In the decades after they left, Gold King filled with water that leaked in from the surface and seeped in from groundwater.
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Mr. Hennis said he opposed having the EPA investigate leakage from the inactive mine near Silverton, Colorado, because he had tangled with the agency in previous years over its work at another mine he owns in Leadville, Colorado.
The Colorado accident should force Americans to confront the fact that mining-related disasters could occur elsewhere.
4Corners Riversports owner Andy Corra stood along the banks of the Animas River, nearly two weeks after a toxic mining spill critically contaminated its waters, and announced to more than 100 river enthusiasts: “Durango is back”.
The site, which is known to contain water so acidic it could dissolve fabrics and burn skin, has been a Superfund site since 1983 with cleanup efforts continuing at a price of $5 million per year. The numbers are rough, however.
Unfortunately, the problem of the Gold King Mine isn’t unique. So far the agency has failed to provide that information.
After the bulkheads and before the blow out, the mine was discharging 250 gallons per minute. In other words, stay away from the water. Reopening drinking water system intakes and allowing recreational activities is a state and local decision and we believe they have taken appropriate steps in arriving at this this decision. “The only long-term solution is for the Sunnyside mine to be carefully dewatered, and the water treated”. You may even have heard the feeble “I am sorry” from Environmental Protection Agency director Gina McCarthy. Gold mining involved cutting into solid rock to get the valuable ores out. In the early 20th century, state rules on closing mines or handling toxic tailing ponds were weak. Mine remediation operations throughout the country are being scrutinized to ensure they are being safely performed, she said. Residents remain uncertain as to the dangers posed by this spill, as well as the timeline and recovery plan EPA intends to execute.
Those attitudes started to shift in the 1970s, when the federal government began cracking down on rampant air and water pollution nationwide. But Hennis believes the situation in the Eureka district has been exacerbated by a complicated deal that state regulators struck with the owners of Sunnyside Gold, the last operating mine in the area, which closed in 1991. Congressional investigators are looking into why the EPA didn’t do more to find out how much toxic water was inside Gold King before using heavy machinery to open it. The agency needs to answer that question publicly and tighten its procedures accordingly.
Attorney General Sean Reyes told Utah lawmakers that the federal agency must be held responsible after the waste was accidently unleashed by its workers and flowed through the San Juan River to Lake Powell.
Soleret said the agency told her to put the carcass in her freezer and that someone would be by to collect it in a few days. “Par.79469. File.dat/BLM-AML-Inventory-CA-NV-UT_Nov2014.pdf” target=”_blank”>report.
Contaminants can be taken up by insects living on the bottom, which are then consumed by fish and ultimately by people fishing on the popular waterway.
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“The release of contaminated water from this legacy mine has polluted the Animas River in Colorado and spread through New Mexico, Utah, the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, and the Navajo Nation”, the senators wrote in a letter to EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins.
