Dept of Natural Resources Mike King Resigns

The CO Department of Natural Resources Executive Director Mike King's resignation was announced yesterday and will take effect Dec. 31. This came several months after he disagreed with EPA about a supposed endorsement of EPA’s cleanup operation.August’s Gold King Mine disaster polluted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah with 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater from the inactive mine in southwest Colorado.
Interestingly enough during September congressional hearing, it was reported that EPA did not notify anyone outside of their agency about the accident. It was actually a Colorado Dept of Natural Resources employee who happened to be at the site when the blowout occurred that raised the alarm and activated their in-state notification.
The EPA said after the spill that that Colorado officials endorsed its cleanup operation at the mine and that state experts were at the Gold King Mine on the day of the spill in a supporting role for the cleanup operation. However, in a September letter to the EPA, King raised nine objections to the EPA's account. He said that Colorado officials neither approved nor disapproved of the operation.
King has been at the helm of the agency since 2010. He will be taking a new job as the director of planning with Denver Water.