RECOVERY ACT TO PROVIDE UP TO $25M FOR SUMMITVILLE MINE CLEANUP

Gov. Bill Ritter today thanked the Obama administration for dedicating $10 million to $25 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for cleaning up the Summitville Mine Superfund site, an investment Ritter had sought to help clean up one of Colorado's worst environmental disasters.

 

"These funds will serve the dual purpose of accelerating the cleanup of a hazardous waste site in Colorado while also creating jobs and strengthening the southwest Colorado economy," Gov. Ritter said. "The funds should be made available within a matter of weeks and construction could begin as early as this summer."

 

The project involves building a 1,600 gallons-per-minute water treatment plant. The plant will remove contaminants from acidic metals-contaminated mine drainage before the water leaves the site and enters the headwaters of the Alamosa River. When the plant is operational, all cleanup work at the Summitville Mine site will be complete.

 

In a March 16 letter, Gov. Ritter asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to consider funding the project through the $600 million in the Recovery Act for federal Superfund remediation projects around the country.

 

"I'm very pleased the Obama administration and Administrator Jackson answered Colorado's call for this important project," Gov. Ritter said.

 

For more information about how Colorado is putting the Recovery Act to work, visit www.colorado.gov/recovery.