The City of Durango was forced to reassure its water utility customers that their tap water is safe for consumption, after an EPA team “unexpectedly triggered a large release of mine waste water into the upper portions of Cement Creek,” according to the agency.
According to the EPA, on Wednesday, August 5, at approximately 10:30 am, an EPA and State Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety team working to investigate and address contamination at the Gold King Mine in San Juan County, Colo. released approximately 1M gallons of water that was held behind unconsolidated debris near an abandoned mine portal.
The EPA reported that the “primary environmental concern is the pulse of contaminated water containing sediment and metals flowing as an orange-colored discharge downstream through Cement Creek and into the Animas River.” The Animas River is part of the Colorado River System.
According to the Durango Herald, “Nancy Agro, an attorney for San Juan Corps, which owns Gold King, placed the blame for the accident on the EPA: “The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, operating under an access agreement obtained from the owner of the Gold King Mine, had begun an investigation regarding the source of contaminated water at the Gold King Mine last year. Upon suspending work last year, the USEPA backfilled the portal to the mine. On August 5th, 2015, while the USEPA was removing the backfill from the portal to the Gold King Mine to continue its investigation this year, the plug blew out releasing contaminated water behind the backfill into the Animas River.”
According to one expert, by the time the water reaches Arizona, the contained metals would be very diluted. By the time it reaches Lake Powell, the metals will probably be undetectable.
So while this EPA error might not affect Arizona waters, Arizona State Representative Bob Thorpe is asking a question: “Which branch of the Federal government is responsible for levying huge fines and prison sentences against the EPA and it’s officials for violating the Clean Water Act, and for endangering the lives of millions of American and Mexican citizens, and for harming threatened and endangered species? This is yet another illustration of why the states, and not the Federal bureaucrats, must have complete and sovereign control over their lands and the activities within their borders.”