EPA confirms Colorado mine spill contains heavy metals

La Plata County health officials warned rafters and others to avoid the water, which was the backdrop for parts of the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and is popular with boaters.

According to a spokesman for Governor Martinez, Chris Sanchez, the spilled occurred Wednesday morning, but the state of New Mexico was not notified until the following day.

This is not one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s prouder moments. The EPA will treat the mine water diverted to the ponds with caustic soda and flocculent.

KRQE News 13 spoke with Durango residents who were some of the first to notice the waste contaminated waters.

“We’re going to have longer term ramifications as we have spring runoff, for example”, said McGrath.

Although the water now contains a high volume of iron and zinc, officials said it should not affect residents’ drinking water but could kill many fish and other animals that live off the river now that the water has become 100 times more acidic.

“It’s such a shame, it’s such a handsome river”, said Jeff McCoy, who was watching from the riverbank in Durango, where he was on a fishing trip with his son.

Martin Hestmark, assistant regional administrator for EPA Region 8, said in an interview that probably a “couple hundred” gallons a minute are still seeping into the Animas River.

“Initial estimates are that the release contained approximately 1 million gallons of water that was held behind unconsolidated debris near an abandoned mine portal”. It had been shut down for about a decade.

The United States Bureau of Reclamation has increased water released from the Navajo Dam, which sits above the confluence on the San Juan, Baker said.

Peter Butler is with the Animas River Stakeholder group, which has worked with the EPA on the mine cleanup.

EPA officials also admitted that the impacts of the spill could stretch years into the future.

The EPA also said it will assess the damage near the mine and any residual releases of mine water. The river is an important secondary source of water for the city.

Pet owners have been told to keep their dogs and livestock out of the Animas River until testing is done. Further, federal officials say, the Animas River historically has been impaired for several miles downstream of Silverton. “Needless to say, the health of our community and recreation-based economy depends heavily on water quality”.