Today, the towns of Eden and Lowell are deciding whether to accept federal Superfund money to pay for cleanup of the former Vermont Asbestos Group mine. Cleanup has been recommended by the state Agency of Natural Resources.
But not by Governor Shumlin. In a comment last Friday while walking down the Church Street Marketplace in Burlington, the Governor dumped all over his own agency.
“That asbestos has been there a long time,” he said, when he was asked why he has left the question of whether the state should seek Superfund rehabilitation of the site up to a vote of the two towns on Tuesday.
Shumlin indicated the waste piles aren’t posing a threat that would require action and added, “It’s better to let sleeping dogs lie.”
Problem, Gov. The sleeping dogs aren’t in peaceful repose; they’re migrating downstream. Your own agency says so.
After the jump: Multiple violations and pointed questions.
Ongoing erosion of asbestos tailing/waste rock piles is impairing downstream wetlands and streams, which are impacted with asbestos-containing sediments. Without stabilization measures, the asbestos-containing sediments will migrate further downstream.
This impairment is a violation of the Vermont Water Quality standards and the Federal Clean Air Act.
…Sediment discharged from the mine site contains asbestos, which by state and federal definition is a hazardous material.
…The site is also not in compliance with applicable regulations, including the state’s Solid Waste Rules, Stormwater and Wetland Regulations.
There are doubts in Eden and Lowell about the wisdom of a cleanup. Will it be fully funded from start to finish? Would a partial cleanup, or a cleanup in progress, be worse than nothing? I can understand these concerns, and if I lived there, it’d be a tough choice.
But if I lived in a community downstream from the mine, I’d wonder why in hell I don’t get a vote on carcinogens in my water, and why the people of Eden and Lowell get to decide whether or not to continue violating a passel of state and federal regulations.
Me, I wonder how I’d feel if I worked in the Agency of Natural Resources and my Governor was going out of his way to sabotage my work.
And I wonder how far he’s willing to take his cavalier attitude toward state and federal environmental law.
If you’re wondering that, you didn’t pay attention to how Shumlin ran roughshod over state and federal water laws (the Vermont Water Quality Standards and the Clean Water Act) in issuing permits for the Lowell wind project.
And you’re right, it’s not a sleeping dog, the asbestos mine is leaching into rivers.
One thing Shumlin has made very clear is he has no respect for our natural resources, especially water. He is not an environmentalist.
That’s not news, but it is very sad for our state and the people who do care.
Why is anyone surprised at the Governor’s antics?
Anyone remember this quote concerning the 2-3 curies of tritium which leaked from VY? Anyone actually think it’s valid?
Let’s not forget this whopper!
…the risk is posed by inhaling the dust.
Not to say that eroding material stockpiles into streams isn’t a bad thing, but drinking water with asbestos in it won’t cause any lung problems.
The arsenic and metals in Malletts Bay are apparently linked to the mines–this according to one former ANR Secretary–prompting fish advisories. The water issues in this state are far worse than any elected politician is willing to publicly acknowledge. For all the boasting in which we engage for our supposed environmental leadership, regulators in this state have their hands full–the will just does not exist to protect our resources … look no further than St. Albans Bay or Missisquoi Bay for proof that no political rhetoric can conceal.