As part of a reclamation plan, the American Tunnel was sealed up in 1996. While San Juan County in New Mexico lifted the ban on water from the San Juan River on August 15, 2015, the President of the Navajo Nation, Russell Begaye, who had ongoing concerns about the water's safety, did not lift the Navajo Nation's ban until August 21, 2015. [5] In January 2018, global science and engineering consultants Knight Piésold reported, while the spill had "further limited aquatic life," its "resulting impacts on aquatic life, including the trout fishery downstream of Silverton, would undoubtedly be more adverse" were it not for actions taken by SGC, and that "Before the first miner arrived, there was massive natural metals loading in the Animas River, which limited aquatic life, including trout populations downstream from Silverton. ""[37], The EPA took responsibility for the incident.
The water is yellow because it carries dissolved pyrite, otherwise known as fool's gold or iron sulfide, according to KUNC. [28] President Begaye advised his people with livestock and farming against signing a form from the EPA saying that the Environmental Protection Agency is not responsible for the damage to crops and livestock.
It feels like something out of a sci-fi novel/movie," wrote Durango native, Colorado declares state of emergency on Animas River, Early tests on Animas River show little threat to fish, The river reopened for recreational use Friday afternoon. The reason for the lack of action is the antiquated law, 143 years old and counting, that still governs hardrock mining on public lands throughout the West.
""[36] The Post added: "Griswold's e-mail appears directly to contradict those findings and statements he made to The Denver Post in the days after the disaster, when he claimed "nobody expected (the acid water backed up in the mine) to be that high. [52] During this time, the US EPA had water delivered to the Navajo Nation.
The Gold King Mine is near Silverton, Colorado, a town whose name hints at its mining history. Unknown to the crew, the mine tunnel behind the plug was already full of pressurized water. The Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management issued a state of emergency declaration in response to the spill; it has suffered devastating effects. Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+.
The impact on the Navajo Nation has been reported in various publications: The, "Bibliography, Watershed Contamination from Hard-Rock Mining — Hardrock Mining in Rocky Mountain Terrain — Upper Arkansas River, Colorado ", Black, E. (2018).
This water is now being treated in emergency settling ponds, one of which is seen here. Contaminated water flows from the Gold King Mine in a photograph taken on August 5.
Lauren Pagel: 143-year-old law doesn't require or fund cleanup for 500,000 inactive mines in U.S. She says a bill pending in Congress will fix this; it's urgent that it be passed. The opinions expressed in this commentary are hers. [15] The waste was initially expected to reach Lake Powell by August 12;[6] arriving on August 14, it was expected to pass through the lake within two weeks. It burst through the plug soon after excavation began. The water in these ponds is treated with caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and lime (calcium oxide), which are both very basic in pH.
An EPA worker takes a water reading in the Animas River near Durango, Colorado, on Friday, August 14. The photo showing the "after" was captured on August 7. [20]:2 Operating mines have been required to perform such measurement of water level since a fatal mine flood in 1895. However, they had misjudged the level of the water in the tunnel. "When I first saw it, I was speechless, [the river] didn't look real.". They are largely insoluble unless the entire river becomes very acidic. The truck driver was an employee of the EPA and the truck was carrying nine cubic yards of sludge, all of which spilled into the water. [3] After the spill, the Silverton Board of Trustees and the San Juan County Commission approved a joint resolution seeking Superfund money. The accidental release has triggered an emergency response by the EPA and has highlighted the problems of abandoned mines in Colorado. EPA authorities had learned of this risk through a June 2014 work order that read "Conditions may exist that could result in a blowout of the blockages and cause a release of large volumes of contaminated mine waters and sediment from inside the mine, which contain concentrated heavy metals." [12][16], Gold King Mine was originally discovered and owned by Olaf Nelson the “Mighty Sweden” in 1887. The EPA and the Navajo Nation are still disputing how to fairly compensate the Navajo for the damage caused by the spill.
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