New Mexico lifts ban on well water after spill

Lujan, along with the entire New Mexican Democratic delegation, had criticized EPA for its lackluster response to the incident, and pressed McCarthy to oversee the response efforts in the western states.

The slow pace of reporting test results of elements in the water of the Animas River is also a concern. Meanwhile, the notorious pit grows in infamy: In 1995, an entire flock of migrating snow geese perished after setting down in the water.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry recommends several health practices for those who come in contact with the Animas River water including: not drinking from it unless it is treated, washing hands thoroughly with soap and water, washing clothes after contact and avoiding areas where there is visible discoloration with the sediment and surface water.

The explosive letter by Taylor sparked a wide array of speculation online and in the alternative media, with more than a few outlets arguing that the EPA may have dumped the sludge on goal. The senator, along with Colorado officials, are considering legislation to address the pollution left behind by mining practices.

In Durango, the river is closed for business until further notice.

A trio of kayakers spotted on the polluted water drew worldwide attention to the spill, which flowed downstream from southwestern Colorado to New Mexico and Utah. But Colorado’s attorney general, Cynthia Coffman, acknowledged it could be years before the full impact is known.

Governor Martinez also said she’s considering potential legal action against the EPA on behalf of the state and individual residents who were impacted by this spill.

The EPA called the “Form 95” waivers “standard” in a posting about the Gold King Mine spill.

Some 500,000 abandoned mines, most un-reclaimed, now dot the nation’s landscape.

EPA has been looking for years at designating the mines as Superfund sites, McCarthy said.

EPA and contract workers accidentally unleashed 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater on August 5 as they inspected the idled Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.

On the Navajo Nation, some 30,000 acres of crops are in danger without irrigation. Besides appearing in ads paid for by the fossil fuel industry and denying the existence of climate change, his attempts to help overturn local drilling regulations and support of hydraulic fracturing peaked with his 2013 proclamation that fracking fluid is not only safe to be around but is literally harmless enough for human consumption (which he claimed to have done himself).

McCarthy said she had ordered agency personnel across the country to cease field investigation work on abandoned mines while the spill was investigated.

Current Colorado law requires a mining company to post a bond to cover the eventual cost of cleanup before a permit is issued to start operations, said Tony Waldron of the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety.

The agency installed a concrete bulkhead at the Red & Bonita Mine, located upstream of the Gold King Mine, due to the threat the mine posed to human health and the environment, according to federal records. A dam holding millions of gallons of waste with the acidity of beer burst open last Wednesday during an attempted remediation by employees and contractors, part of a larger project to stop toxic leakage from the nearby Red and Bonita mines.

“We didn’t have a big fish kill in the river”, said Jim White, an aquatic biologist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

“One answer is to treat everything”, she said. It needs to be implemented to better protect millions of miles of streams - including those that feed into drinking-water supplies for one out of every three Americans - and to safeguard tens of millions of acres of wetlands.

The (Farmington) Daily Times reported that state Environmental Department Secretary Ryan Flynn told residents there Wednesday night that the move was irresponsible and sent a bad message.