter, the environmental and human health consequences of any release of untreated mine drainage are beyond our local governments’ response capacity. And since U.S. Energy, the corporation that owns the molybdenum mining rights on Mt. Emmons and is legally obligated to operate the plant, recently released an unhealthy financial report (showing an $11.4 million decrease during the first half of 2015 compared to the first half of 2014), Gunnison County and the town of Crested Butte decided the best bet would be to ask the state to strongly oversee the waste water treatment plant permits issued to U.S. Energy.

The intention is for the WQCD to reopen a permit renewal process for the mine’s discharge permit, which regulates the water treatment plant. As part of that process, WQCD would impose new permit conditions requiring U.S. Energy to satisfy financial and ethical responsibilities should the company no longer be capable of complying with its discharge treatment requirements.

County attorney David Baumgarten explained that a number of years ago the county, together with the town of Crested Butte, requested from the WQCD that there be an addition to the discharge permit.

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“We asked for financial security should there be a lapse in operation. The state said they did not have the authority to do so at the time. That conversation has since been highlighted by what has happened in other locations in Colorado with mine spillage,” Baumgarten said.

According to the letter to WQCD, the financial condition is especially alarming because the treatment plant uses outdated technology and has now exceeded its expected life by almost 20 years.

“We respectfully request that the WQCD reopen the permit renewal process… and also work with other state and federal agencies to impose financial requirements or take other actions to protect the public against the environmental and human health catastrophe that would ensue if U.S. Energy failed to operate the water treatment plant,” the letter read.

“Waiting until the problem rises to the level of CERCLA [the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980] enforcement action is an untenable alternative because of the environmental and human health consequences that would precede such an action,” the letter continued.

Baumgarten told the News that state officials responded promptly and diligently to the county’s most recent mine-related request so he trusts they will be equally responsive to this request. “Our trust is that – while the current request by us will have to be discussed internally by the state over a period of time – the state officials will be equally responsive,” he said. Baumgarten believes an internal conversation will begin immediately.

The good:

Taking a meandering and relaxed “Anti-Strava” bike ride Sunday it was great to appreciate the deep blue sky, the late-summer yellow wildflowers popping out along the single track, the green still rising on the flanks of the mountains. There’s not much white left, with little snow still covering the surrounding peaks, but based on a morning walk with the dog, it won’t be too long before we see some new high mountain white.

And it’s not just here. Denver Broncos orange is blazing across the state as football season approaches. Colorado Rockies purple was bright as the team actually won a few games last week. Throw in the weird yellow of the Animas River flowing through Durango and you have a Crayola box popping across the Centennial State.

The Bad:

While most of the colors bring joy to one’s heart, the thought of the Slate or the Gunnison Rivers turning yellow strikes more fear in one’s heart than joy. Before I got here in the ’80s, Coal Creek apparently ran orange for basically the same reason the Animas is now running yellow. Mine tailings leaking into the watershed is not benign.

Reading about reaction to this Gold King Mine/Animas River catastrophe, I learned that experts estimate there are 55,000 abandoned mines from Colorado to California and federal and state authorities have struggled to clean them for decades. The feds say 40 percent of the headwaters of Western waterways have been contaminated from mine runoff when abandoned mines fill up with groundwater and snowmelt that becomes tainted with acids and heavy metals from mining veins that can trickle into the region’s waterways.

The Environmental Protection Agency admitted that its mistake let loose three million gallons of toxic water into the watershed near Silverton. That’s one gargantuan oops. That nightmare is now creeping toward Lake Powell.

The EPA is currently working on a similar but not exact mine cleanup situation just a few miles west of Crested Butte at the old Standard Mine. The EPA managers are confident we won’t see a repeat here of last week’s accident in Durango. But as we can obviously see, accidents do happen.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that regulations started coming on line to deal with abandoned mines in Colorado. After all, mining is what made Colorado valuable as a state and for many years it was the driving economic force in the region. Just read Artifactually Speaking, Brian Levine’s history column running in the News, about what mining did for places like Irwin. But it is the remnants of that colorful time in history that could impact us now.

The reason Coal Creek is a refreshing crystal clear color (as opposed to pumpkin orange or mustard yellow) as it flows by the Totem Pole at Third and Maroon is that there is a water treatment plant filtering the water on Mt. Emmons. The owner of the molybdenum deposit, U.S. Energy, is legally required to run that plant, which costs the company about $1.8 million every year. If that plant goes down or U.S. Energy is not able to pay for its operation, Coal Creek will look like a haunted Halloween story.

And that is why it is imperative that the town, the county, groups like HCCA and the Red Lady Coalition should continue to insist that the state and the feds demand a fail-safe surety plan that will guarantee the plant continues to clean up our water. At the very least, that would mean a real bond with real money to insure that U.S. Energy cannot just walk away from the aging plant without leaving funds to make sure it continues to work.

There has been talk about our community institutions joining forces to make the state and the feds aware that if something does happen, the town and county do not have the means to operate the treatment plant. So that would likely mean a state agency responsible for water quality or a federal agency responsible for the plant sitting on its land will have to step in. Therefore it makes common sense that they tag the responsible entity now for an insurance policy. Our representatives are working on the issue.

The ugly:

One reason it might be a little more imperative now than a couple years ago is that U.S. Energy isn’t exactly rolling in the green. The company released its “Second Quarter 2015 Highlights and Selected Financial Results” this week. With the low oil and gas prices, the company is not making money right now. While getting a bounce this week from rising oil prices, the stock price is well below $1 at about 60 cents. Last month it was 40 cents. Last year it was $4.25. Can you say shaky?

With the Gold King Mine catastrophe poisoning the river through Durango and sliming toward the Grand Canyon, it is now easy and clear to see the hidden legacy of old unregulated mining. It lurks in just about every mountain range in Colorado, including ours. Like so much in life, it is important we look at the risks honestly and address them appropriately. At the very least, that means getting some real insurance that Coal Creek and the Slate River doesn’t accidently or purposely bring a new poisoned orange hue to the valley.

—Mark Reaman