Gold King mine spill 'still hurting' New Mexico, 4 years later
Four years ago today, Environmental Protection Agency contractors triggered the release of three million gallons of yellow wastewater from the Gold King Mine in southwest Colorado into the Animas and San Juan rivers.
The spill flowed through New Mexico, Utah and the Navajo Nation, all of which sued the EPA for damages.
“Agricultural uses ground to a halt,” New Mexico’s May 2016 lawsuit states. “Potable water was hauled in by truck for human and livestock consumption. Tens of thousands of local residents, farmers, anglers, and tourists could not access or enjoy the rivers.”
On Aug. 5, 2015, EPA contractors were investigating small leaks at the inactive mine when heavy equipment broke into a collapsed tunnel, sending acidic water laden with 540 tons of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and copper into the river.
Read more: https://www.abqjournal.com/1349543/gold-king-mine-spill-still-hurting-nm-4-years-later.html
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