States, tribe declare disaster areas as mine waste heads to Lake Powell
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Farmers, towns and tribes slammed water-intake gates shut as a sludge-laden plume from a Colorado mine spill rolled down principal rivers in the desert Southwest on Monday, prompting local officials and families to demand answers about possible long-term threats from heavy metals borne along by the spill.
Colorado and New Mexico declared stretches of the Animas and San Juan rivers to be disaster areas as the orange-colored waste stream estimated to be 100 miles long churned downstream toward Lake Powell in Utah after the spill Wednesday at the abandoned Gold King mine.
The Navajo Nation, which covers parts of New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, also declared 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.
The 3 million gallons of mine waste included high concentrations of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals. Workers with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency accidentally unleashed the spill as federal and contract workers inspected the abandoned mine site near Silverton, Colorado.
The EPA has said the contaminants were rolling too fast to be an immediate health threat. Experts and federal environmental officials say they expect the river system to dilute the heavy metals before they pose a longer-term threat.
The EPA said stretches of the rivers would be closed for drinking water, recreation and other uses at least through Aug. 17.
Tests show some of the metals have settled to the bottom and would dissolve only if conditions became acidic, which isn’t likely, said Ron Cohen, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines.
The best course for the EPA would be to leave the metals where they settle, he said, noting that next spring’s mountain snowmelt would help dilute the contaminants further and flush them downstream.
No die-off of wildlife along the river has yet been detected.
As a precaution, state and federal officials along the river system have 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 crowded with rafters and anglers in a normal summer.
Congress members, state officials and residents contend the EPA is not providing quick answers about long-term impacts from the spill.
“There are more people who want to know, ‘OK, what’s going to happen now? Are you going to fix this?’ ’ said Michele Truby-Tillen, a spokeswoman for the San Juan County Office of Emergency Management in New Mexico.
Navajo Council members and New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn said the EPA needs to compensate those who have been affected. The state also has demanded that the federal government develop a plan for helping farmers who have been left without irrigation water.