President Bush,
Governor Ritter,
We the undersigned, as citizens of the United States of America, do hereby demand that the Federal government create an immediate and permanent solution to the problem faced by the people of Lake County, Colorado, and the Arkansas River basin, created by the backup of over 1 billion gallons of contaminated, heavy metal-laden water in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel (LMDT).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates "that an uncontrolled, potentially-catastrophic release of water to the Arkansas River from the LMDT is likely at some point. Not only endangering human life (people living at the East Fork Trailer Park and BOR employees), the sudden release of water, rock, sediment, and heavy metals to the Arkansas River would be an environmental disaster."
We can no longer allow the inaction of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to threaten our environment. Governor Ritter and President Bush, this is happening on your watch, this is where authentic stewards of our environment take action.
We demand bold and decisive action to avert a potential environmental disaster. We expect you to see to it that our government agencies take immediate action to create a permanent solution to this situation by dewatering and treating the water from the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel and repairing it so we don’t face this problem again.
We are faced with what could potentially be one of the most catastrophic environmental events in the history of the American West. History will judge your behavior.
Governor Ritter, President Bush, the time for talk and the time for study is over, it is time for you to act.
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