PHOENIX (AP) – U.S. Sen. John McCain called for a criminal investigation into actions by the Environmental Protection Agency that led to a mine spill polluting rivers in three Western states last summer.
During a congressional hearing on the issue in Phoenix, McCain said EPA officials knew about the potential for catastrophe and failed to do proper testing before inadvertently triggering the 3 million-gallon spill at the inactive Gold King Mine last August.
“What is clear now is that not enough has been done,” McCain said Friday. “I’ve come to the conclusion that a DOJ criminal investigation is merited and must now occur.”
EPA officials said it’s not clear that additional testing could have prevented the accident, but they acknowledged they notified tribal officials too late.
McCain and U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, head of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, subpoenaed EPA officials to turn up at the field hearing where they invited Navajo and Hopi tribal leaders, and U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick to assess the EPA’s response to the spill.