Vail Resorts, Colorado reach settlement over 2021 fish kill in Gore Creek
Peter Wadden/Town of Vail
The Colorado Natural Resources Trustees approved a $275,000 settlement with Vail Resorts regarding the 2021 Gore Creek fish kill in Vail, Attorney General Phil Weiser announced on Wednesday.
The state will receive $249,000 to be used for a restoration project in the Gore Creek basin and the remaining $26,000 will go to the state’s Water Quality Improvement Fund, Weiser announced.
“While an unfortunate accident, this incident harmed aquatic resources in Gore Creek — one of Colorado’s prized trout fisheries in Eagle County,” Weiser said. “This settlement compensates the community for those injuries, providing funds that will go directly back to restoring natural resources on portions of Gore Creek downstream of the release.”
The state conducted a six-month investigation and found that, from Sept, 17-20, 2021, Vail Mountain left open isolation valves on its snowmaking system and released approximately 2 million gallons of water containing hazardous substances into Mill Creek and Gore Creek. A damages assessment identified injuries to aquatic life — including fish, algae, and aquatic insects — along 1.5 miles of river impacted by the release.
The Eagle River Water and Sanitation District on Sept. 20, 2021, in examining tank level trends and pump cycles, noticed an increase in the Gore Creek above Red Sandstone stream gage beginning on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021.
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By the evening of Sept. 20, 2021, as Vailites were gathering for the Vail Social Community Potluck on Gore Creek, reports of dozens of dead fish turning up on the creek were flowing into the district.
Vail Resorts later said snowmaking employees working at the Golden Peak Pumphouse had inadvertently left valves open which caused district water to flow through the Vail Mountain snowmaking system and eventually into Gore Creek.
That water included approximately 1.5 million to 2 million gallons of potable water from an Eagle River Water and Sanitation District tank used by Ski and Snowboard Club Vail for snowmaking, as well as approximately 200,000 gallons of water from Vail Mountain’s snowmaking storage pond for snowmaking for Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, according to statements provided to CDPHE from Jonathan Kimchi, Vail Resorts director of environmental compliance.
Kimchi said the pond water had been treated with one 30-pound bag of Cutrine-Plus Granular Algaecide, which contains ethanolamine and copper carbonate.
A total of 120 dead fish was recorded, including 85 mottled sculpin, one cutbow, 16 rainbow trout, one brook trout and 17 brown trout.
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“I appreciate Vail Corporation’s willingness to work with the trustees on damages for this accident. Colorado’s fisheries and aquatic resources are some of our state’s most important resources but also can be susceptible to harm where water resources are paramount,” said Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. “I am hopeful the settlement funds can quickly be put to use to restore Gore Creek and its fisheries and aquatic species for future generations of Coloradans to enjoy.”
Vail Resorts, in a statement, said Vail Mountain partnered with state agencies throughout the process, which included immediate measures to prevent future unintended discharges of potable water.
“As a part of our commitment to our natural environment, we fully cooperated with state agencies and reached an amicable resolution with the state that will fund restoration and improvement projects to waterways, including the Gore Creek Basin,” Vail Mountain spokesperson John Plack said in a statement issued Wednesday. “We take our commitment to the environment seriously, and we are dedicated to protecting the forests and waterways that surround our resort operation.”
