What Lies Beneath

"There are other reasons why Todd wants to see that area cleaned up," says county treasurer Rich. "Mining claims that are accessible are going through the roof. There's going to be development up there."

An Oklahoma developer that's had dealings with Gold King has proposed half-acre homesites in the area, but the county commissioners nixed the project. The entire Gladstone townsite could be an ideal place for a campground and RV park, Hennis says, but his efforts to obtain a federal cleanup grant for the site hit a snag after a confusing call from an EPA official. "She said, 'We're taking the view that you have not taken due care to prevent further pollution by allowing these ponds to remain, but we really want the ponds to remain there, and we want a deal to use them' -- all in the same sentence," he recalls. "I was just agog. Now I've had to hire an environmental attorney, at $265 an hour, to try to talk some sense into them."

 

Anthony Camera

Oh, sludge: Todd Hennis suffered a "near-fatal" in the Mogul.

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Mining is fading into the past in San Juan County. The county historical society recently opened a mining museum in Silverton that features many artifacts from the Sunnyside operation, from the 1880s to the 1980s. But the old mines still make their presence felt -- as environmental burdens, financial headaches, potential real estate.

Hennis says he never received the payments due him for selling the Mogul, and he's now in the process of foreclosing on certain portions of the property. But not the main portal, where some water still seeps past the bulkhead. That's somebody else's problem now.