EPA administrator, three state attorneys general to assess Animas spill

What started as a three-million-gallon orange-hued plume last Wednesday in the swift-moving Animas River dissolved from view as it made its way down the slower San Juan River in New Mexico.

From his backyard in Durango, Tom Bartles can see the Animas River, which was stained an unnatural orange.

The water flowed down the mountain pooling in one of several man-made ponds a few thousand feet below the mine’s mouth where contractors treated it with lime, coagulants and caustic soda.

It will give officials some idea of how bad the environmental crisis is.

“The indications are that the threat to the human health is returning back to pre-event levels, if not already there now”, he continued. “As far as the dirty water, people are being cautious but no one is in panic mode”.

“We have yet to be presented with a comprehensive plan from the agency to provide water to those whose wells have been affected, farmers whose crops are not being irrigated, ranchers whose livestock are without water, and people for drinking, cooking, and showering”, the letter stated.

Jerry McBride/AP The Animas River in Colorado is flooded with toxic chemicals caused by EPA workers investgating an abandoned mine. The EPA is also tracking the release aerially and on the ground, and the agency reported that there is no visible leading edge of contamination in Lake Powell or the downstream portions of the San Juan River.

“This is a huge issue”, Begaye said. “This river, the San Juan, is our lifeline, not only in a spiritual sense but also it’s an economic base that sustains the people that live along the river”. “I’m just not comfortable”, McGrath told the governor.

Martinez declared a state of emergency on Monday, August 10, and directed a multiagency team to continue providing on-the-ground support for an indefinite period of time. The Navajo Nation feels even more slighted given its status as a federally recognized tribe and sovereign nation.

“If the EPA is the body that caused this, you’d think they’d be trying to protect their butt”, Miles said.

Earlier Tuesday, McCarthy had taken the blame for the spill that is quickly escalating into a major multi-state incident.

“But we’re working tirelessly to respond, and we’ve committed to a full review of exactly what happened to ensure it can never happen again”, she said. The agency is testing water at the request of the Environmental Protection Agency.

On Tuesday, Gov. John Hickenlooper met with Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials to look at fish cages in which young trout were put in before the sludge came through.

“We are not going to take risks, we know there is responsibility here”, McCarthy said. “As heavy metals sink they become a part of the river and have a longer term impact”. This is on top of the $500,000 in state emergency funds that NMED received on Friday.

As a precaution, state and federal officials along the river system have ordered public water systems to turn off intake valves as the plume passes. For cities and farms, the ban is forcing them to use other sources or pull from reserves.

Ryan Parker, a water research specialist, takes samples Tuesday from the San Juan River in Montezuma Creek, Utah, to check fo…

The 3 million gallons of mine waste included high concentrations of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.

“But what is ‘the safe level of carcinogens in the background, ‘ quote-unquote?” he said.

The spill began last Wednesday, when an EPA cleanup team used heavy equipment to breach a dam at an abandoned mine in Colorado.