Colorado Mine Spill Leaves Rivers and Wells Yellow

[Warhippy]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/colorado-mine-spill-spews-metallic-discharge-into-waterways-1.3186359

Colorado mine spill spews metallic discharge into waterways

'It's absolutely devastating,' New Mexico governor says after touring affected areas

Thomson Reuters Posted: Aug 10, 2015 8:09 PM ET Last Updated: Aug 10, 2015 8:09 PM ET

The wastewater discharge affecting U.S. waterways contains high concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via Associated Press)

disaster emergency after more than 11.3 million litres of potentially toxic wastewater from a defunct Colorado gold mine was accidentally released into local streams.

On Monday, New Mexico also announced stretches of the Animas and San Juan rivers to be disaster areas as the orange-coloured waste stream estimated to be 160 kilometres long churned downstream toward Lake Powell in Utah after the spill began Wednesday at the abandoned Gold King mine.

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who toured the region over the weekend, said she was heartbroken and called the spill a catastrophe.

"It's absolutely devastating," she said.

The Navajo Nation, which covers parts of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, also claimed the spill to be an emergency as it shut down water intake systems and stopped diverting water from the San Juan River.

Members of the tribal council were frustrated during a special meeting Monday and echoed the sentiment of New Mexico officials that the federal government needs to be held accountable.

Local residents have reported discolouration in water drawn from wells in the vicinity of the spill and have been advised to avoid drinking or bathing in it. (Reuters)

Hickenlooper said the order would free up some $500,000 US from a state fund for response efforts to the spill, which was inadvertently triggered last week by a team of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) workers.

The discharge, containing high concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead, was continuing to flow at the rate of 1,900 litres per minute as of Sunday.

An unspecified number of residents living downstream of the spill — who draw their drinking supplies from their private wells — have reported water discolouration, but there has been no immediate evidence of harm to human health, livestock or wildlife, according to EPA officials.

Residents have been advised to avoid drinking or bathing in water drawn from wells in the vicinity, and the government was arranging to supply clean water to homes and businesses in need.

"We will work closely with the EPA to continue to measure water quality as it returns to normal, but also to work together to assess other mines throughout the state to make sure this doesn't happen again," Hickenlooper said in a written statement released by his office.

An EPA inspection team was called to the abandoned Colorado mine last Wednesday to examine and clean up previously existing wastewater seepage. (Reuters)

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was testing downstream water quality and wildlife officials are assessing the impacts on fish and other aquatic animals, the governor said.

Last Wednesday, an EPA inspection team was called to the abandoned mine near the town of Silverton, Colo., to examine and clean up previously existing wastewater seepage. Workers instead accidentally released the mine waste into Cement Creek, a waterway that flows into the Animas River.

By Friday, the main plume of the spill had travelled 120 kilometres south to the New Mexico border, prompting local towns to shut off their water intakes from the Animas River, one of the main waterways affected, local authorities said.

Agency officials said they were consulting with representatives of the Navajo Nation.

In recent days, the EPA has been diverting the ongoing release into two newly built settling ponds where the waste was being treated with chemicals to lower its acidity and to filter out dissolved solids before being discharged to Cement Creek.

The creek's water quality has already been badly degraded from a long history of acid mine drainage in the area, agency officials said.

The EPA has been diverting the yellow metallic wastewater into two newly built settling ponds where the discharge was being treated since the spill. (Reuters)

With files from The Associated Press

© Thomson Reuters, 2015

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This is the history of corporate welfare.

Socializing profits by leaving the taxpayer on the hook. Here in Canada we allow these companies to simply set up a subsidiary transfer assets and claim bankruptcy leaving us on the hook for billions. It recently happened in the NWT leaving the total cost clean up at over $4 billion.

Honestly, this is rather sickening and more than a shade reprehensible to know the corp involved will not pay a dime.

[Wilbur]

I like how the EPA is getting all the blame for making a mistake, while whoever left the mine in that state gets zippo.

[Gurn]

"The creek's water quality has already been badly degraded from a long history of acid mine drainage in the area, agency officials said."

This part could be the epa trying to "mitigate" the screw up by their agent in releasing this goop.

That said track down the previous owner of this, and many other places like this, and make them pay to clean up the mine site.

[Violator]

"The creek's water quality has already been badly degraded from a long history of acid mine drainage in the area, agency officials said."

This part could be the epa trying to "mitigate" the screw up by their agent in releasing this goop.

That said track down the previous owner of this, and many other places like this, and make them pay to clean up the mine site.

wouldn't happen most of those mines declare bankruptcy in order to avoid clean up costs look at Britannia beach mine site

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britannia_Beach#Britannia_Creek_pollution

[Nuxfanabroad]

Great, they can promote boat tours with that Coldplay hit...

What hardcore-industrialists/capitalists(& their apologists) have done to this planet makes NTHE a virtual certainty.

Thanks a bunch.

[Ghostsof1915]

The real terrorists are the scumbags that leave toxic messes like this behind, after they make their fortunes.

[Offensive Threat]

I like how the EPA is getting all the blame for making a mistake, while whoever left the mine in that state gets zippo.

The EPA is getting the blame for spilling the contaminated water because the EPA spilled the contaminated water. The story is about the "mistake".

[nucklehead]

^which wouldn't have happened if the mine owners where obligated to clean it up. EPA clean up = one more taxpayer fleecing

[Jägermeister]

[BabychStache]

Leaving behind liquid wastes like this always seems to cause these issues. All byproducts should be at the very least solidified to reduce the risk of contamination.

[BI3KSA-]

Hopefully we get a least 1-2 spidermen/superheroes out of this disaster.







In all seriousness this is tragic. The damage to wildlife is going to massive, most likely.

[Baer.]

Just humans destroying the planet. Nothing to see here, folks.

Because mixing something from the earth with something else from the earth will destroy the planet...