Political Quotes

“Early last month the negligence of the Environmental Protection Agency caused the release of over 3 million gallons of wastewater at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado, causing arguably the biggest environmental disaster of this year. While over the congressional August work period, I was able to visit the spill site and, with elected officials, was able to view it for myself. As you can see, there is still considerable effluent coming out of the mouth of that mine as of 2 weeks ago. Mr. Speaker, I will just ask: Has anyone been fired? Has anyone been held accountable at the Environmental Protection Agency for this disaster? No, they have not. What would have happened had a private company been responsible for a disaster of this order of magnitude? I shudder to think where those people in charge of that company would be today. The EPA did not follow its own procedures. It did not have proper communications equipment at the site of the disaster. They had no satellite phone. They had no radio. As a consequence, they did not notify local officials until a day later of what had occurred at the mine. They have also refused to answer questions about the potential health risks in the polluted water to humans and animals downriver. The long-term effects of the EPA's neglect will be unknown, but I submit they will be significant for years to come. ____________________”