Case Study of the Gold King Mine Spill

Abstract

The Gold King Mine spill happened on August 5, 2015 near Silverton, Colorado when the abandoned mine was damaged during maintenance. This single, holistic exploratory case study uses document review and analysis to answer the research questions of what happened at Gold King Mine, how and why it happened, what was the response, and what are the implications of this event. The findings indicate that the Environmental Protection Agency’s negligence, Colorado’s lack of regulations on abandoned mines, and the town of Silverton’s hesitance to be declared a Superfund site all contributed to the water contamination which negatively impacted the Navajo Nation. The research suggests this is another historic event that will further erode trust and relationships between the United States government and indigenous people. This work also creates a literature review of emergency management in the context of Native American communities.