Media Advisory - Gold King Mine Incident Media Site Visit Plan

******MEDIA ADVISORY****MEDIA ADVISORY***MEDIA ADVISORY***

DATE: August 22, 2015
CONTACT: (970) 812-3351

Gold King Mine Incident Media Site Visit Plan

DURANGO, CO – Due the demand for visits to the Gold King Mine release site, the Unified Colorado Command has announced the following rules for media site visit requests:

• All requests for visitation must be submitted 48 hours prior, to the Joint Information Center (JIC) Media line (970) 812-3351, Monday through Friday. Access is provided for the sole purpose of capturing B-roll/footage.
• If access to Gold King Mine is made available following construction work on the access road, ALL media/visitors must receive personal protective equipment (PPE), an in-person safety briefing and sign the ‘Gold King Mine Visitor’ sheet prior to work zone entry.
• Use of a media pool is requested for access to the Gold King Mine for the purpose of capturing B-roll/footage, if the site is deemed accessible in the fall. No more than three representatives will be allowed; to be determined by media outlets. Names of media representatives shall be provided with credentials to Public Information Offer (PIO) at time of visit. Representatives should report no later than 10:45 am to the Silverton Courthouse, 1557 Green Street, to meet the PIO for tours on designated days.
• If Gold King Mine becomes accessible, visit/tour times will be limited to two days (Tuesday/Thursday) during the week from 11 am to 1 pm. Tours of the Silverton Hundred Gold Mine are available for filming/photos of general mining operations. After contacting PIO to confirm tour, report to the Silverton Courthouse by 10:45 am.
• Additional access via Hurricane Pass overlook is available without PPE or a safety briefing. To schedule, call the JIC Media line at (970) 812-3351.
• Safety briefings are to be provided by designated Incident Management Team (IMT) Safety Officers, EPA On-Scene Coordinator (OSC), or United States Coast Guard (USCG) Strike Team contract oversight personnel only.
• Based on location of visit, visitors are required to wear appropriate PPE at all times. (e.g., eye protection, hard hat, and closed toe shoes).
• Site operations will take priority; be aware that visitations may be cancelled or postponed last minute due to operational constraints or weather conditions.

###