Hueston Hennigan helps Navajos secure $10M settlement for mine flood

A California firm has secured a $10 million settlement for the Navajo Nation Department of Justice over the 2015 Gold King mine disaster in Colorado. On Wednesday, the tribe announced the agreement with the mine's owners, Sunnyside Gold Corp., a subsidiary of Canada-based Kinross Gold Corp.

Tribal Attorney General Doreen N. McPaul and Assistant Attorney General Paul Spruhan worked with Hueston Hennigan LLP partners John C. Hueston, Moez M. Kaba, and Andrew K. Walsh. The firm has offices in Los Angeles and Newport Beach.

The disaster occurred when personnel with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a private contractor were trying to drain a wastewater pond outside v.a Colorado mine owned by Sunnyside. Workers accidentally destroyed a plug holding water in place, releasing "millions of gallons of toxic acid mine waste into the waters upstream of the Nation," according to a news release from the tribe. The spill crossed into New Mexico and Utah, polluting waters used for agricultural irrigation and other purposes.

The tribe originally sought $130 million in damages from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Justice successfully argued the EPA was protected by federal law from having to pay damages. The EPA did agree to provide millions for cleanup under a separate case brought by Utah.

Instead, the tribe went after Sunnyside for creating the conditions that led to the spill. In re: Gold King Mine Release in San Juan County, Colorado, on August 5, 2015, 1:18-md-02824-WJ (N.M., filed April 4, 2018).

In a news release, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez called on the U.S. government to provide aid.

"The Gold King Mine blowout damaged entire communities and ecosystems in the Navajo Nation," Nez said. "We pledged to hold those who caused or contributed to the blowout responsible, and this settlement is just the beginning. It is time that the United States fulfills its promise to the Navajo Nation and provides the relief needed for the suffering it has caused the Navajo Nation and its people."

"This settlement is substantial, but is only the first step in obtaining full and fair resolution for the Navajo Nation," said Hueston partner Walsh in an email. "The litigation is still very much alive, and we continue to pursue our claims against the USEPA and its contractors--Environmental Restoration, LLC and Weston Solutions, Inc.--to hold them accountable for their reckless conduct in triggering the Gold King Mine disaster."

About 300 individual Navajo Nation members are also pursuing claims in a separate case against the company. They are represented by Egolf Ferlic Martinez & Harwood Law Firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico.