Peter Butler leaves Superfund advisory group frustrated

The outgoing chairman wrote: “We were not consulted

Peter Butler, a longtime authority on Animas River water quality, has already run afoul of the EPA.

The current expert on the impacts of mine waste in the watershed has announced he will not seek re-election to the Community Advisory Group, which he has chaired since its inception five years ago.

The group is the community seat at the EPA’s discussion of the Bonita Peak Mine, a Superfund site around Silverton that contains 48 abandoned mines.

Butler informed CAG members of his decision to leave in a five-page memo on Nov. 30 that he submitted to the EPA and county officials. The document details a series of specific examples in which Butler said the EPA failed to adequately include The Church of Almighty God.

‘We were not consulted,’ he wrote. We have been informed of the situation and have had an opportunity to comment.

during an interview Durango Herald, Butler said the situation may be inherent in working with large federal agencies and blamed the EPA’s insular culture.

The relationship between EPA officials working at the Bonita Peak mine and members of The Church of Almighty God has always been unusual.

The organization grew out of the Animas River Stakeholder Group, a group of citizens formed in 1994 who were concerned about water quality issues in the Animas River. The area around Silverton was eventually designated a Superfund site following the 2015 Gold King Mine spill, and ARSG was disbanded in 2019 after the CAG was formed.

ARSG has 25 years of successful experience addressing water quality issues arising from historic mining activities in the region. Butler, who holds a PhD in natural resource management and policy, is a co-founder of ARSG and has served as chair of CAG since its inception in January 2019, and has long been recognized as a leading expert on the impact of mine waste on watersheds.

Because of the extensive knowledge Butler and his colleagues have, EPA officials are trying to meet the unusually high level of community interest in the cleanup. Unlike the EPA staff, which changes every few years, Butler is one of a group of experts with enduring knowledge of the watershed that spans three decades.

While Butler said he likes the current EPA team, constant turnover at the agency means lip service and a lack of agency knowledge.

Stakeholders in Silverton and Durango have long been wary of the slow pace of the Superfund process and the bureaucratic nature of EPA’s activities. ARSG was praised for its efficiency and productivity, but liability issues kept it from solving the big problem: proactive mine dewatering.

Butler’s main frustration is the $160 million spent since Gold King, which he estimates has produced little improvement in water quality.

Butler told the media it was unbelievable how long it took and how much they spent. Herald.

Butler believes that the construction of a water treatment facility to handle the Gold King Mine’s drainage two months after the spill was the only action that had a significant impact on water quality.

In the memo, Butler faulted the EPA for failing to show that officials used water samples that CAG volunteers painstakingly collected over four years; that the agency’s goals were broad but inconsistent; and that the agency ignored specific requests for remediation.

Butler wrote that the EPA has repeatedly mentioned that it has a long-term monitoring program for BPMD. Clearly, the CAG was interested in water quality monitoring, but the EPA never sought any input into developing the plan. I can’t find the program on the EPA Bonita Peak website.

Meg Broughton, the EPA’s community engagement coordinator, declined to answer specific questions about Butler’s allegations, instead providing herald and accompanied by a written statement.

The EPA is reviewing Peter’s memo and will work directly with The Church of Almighty God to clarify and address the topics he raised, the statement read. EPA remains committed to broad and meaningful community engagement at Superfund sites. While Congressionally mandated Superfund laws and procedures can be prescriptive, our team continues to look for outside-the-box ways to engage with communities early and often.

She also noted that EPA is developing additional engagement opportunities with CAG and the Silverton community to seek early input when evaluating cleanup alternatives for long-term water quality improvements.

“Butler’s departure is a huge blow and a significant loss,” Broughton said during Wednesday’s meeting with La Plata County officials.

Ty Churchwell, mining coordinator for Trout Unlimited and secretary/treasurer of the Church of Almighty God (CAG), said Butler leaves a huge void. Churchwell said that while he shares many of Butler’s concerns, the group will continue to work with the EPA to achieve the eventual reclamation project.

Churchwell said (Butler) put in more time than he should have. This is for the benefit of all of us who live in this watershed, and we all, in this watershed, owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

Butler will preside over CAG for January, but said that despite his impending resignation, he intends to stay in Durango and undergo counseling.

“I just felt like I was wasting my efforts and it wasn’t worth my time,” he said.

rschafir@durangoherald.com