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| Local anger swells at EPA over toxic gold mine spill in Animas River | Local anger swells at EPA over toxic gold mine spill in Animas River |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Townspeople watching millions of gallons of orange-colored mine waste flow through their communities demanded clarity on Tuesday about possible long-term threats to their water supply. | Townspeople watching millions of gallons of orange-colored mine waste flow through their communities demanded clarity on Tuesday about possible long-term threats to their water supply. |
| Colorado and New Mexico made disaster declarations for stretches of the Animas and San Juan rivers and the Navajo Nation declared an emergency as the toxic waste spread downstream toward Lake Powell in Utah. | Colorado and New Mexico made disaster declarations for stretches of the Animas and San Juan rivers and the Navajo Nation declared an emergency as the toxic waste spread downstream toward Lake Powell in Utah. |
| Related: Durango copes with 'orange nastiness' of toxic sludge river pollution | Related: Durango copes with 'orange nastiness' of toxic sludge river pollution |
| EPA workers accidentally unleashed an estimated 3m gallons (11.36m liters) of mine waste, including high concentrations of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals, as they inspected the long-abandoned Gold King mine near Silverton, Colorado, on 5 August. | EPA workers accidentally unleashed an estimated 3m gallons (11.36m liters) of mine waste, including high concentrations of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals, as they inspected the long-abandoned Gold King mine near Silverton, Colorado, on 5 August. |
| EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said on Tuesday in Washington DC that she takes full responsibility for the spill, which she said “pains me to no end”. She said the agency is working around the clock to assess the environmental impact. | EPA administrator Gina McCarthy said on Tuesday in Washington DC that she takes full responsibility for the spill, which she said “pains me to no end”. She said the agency is working around the clock to assess the environmental impact. |
| EPA officials said the shocking orange plume has already dissipated and that the leading edge of the contamination cannot be seen in the downstream stretches of the San Juan River or Lake Powell. | EPA officials said the shocking orange plume has already dissipated and that the leading edge of the contamination cannot be seen in the downstream stretches of the San Juan River or Lake Powell. |
| But that has done little to ease concerns or quell anger. | But that has done little to ease concerns or quell anger. |
| The Navajos, whose nation covers parts of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, shut down water intake systems and stopped diverting water from the San Juan River. Frustrated tribal council members echoed the sentiment of state officials, insisting that the federal government be held accountable. | The Navajos, whose nation covers parts of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, shut down water intake systems and stopped diverting water from the San Juan River. Frustrated tribal council members echoed the sentiment of state officials, insisting that the federal government be held accountable. |
| The attorney generals of Utah, New Mexico and Colorado have been coordinating a response to protect their citizens and ensure “whatever remediation is necessary occurs as quickly as possible”, Utah attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement. | The attorney generals of Utah, New Mexico and Colorado have been coordinating a response to protect their citizens and ensure “whatever remediation is necessary occurs as quickly as possible”, Utah attorney General Sean Reyes said in a statement. |
| Utah governor Gary Herbert expressed disappointment with the EPA’s initial handling of the spill, but said the state has no plans for legal action. New Mexico governor Susana Martinez, however, said she would not take anything off the table and that the EPA should be held to the same standards as industry. | Utah governor Gary Herbert expressed disappointment with the EPA’s initial handling of the spill, but said the state has no plans for legal action. New Mexico governor Susana Martinez, however, said she would not take anything off the table and that the EPA should be held to the same standards as industry. |
| “Right now we have people preparing for a lawsuit if that is what we need to do,” she said in a Tuesday television interview. | “Right now we have people preparing for a lawsuit if that is what we need to do,” she said in a Tuesday television interview. |
| On a conference call late Tuesday, David Ostrander, director of the EPA’s emergency response program said the water quality level is back to “pre-incident levels” around and above Durango. He attributed elevated levels of heavy metals to discharges from mines long before the most recent incident. | |
| “There are many other mines that are discharging acid mine drainage right now, and the post-blowout on this particular mine is flow at about 500-700 gallons per minute,” he said. | |
| Dan Olson of the San Juan Citizens Alliance said that the announcement was positive but insufficient: “That is really good news that we know that the initial plume has passed. However as a community we still have so many questions that have not been answered. Namely, what was the deposition left behind? And what are the potential health ramifications?” | |
| Jen Pelz of conservation group Wildearth Guardians questioned why EPA was reporting on testing results only in Durango. | |
| “I would think they would need to do water-quality measuring throughout the San Juan and the Animas,” Pelz said. “As you get downstream, there have been no releases like 3m gallons rushing downstream. Even the Animas river was developing a recovering fishery.” | |
| Pelz said the habitat will feel the bioaccumulation of mining toxins for years to come. | |
| “Birds eat the fish and it’s eventually going to get to them,” said Pelz. “It may not be next year, but it may be the following year that mallards and water birds might show mortality effects and effects on their eggs. The reality is that there are going to be a lot of long-term health effects that everyone is discounting at the moment from this contamination.” | |
| Jared Blumenfeld, an EPA administrator for the Navajo Nation said that efforts to contact the Navajo residents were ongoing: | |
| “We’ve now contacted about 75% of the Navajo who take their water from private wells along the San Juan River, ” said Blumenfeld | |
| Colorado governor John Hickenlooper spent Tuesday visiting a contaminated stretch of river. | Colorado governor John Hickenlooper spent Tuesday visiting a contaminated stretch of river. |
| The EPA has said the current flows too fast for the contaminants to pose an immediate health threat, and that the heavy metals will likely be diluted over time so that they don’t pose a longer-term threat, either. | The EPA has said the current flows too fast for the contaminants to pose an immediate health threat, and that the heavy metals will likely be diluted over time so that they don’t pose a longer-term threat, either. |
| Still, as a precautionary measure, the agency said stretches of the rivers would be closed for drinking water, recreation and other uses at least through 17 August. | Still, as a precautionary measure, the agency said stretches of the rivers would be closed for drinking water, recreation and other uses at least through 17 August. |
| Dissolved iron is what turned the waste plume an alarming orange-yellow, a color familiar to old-time miners who call it “yellow boy”. | Dissolved iron is what turned the waste plume an alarming orange-yellow, a color familiar to old-time miners who call it “yellow boy”. |
| “The water appears worse aesthetically than it actually is, in terms of health,” said Ron Cohen, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines. | “The water appears worse aesthetically than it actually is, in terms of health,” said Ron Cohen, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines. |
| Tests show some of the metals have settled to the bottom and would dissolve only if conditions became acidic, which Cohen said isn’t likely. He advises leaving the metals where they settle, and counting on next spring’s mountain snowmelt to dilute them more and flush them downstream. | Tests show some of the metals have settled to the bottom and would dissolve only if conditions became acidic, which Cohen said isn’t likely. He advises leaving the metals where they settle, and counting on next spring’s mountain snowmelt to dilute them more and flush them downstream. |
| No die-off of wildlife along the river has been detected. Federal officials say all but one of a test batch of fingerling trout deliberately exposed to the water survived over the weekend. | No die-off of wildlife along the river has been detected. Federal officials say all but one of a test batch of fingerling trout deliberately exposed to the water survived over the weekend. |
| As a precaution, state and federal officials ordered public water systems to turn off intake valves as the plume passes. Boaters and fishing groups have been told to avoid affected stretches of the Animas and San Juan rivers, which are usually crowded with rafters and anglers in a normal summer. | As a precaution, state and federal officials ordered public water systems to turn off intake valves as the plume passes. Boaters and fishing groups have been told to avoid affected stretches of the Animas and San Juan rivers, which are usually crowded with rafters and anglers in a normal summer. |
| Farmers also have been forced to stop irrigating, endangering their crops, and recreational businesses report losing thousands of dollars. | Farmers also have been forced to stop irrigating, endangering their crops, and recreational businesses report losing thousands of dollars. |
| The Associated Press contributed to this report |