Experts warn of toxic risks from Colorado mine

It will take many years and many millions of dollars simply to manage and not even remove the toxic wastewater from an abandoned mine that unleashed a 100-mile-long torrent of heavy metals into Western rivers and has likely reached Lake Powell, experts said.

EPA administrator Gina McCarthy moved to mend fences Thursday with Navajo Nation as the agency denied accusations that it tried to force Indians to waive their rights to future claims stemming from the Gold King Mine blowout.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, pressed to reopen the river to recreational use during a usually busy tourism period on the river, saying that water quality has significantly improved since the river was turned a frightening mustard color from the mine waste. The abandoned mines could cost as much as $50 billion to clean up, according the Environmental Protection Agency, which has admitted to inadvertently causing the Animas spill.

“It is truly disappointing that Senator Heinrich lacks the courage to hold the EPA accountable and is instead exploiting this catastrophe to double-down on leftwing policies that will kill jobs and do nothing to protect our environment, while growing the very out-of-control federal agency that created this mess in the first place”, said Pat Garrett, the party’s spokesman”.

Earthworks, a national environmental group that focuses on mining pollution, estimates that there are over 500,000 abandoned and inactive hardrock mines strewn across the country. The agency announced Wednesday that the ponds were effectively reducing acidity and dissolved metals, so while the runoff has returned to the pre-spill volume of about 213 gallons per minute, it is now cleaner than it was before the spill. But some headgates couldn’t keep all of the heavy-metal sediment out of ditches.

Flows from the closed mines had increased in recent years, and the EPA noted in an April report that higher levels of some metals coincided with the plugging of another mine in the area. “We want to make sure that all that data is quality controlled, that we put it in a context that people can understand”.

“No agency could be more upset about the incident happening or more dedicated about doing our job and getting this right”, McCarthy said. Authorities could not immediately confirm the presence of heavy metals and other contaminants close to the lake and said tests on Utah river water suggest the spill has dissipated enough that the water is safe to drink and officials aren’t expecting to see fish dying off at the lake.

The Animas Consolidated Ditch Co., in the Hermosa Valley, flushed its ditch Thursday, and it decided to give its 300 shareholders the option to irrigate with Animas River water, said Ed Zink, a board member. The U.S. Geological Survey then reported the size of the spill to be more than 3 million gallons.

While active mines are regulated under existing law, inactive mines like Gold King are not, and viable parties are rarely available to conduct cleanup or provide the necessary resources. We spoke with Tom Bridge, the owner of Durango Nursery, who says he used to draw drinking water from Animas River.

The EPA has claimed responsibility for the disaster and is working to address the crisis, but the organization is continuing to receive backlash. The Navajo Nation is attempting to negotiate modified terms of compensation with the EPA.

The state and county are conducting independent testing along the river to determine contamination levels in the water and soil. The toxic plume affected communities in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

He said the long-term impact is less certain. By Tuesday, the water looked clear.

“We’re monitoring the situation closely”, the governor said.