Balderas Announces Grant Program Resulting From Gold King Mine Settlement

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on November 5, 2022
- 9:55 pm

Attorney General Hector Balderas

AG News:

SANTA FE — New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas has announced a nearly $4.3 million grant program to address harms in the northwest region of New Mexico as a result of the Gold King Mine Spill.

This includes harms based on public perception of the impacts of the spill.

Under the grant program, the NM Office of the Attorney General (NMOAG) has posted a request for proposal (RFP) from New Mexico government agencies, all political subdivisions (counties, municipalities, and special districts), non-profit organizations, and tribal governments.

“We were forced to sue the federal government and bad actors in response to one of the worst environmental disasters in New Mexico, and I am hopeful that these recovery dollars will positively help our tribal and rural communities,” Balderas said.

Projects are expected to benefit farming, outdoor recreation, natural resources, or other values in northwestern New Mexico.

More specifically, eligible projects could provide for:

Drinking water protection;
Control or mitigation of pollution sources;
Land and habitat conservation;
Economic development related to agriculture, outdoor recreation, or mining reclamation; and
Public education regarding the safety of regional agricultural products.

In 2021, New Mexico reached an $11 million settlement with the mining company defendants, Sunnyside Gold Corporation, Kinross Gold Corporation and Kinross Gold U.S.A., Inc., for their contributions to the Gold King blowout. Combined with the $32 million final settlement with the United States and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in June 2022, the State has thus obtained $43 million towards making New Mexico whole.

New Mexico continues to aggressively pursue relief for damages from Weston Solutions, Inc. and Environmental Restoration, LLC, the federal contractors who contributed to the cause of the blowout and are still defendants in the State’s lawsuit.

For more information and to access the request for proposal, visit the NMOAG website at https://www.nmag.gov/resources/requests-for-proposals-contracts/.