New Warnings About Toxic Rivers

They were attempting to open the mine up so they could treat the wastewater inside, but instead released toxic waste and turned the Animas River bright orange. But “normally, people want it to be cleaned, so if that’s the best way of moving through it, generally communities want” Superfund designation, said Katherine Kiel, who teaches at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. “So we’re going to try and figure out some way that we can compensate them and make sure that they haven’t suffered unfairly obviously because of this very serious accident”, he said. The contaminated water that flowed into a tributary of the Animas and San Juan rivers contained high levels of arsenic, lead and other potentially toxic heavy metals.

Salmon said the spill highlights concerns with a proposed EPA regulation known as the Waters of the United States rule, which would give the agency unprecedented regulatory authority over even small bodies of water.

“So we’ve been doing parallel testing with the EPA for the past several days”. So far, there have been no reported cases of anyone’s health being harmed by the spilled heavy metals, she said.

The EPA told Navajo Chief Begaye that the clean-up could take decades.

Hector Balderas says the towns are anxious for the release of sampling results from the Animas and San Juan rivers.

But its telltale yellow-colored water never showed.

On Wednesday, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy planned to tour sites in New Mexico and Colorado affected by the spill.

Today the environmental protection agency promised an investigation into how its own cleanup crew released this sludge from a mine.

D’rese Sutherland of Sutherland Farmers in Cedar Hill, New Mexico, said she received advanced warning from farmer friends in Colorado about the approaching plume.

No longer easily visible, it was nevertheless flowing on into Utah and the Lake Powell reservoir in the direction of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon, leaving behind questions as to its long-term effect.

In remarks ahead of a previously scheduled address before Resources for the Future, a Washington energy and environmental research group, a grim and contrite Ms. McCarthy emphasized that the EPA is “working tirelessly to respond, and we’ve committed a full review of exactly what happened to ensure it can never happen again”.

Communities up and down the Animas and San Juan rivers have been affected by the 3 million gallons of wastewater that spilled into the rivers, but the Navajo Nation in New Mexico appears to have the most at risk.

But environmental regulators in downstream New Mexico warned that it was crucial to determine where the contamination settles.

The river remains closed, but the go-ahead for business and recreational activities to resume could come soon, he said.

Governor Susana Martinez declares a state of emergency due to the 3 million gallon waste spill in the Animas River.

State departments are still figuring out how the plume of contaminants from Colorado’s Gold King Mine will affect Arizona waters.

“We could lose our animals, it could damage our crops, it will destroy the soil”, she said.

He explained that “basic drinking water” is becoming scarce as clean storage water is depleting more rapidly than expected.

But an EPA official said Sunday that she doesn’t believe wildlife will suffer significant health impacts from the wastewater from an abandoned mine in southwestern Colorado.

“It’s not something that we have been too anxious about”, said Joanne Hudson, a spokeswoman for the Flagstaff Convention and Visitors Bureau.