Saturday, September 23, 1998

    Silver City—Megan Lee Jones, a water quality employee of Silver Co. Water Management, resigned yesterday to form and lead the Slippery Toxics Action Committee (STAC).  Upon hearing the news from the Colorado Public Health Department (CPHD), which she had lobbied this summer to test the health effects of the community, Jones realized that she needed to devote all her time to the cause.

    The CPHD did find a high number of residents in the Slippery Creek area with lung and heart disease, but this number was no different than people in other poor communities.  They could therefore not conclude that the sediments stemming from the old Silver Cliff mines were the cause.  Instead, the CPHD concludes that people are sick because the community is too impoverished to prevent and treat health problems.

    “The lake, river, and creek are all contaminated.  The sediment is full of heavy metals, and it’s only spreading.  If it’s killing our fish and plants, what makes people think it won’t kill us?” implores Jones.

    The CPHD replies that no, the water will not kill residents.  The amount of lead in the creek is only 20 ug/dL (micrograms per deciliter), while a level of 30 ug/dL or higher is what is considered toxic.  In addition, the maximum containment level of cyanide is .2 mg/L (milligrams per liter) of water, and Slippery Creek has only .11 mg/L.

    In addition, the CPHD completed a thorough containment of all the tailing piles near the mine site in 1992.  William Burroughs, the director of the CPHD, attests that, “We no longer have to worry that the creek will carry any more tailings into the lake.  The potential for another landslide [since the last in 1987] is zero.”

    Jay Jacobs, spokesman for Pure Nature, is shocked at the CPHD’s insensitivity to the issue.  “We can’t just accept that our water meets regulatory standards because it still is more contaminated than it should be.  We need to take action.”

    Mayor Jake Millhouse takes a different stance.  “MH Mining existed for almost 100 years.  Whatever contamination that now exists has been there for years.   Silver County Water Management has done a great job at cleaning our water before it gets to our homes, and I’m confident that they’ll continue in doing so.”

   Upon learning of the mayor’s statement, Jones replied, “It is no surprise that Mayor Millhouse sees no problem here.  He doesn’t want to take responsibility for the mine that his family started.”

    Councilwoman Martha Moore, not surprisingly taking a different view than Mayor Millhouse, suggests that the temporary solution is to educate residents of Silver County , specifically those in the poorer areas near Slippery Creek, of the health dangers of contamination through contact or consumption of the mine tailings.

    Jones’ group STAC’s mission is to “ensure the quality of life of every resident in Silver County by focusing on the removal of all toxins from the water source.”

    Jones adds, “The poor will no longer be unheard.  There is no reason for people in Slippery Creek to pay for the damage that MH Mining caused.”

    Mark D’Zine, an environmental planner with Silver Co., suggested yesterday to Mayor Millhouse that Slippery Creek should begin using water from the city source, rather than their individual wells.  The mayor is considering the option.