A plume of mustard-colored muck that spilled from a Colorado mine was inching downstream Friday as frustrated state and local officials awaited word from federal agencies on the kind of pollutants staining the water.
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This toxic water spilled out of an abandoned mine in Southern Colorado on Wednesday, which is what is making the water orange.
These images, courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency, show the mouth of the Gold King Mine tunnel (left), and the channeled runoff on the mine dump (right). According to the Daily Times on August 8, the EPA assistant regional administrator, Martin Hestmark, said that there is probably a “couple hundred” gallons per minute still finding its way into the river.
Officials say an EPA-led cleanup crew accidentally triggered the spill Wednesday. The ponds are meant to address the immediate aftermath of the spill, and cleanup efforts likely will take a long time.
“This is a long-term impact”. We’re trying to figure out what is going on and how to fix it. This is a vexing problem….
The plume reached the northern New Mexico cities of Aztec on Friday night and Farmington on Saturday morning.
Chris Sanchez, spokesman for New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, said state officials were informed of the spill nearly a day after the accident happened.
“There’s not a lot we can do. We can keep people away (from the river) and keep testing”, Cooper said.
La Plata County director of emergency management Butch Knowlton said the sludge would be tested one way or another to protect public health.
Ostrander said the wastewater contained lead, cadmium, arsenic, copper, calcium and aluminium in “varying levels”.
The EPA says tests also were being done there, but no information has been released. The plan, she said, is to continue the increased flow through the weekend and then take stock on Monday to determine whether the release is effective in diluting the contaminants coming down the San Juan.
Because rivers don’t respect borders, the EPA is also working with the New Mexico Environment Department to evaluate effects downstream.
The EPA, through its Superfund program, has been investigating the toxic chemicals in water and soil around abandoned mines near Silverton, Colorado, in the mountains in the southeast part of the state.
“There will be accountability and those are conversations we can have”, Flynn said. “We need EPA. We want them here”.
A giant, million-gallon plume of orange toxic sludge is moving down a creek that flows into the Animas River.
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Meanwhile, New Mexico officials blasted the EPA for not warning them sooner about the contamination headed their way. “But in person, it truly looks like the river was turned into carrot juice”. Over a million gallons of mine wastewater has made it’s way into the Animas River closing the river and put the city of Durango on alert. Authorities expect the contamination to finally settle in Lake Powell, a reservoir on the Colorado River. Each of the five drinking water systems in New Mexico are able to prepare and store drinking water in preparation for shutting down water intakes from the river.
