I mapped the 2150 vein in the Sunnyside mine. It was my thought that it projected to the Gold King veins although I didn’t push that idea. The geologists at the Sunnyside had a similar idea and had hopes of ultimately dealing with the Gold King owners.
Once Echo Bay took over the Sunnyside, I believe they eventually connected with the Gold King workings. When they were ready to abandon their activities in the Sunnyside, they responsibly put some thick cement plugs in place to stop drainage out of their workings, but those wouldn’t have stopped Gold King drainage.
Someone needed to put a cement plug in the Gold King tunnel instead of relying on some tunnel and over burden collapse to seal its water accumulation. Then the EPA idiots and their contractors would never had to have been messing with the Gold King tunnel seals.
A local geologist sent a letter to the local newspaper warning of what would happen if they tried to dewater the mine by punching a hole in the retaining wall at the bottom of the mine. He was right on.
I didn’t get to work on that case and am glad that I didn’t. Total EPA clusterf*ck. Reminds me of the Stringfellow case (lasted about 18-25 years). Another CERCLA screwup until the law was updated into reality.
A letter to editor written by Dave Taylor, from Farmington, New Mexico, was published in The Silverton Standard and The Miner , a retired geologist, one week before the EPA toxic waste dump..
The letter detailed how EPA officials would foul up the Animas River on purpose in order to secure superfund money and power.. If the Gold King mine was declared a superfund site it would essentially kill future development for the mining industry in the area. The Obama EPA is vehemently opposed to mining and development by working Americans.