Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and the AG Environment Section Finalize Settlement of Gold King Mine Blowout

Following the Gold King Mine blowout in August 2015, the Environment Section recovered the majority of response costs incurred by various State agencies to mitigate the impacts to the San Juan River and Lake Powell totaling more than $500,000.00.

General Reyes was personally involved in direct negotiations with the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") to resolve the State's resource damage claims. The Environment Section provided technical support to General Reyes, the DEQ, and the Governor's Office in those negotiations.

Due to General Reyes' personal involvement, a settlement was ultimately negotiated with the EPA and the DOJ in August 2020. The settlement provided for $3 million in direct grants to the DEQ earmarked to improve surface water quality conditions in Utah.

The settlement also confirmed the EPA's commitment to pay the costs of ongoing Superfund response actions at abandoned mines in the Bonita Peak Mining District and other mining sites in Colorado upstream from Utah. These response costs are expected to exceed $165 million. In addition, the EPA agreed to initiate and pay for waste removal evaluations at three historic mine sites in Utah.