EPA Withheld Key Info On Post-Spill Funding To Gold King Mine Culprit
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Ethan Barton
10:45 PM 08/25/2016
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Animas river after Gold King Mine spill (Credit: Barbara K Powers/Shutterstock) Animas river after Gold King Mine spill (Credit: Barbara K Powers/Shutterstock)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials improperly withheld information from The Daily Caller News Foundation confirming its reporting that the contractor responsible for the August 2015 Gold King Mine spill was awarded nearly $2.7 million not long after the disaster.
The EPA internally acknowledged the award and crafted a response to TheDCNF’s finding, according to emails obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, but the response was never sent to the news organization. (RELATED: Feds Obstruct Media Probe By Blocking Interviews With Key Officials)
“It just slipped through the cracks,” EPA spokeswoman Melissa Harrison told TheDCNF 32 minutes after deadline. “It was a mistake on our behalf.”
The EPA response uncovered by TheDCNF defended the funding by claiming that the contractor was used for disaster assessments, rather than cleanup.
Read more:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/25/epa-withheld-key-info-on-post-spill-funding-to-gold-king-mine-culprit/#ixzz4IQt6oztY
