Mine Spill Turns River in Colorado Orange
August 15, 2015 10:51 AM Subscribe
On August 5th, EPA workers and contractors from Environmental Restoration accidentally released 3 million gallons of mine wastewater -- including massive amounts of arsenic, cadmium, and lead -- into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River and part of the Colorado River Basin. The visible toxic plume took nearly a week to dissipate, and the EPA says that the river nearest the spill "has returned to pre-event water quality levels."
The owner of the Gold King Mine, the source of the spill, insists that it wasn't his fault, not only pointing out that the mine is mostly inactive as he looks for a buyer, but also that much of the wastewater was from other active mines in the area. Local Native communities are worried over the loss of irrigation and drinking water and plan to sue the federal government. The Governors of Colorado and New Mexico have declared the affected areas to be disasters, though Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper drank from the Animas to prove it was safe (after dropping an iodine table into the bottle first). Officials were quick to point out that the river wasn't safe to drink from before the accident to warn off any copycat point-making. (Hickenlooper famously claimed to have drunk a glass of fracking fluid a few years ago to prove its safety as well.)
Of course, the political toxicity levels may never return to normal, with people lining up to jab at the EPA. Fingers are also pointing in all directions over whether the mine should have been declared a Superfund site 25 years ago.
The owner of the Gold King Mine, the source of the spill, insists that it wasn't his fault, not only pointing out that the mine is mostly inactive as he looks for a buyer, but also that much of the wastewater was from other active mines in the area. Local Native communities are worried over the loss of irrigation and drinking water and plan to sue the federal government. The Governors of Colorado and New Mexico have declared the affected areas to be disasters, though Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper drank from the Animas to prove it was safe (after dropping an iodine table into the bottle first). Officials were quick to point out that the river wasn't safe to drink from before the accident to warn off any copycat point-making. (Hickenlooper famously claimed to have drunk a glass of fracking fluid a few years ago to prove its safety as well.)
Of course, the political toxicity levels may never return to normal, with people lining up to jab at the EPA. Fingers are also pointing in all directions over whether the mine should have been declared a Superfund site 25 years ago.
The conservatives on my facebook feed are making hay about the whole "The EPA turned a river orange" aspect of this.
As if the original fault doesn't lie with the irresponsible corporations that abandoned these mines and left the mess for the EPA to clean up in the first place.
posted by sparklemotion at 11:21 AM on August 15, 2015 [24 favorites]
As if the original fault doesn't lie with the irresponsible corporations that abandoned these mines and left the mess for the EPA to clean up in the first place.
posted by sparklemotion at 11:21 AM on August 15, 2015 [24 favorites]
I am cynical enough to wonder if the EPA worker(s) were paid to "accidentally" make the wastewater go away.
posted by Soliloquy at 11:29 AM on August 15, 2015
posted by Soliloquy at 11:29 AM on August 15, 2015
Yeah, there wouldn't have been an accident waiting to happen had the mining companies properly disposed of their waste in the first place. I have yet to see a news report in any mainstream media outlet that makes that connection.
It's like someone running a fresh red light and blaming someone else making a left turn legally clearing the intersection after the ensuing crash.
posted by wierdo at 11:39 AM on August 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
It's like someone running a fresh red light and blaming someone else making a left turn legally clearing the intersection after the ensuing crash.
posted by wierdo at 11:39 AM on August 15, 2015 [4 favorites]
Anyone have a link to the old letter to the editor that precisely predicted this event? The water was bound to breech somewhere at some time. Sealing the mines was never a viable solution.
posted by five fresh fish at 11:45 AM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by five fresh fish at 11:45 AM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper drank from the Animas to prove it was safe (after dropping an iodine table into the bottle first). [...] (Hickenlooper famously claimed to have drunk a glass of fracking fluid a few years ago to prove its safety as well.)
Hickenlooper seems to just really want to drink water people tell him he shouldn't drink.
He also declared a state of emergency and released $500K of state funds for the cleanup, which is enough to cover the solution to the pollution to be dilution (in Lake Powell). I don't know if that's totally relevant, as the EPA should be the one paying for their mistake.
posted by memento maury at 11:54 AM on August 15, 2015
Hickenlooper seems to just really want to drink water people tell him he shouldn't drink.
He also declared a state of emergency and released $500K of state funds for the cleanup, which is enough to cover the solution to the pollution to be dilution (in Lake Powell). I don't know if that's totally relevant, as the EPA should be the one paying for their mistake.
posted by memento maury at 11:54 AM on August 15, 2015
To the conspiracy theorists who were all worked up about the letter to the editor:
Long predating that letter, the EPA had said that they knew a breach was a potential consequence, and sealing the mine was their only option absent massive funding. The mining corp was long gone, and the owner could not afford the cleanup effort.
They openly admitted that it was an "experiment" that they were watching closely.
Arguably not closely enough, but it is what it is. It seems like it really was the least bad option, out of a list of 1.
The letter to the editor made a good guess as to the consequences, but that doesn't validate the rest. If he can come up with actual proof, that would be another thing. I think that would be difficult, because the EPA doesn't appear to want to go the Super fund route as he indicated they would.
posted by habeebtc at 12:44 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Long predating that letter, the EPA had said that they knew a breach was a potential consequence, and sealing the mine was their only option absent massive funding. The mining corp was long gone, and the owner could not afford the cleanup effort.
They openly admitted that it was an "experiment" that they were watching closely.
Arguably not closely enough, but it is what it is. It seems like it really was the least bad option, out of a list of 1.
The letter to the editor made a good guess as to the consequences, but that doesn't validate the rest. If he can come up with actual proof, that would be another thing. I think that would be difficult, because the EPA doesn't appear to want to go the Super fund route as he indicated they would.
posted by habeebtc at 12:44 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think that would be difficult, because the EPA doesn't appear to want to go the Super fund route as he indicated they would.
The EPA has been trying to put that site on the Superfund list since the '90s (see last link in FPP). State and local officials pushed back because they didn't want to drive away tourists and mining companies.
posted by Etrigan at 12:52 PM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
The EPA has been trying to put that site on the Superfund list since the '90s (see last link in FPP). State and local officials pushed back because they didn't want to drive away tourists and mining companies.
posted by Etrigan at 12:52 PM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
I live in Colorado and my family has visited this part of Colorado since I was a kid. I've been to Durango and Silverton many times and I love the Animas river. The San Juan mountains are breathtaking, and I always enjoy seeing their splendor.
They're also covered in old mines. Just drive out of Silverton a few minutes on the backroads, and you'll see them all over the place. The issue here is mostly groundwater leaking into the mines, picking up harmful minerals, and then leaking back out. The tailings are also nasty and can contaminate groundwater runoff. Locals talk about them as a quaint part of the area's history, but they're all just environmental messes that are really difficult to cleanup. We're talking about more than just removing some old waste - all the mines need to be sealed to prevent groundwater leakage.
I sort of understand the local hesitancy of going the superfund route because it would essentially turn the San Juans into a giant environmental cleanup area. Tourists would see EPA teams dotting the mountains, which probably isn't good for business. On the other hand, the superfund cleanup site in nearby Summitville is actually a pretty cool place to visit. You can see both a ghost town and a lesson in responsible gold mining in the same visit.
posted by fremen at 1:01 PM on August 15, 2015 [9 favorites]
They're also covered in old mines. Just drive out of Silverton a few minutes on the backroads, and you'll see them all over the place. The issue here is mostly groundwater leaking into the mines, picking up harmful minerals, and then leaking back out. The tailings are also nasty and can contaminate groundwater runoff. Locals talk about them as a quaint part of the area's history, but they're all just environmental messes that are really difficult to cleanup. We're talking about more than just removing some old waste - all the mines need to be sealed to prevent groundwater leakage.
I sort of understand the local hesitancy of going the superfund route because it would essentially turn the San Juans into a giant environmental cleanup area. Tourists would see EPA teams dotting the mountains, which probably isn't good for business. On the other hand, the superfund cleanup site in nearby Summitville is actually a pretty cool place to visit. You can see both a ghost town and a lesson in responsible gold mining in the same visit.
posted by fremen at 1:01 PM on August 15, 2015 [9 favorites]
Navajo Nation 'Weeping' as Toxic Mining Spill Flows Through Reservation
posted by homunculus at 1:42 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by homunculus at 1:42 PM on August 15, 2015
Anyone have a link to the old letter to the editor that precisely predicted this event? The water was bound to breech somewhere at some time. Sealing the mines was never a viable solution.
I believe this is it.
posted by homunculus at 1:43 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
I believe this is it.
posted by homunculus at 1:43 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
That is my home territory even though I am not there now, and it makes me feel sad and sick to see the Animas that color.
posted by colfax at 2:17 PM on August 15, 2015
posted by colfax at 2:17 PM on August 15, 2015
...the river nearest the spill "has returned to pre-event water quality levels."
i'm betting this is a different measure than <specific chemical name/> ppb levels.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:20 PM on August 15, 2015
i'm betting this is a different measure than <specific chemical name/> ppb levels.
posted by j_curiouser at 3:20 PM on August 15, 2015
I sort of understand the local hesitancy of going the superfund route because it would essentially turn the San Juans into a giant environmental cleanup area.
Leadville was a Super Fund site, and it's doing alright.
Central City is STILL a Super Fund site, and it's doing alright.
Rocky Flats is still a Thing, and is between Boulder and Denver.
The, "Super Fund status creates an undesirable atmosphere for commerce" needs to die. It's not true. And there are a lot of Super Fund sites in Colorado.
All it does is forces us to talk about the elephant in the room and this elephant is public safety.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
The other issue is that modern mining is no less environmentally catastrophic and is done on a much, much larger scale. Money is just put aside for the cleanup beforehand. But, water treatment also has to be done, and done basically forever afterwards. It's a, "nobody wins" scenario. Someone makes money off the ore, we all enjoy what's mined, and future generations are stuck with a huge mess. Currently, we are the "future generations" for mines dug up in the 1800's.
Haha us.
posted by alex_skazat at 3:50 PM on August 15, 2015 [15 favorites]
Leadville was a Super Fund site, and it's doing alright.
Central City is STILL a Super Fund site, and it's doing alright.
Rocky Flats is still a Thing, and is between Boulder and Denver.
The, "Super Fund status creates an undesirable atmosphere for commerce" needs to die. It's not true. And there are a lot of Super Fund sites in Colorado.
All it does is forces us to talk about the elephant in the room and this elephant is public safety.
The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
The other issue is that modern mining is no less environmentally catastrophic and is done on a much, much larger scale. Money is just put aside for the cleanup beforehand. But, water treatment also has to be done, and done basically forever afterwards. It's a, "nobody wins" scenario. Someone makes money off the ore, we all enjoy what's mined, and future generations are stuck with a huge mess. Currently, we are the "future generations" for mines dug up in the 1800's.
Haha us.
posted by alex_skazat at 3:50 PM on August 15, 2015 [15 favorites]
It would be something if all industrial pollution was so photogenic.
posted by peeedro at 4:06 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by peeedro at 4:06 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's a good point. Pollution from these mines is happening 24/7, 365 days a year. It's just not always turning rivers orange.
posted by alex_skazat at 4:08 PM on August 15, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by alex_skazat at 4:08 PM on August 15, 2015 [6 favorites]
National challenge of leaking mines dwarfs Colorado spill
posted by homunculus at 4:17 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by homunculus at 4:17 PM on August 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
From the "visible toxic plume" link:
An aerial photograph taken on August 7 shows two quickly-constructed settling ponds at the site of the Gold King Mine water release. By August 10, the EPA had constructed an additional two ponds on-site and reported that the water flowing to Cement Creek from the mine was actually less acidic and cleaner than the water in the creek before the disaster — hinting at the slow environmental destruction caused by abandoned mines in the area.
It's pretty common to have streams be so impaired that even very basic treatment or remediation will create improvements like this. My local sewage treatment plant's effluent is far cleaner than the stream that it enters, for example. This accident was both dumb and dramatic, and hopefully it leads to adequate funding for better reclamation work in that area, but the real issue should be how impacted the streams there already are and how complex improvements will be.
Earthen dams are a very old technology (probably one of the very oldest, actually, since creating water holes is a great hunting technique) but they are surprisingly hard to make stable and fully sealed. I've seen temporary earthen cofferdams fail several times, though luckily always with plenty of warning and no consequences.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:25 PM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
An aerial photograph taken on August 7 shows two quickly-constructed settling ponds at the site of the Gold King Mine water release. By August 10, the EPA had constructed an additional two ponds on-site and reported that the water flowing to Cement Creek from the mine was actually less acidic and cleaner than the water in the creek before the disaster — hinting at the slow environmental destruction caused by abandoned mines in the area.
It's pretty common to have streams be so impaired that even very basic treatment or remediation will create improvements like this. My local sewage treatment plant's effluent is far cleaner than the stream that it enters, for example. This accident was both dumb and dramatic, and hopefully it leads to adequate funding for better reclamation work in that area, but the real issue should be how impacted the streams there already are and how complex improvements will be.
Earthen dams are a very old technology (probably one of the very oldest, actually, since creating water holes is a great hunting technique) but they are surprisingly hard to make stable and fully sealed. I've seen temporary earthen cofferdams fail several times, though luckily always with plenty of warning and no consequences.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:25 PM on August 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
What will it take to get Superfund status in Silverton?
posted by fremen at 9:00 AM on August 16, 2015
posted by fremen at 9:00 AM on August 16, 2015
shame on the EPA for putting that pollution in that mine
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:14 PM on August 16, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:14 PM on August 16, 2015 [6 favorites]
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Except for the complete absence of aquatic life?
posted by Thorzdad at 11:11 AM on August 15, 2015 [3 favorites]