SILVERTON – EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt visited the Gold King Mine spill site Friday, on the eve of the second anniversary since the Las Animas River was turned yellow with contamination, vowing to reconsider damage cited by 79 claimants whose requests were rejected under his predecessor, Gina McCarthy.

“EPA should be held to the same standard as those we regulate,” Pruitt said. “The previous administration failed those who counted on them to protect the environment.”

The 3 million gallons of contaminated acid mine waste released into the Animas River and Cement Creek ultimately flowed into the San Juan River through Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

The EPA took responsibility for the accidental spill, but the Navajo Nation filed suit a year ago, saying the EPA did not properly remediate the disaster or compensate the thousands of farmers seeking damages.

Pruitt said McCarthy, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden all failed to even visit the site of the spill.

Pruitt toured the mine Friday with Colorado’s U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner as well as Gov. John Hickenlooper.

“When I was appointed EPA administrator by President Trump, I committed to review the Gold King Mine decision made by the previous administration,” Pruitt said. “A new review is paramount to ensure that those who have, in fact, suffered losses have a fair opportunity to have their claims heard.”

After the tour, EPA appointees are holding a town hall with residents in Durango to hear from those living around the mine how the spill affected them.

“We want to listen and learn directly from the community,” said Ken Wagner, senior EPA advisor for regional and state affairs. “The local community is ground zero in environmental disasters, and we want to hear their concerns and do our best to coordinate and provide assistance.”

Last January, the previous EPA administration denied 79 claims filed by farmers, ranchers, homeowners, businesses, employees, state and local governments, as well as other individuals seeking damages.

On March 16, the new EPA administration paid more than $90,000 in additional reimbursements to five entities in Colorado and Utah for costs incurred responding to the Aug. 5, 2015, release.

Some claimants have filed legal challenges to the EPA’s denial of their claims. The State of Utah filed an administrative claim in February, seeking $1.9 billion. On Wednesday, Utah sued the mine owners and EPA contractors for cleanup compensation and unspecified damages.

The State of New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, whose administrative claims were denied, have filed motions to add their tort claims to the preexisting Gold King Mine litigation in the District of New Mexico.

The EPA has spent more than $29 million responding to the disaster, including reimbursements for response costs accrued by state, local and tribal governments, providing continued water treatment and monitoring, listing the Bonita Peak Mining District as a priority Superfund site, and researching how contaminants move through river systems.

In all, 144 claims are pending. The EPA has until the end of December to act on the claims being reconsidered.