“The director of the state’s Air Pollution Control Division repeatedly signed off on exemptions to pollution limits for the world’s largest gold miner, Newmont Corp. — a company that he previously represented as an attorney in private practice, according to state records.
“Through his actions, director Kaufman prioritized the interests of his former client, Newmont Corp., over the health and welfare of the residents of the two towns adjacent to the CC&V mine property, disregarding the duties entrusted in him as a high ranking state employee,” and in violation of the state constitution, which “mandates public employees to carry their duties for the benefit of the people of the state,” Chandra Rosenthal, a Colorado attorney representing the whistleblowers for the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, said in an email to The Colorado Sun.”