EPA screws up again.. Animas river in Colorado is fouled by heavy metal spill

Denver Post

Yeah the EPA is so completely useless, first billions of gallons of fracking waste is ALLOWED to be dumped into a northern CA aquifer and now this "mistake". Our government is so corrupt and disgusting, I swear it makes me sick.

I have to head to work, but I'll check back when I get home, I just wanted to get this out since it doesn't seem to be big in the news atm. I wonder why? /gag

Lil

Aw this sucks.

Cadmium Yellow?

# 489

a reply to: Lilroanie

Congratulations Ms. McCarthy, you found the pollutants!

Shouldn't she get a medal or something?

I got these From Farmington museum facebook page

Kob news flash high levels of arsenic . More at 5:00

www.kob.com...

EPA: Contaminated river water tests positive for lead, arsenic

Wow

One of my relatives. Just received a automated phone call from San Juan county Emergency notification service.

They are long time residents 1st such call ever.

Saying dont get in river

If you have a well along the animas DO NOT DRINK OR USE until you get it tested . stated where it could get tested .

also locations to get clean water. Its sounding worse by the hr.

A EPA gift that keeps on giving .

Yeah we got a phone call and pics here too from a relative who lives on the river. I wonder how long it will be sterile and how many deer, elk, birds, bears, etc drink and die. Not like you can just tell the wildlife "Hey don't drink there cause we ruined it cause we are dumb a**es!"



People kayak in the Animas River near Durango on Thursday in water colored from a mine waste spill. (Jerry McBride, The Durango Herald)

If these folks got in the river on purpose after the spill they need to be handed signs lol... you know the kind on hair dryers that say "don't use in the bathtub or you may die" kinda signs.

I noticed this morning they didn't mention mercury and lead, now they say arsenic though so at least they are mentioning some of the worst stuff. I'd be surprised if they aren't found as well, don't mining chemicals tend to include lead and mercury too?

A million gallons, just poof, spoiled the river, it's so sad

Lil

Omg what a mess,The epa should be shutdown and replaced with an entity that cannot be bought,all they are is another "for profit" agency

a reply to: Lilroanie

Just saw that picture on Facebook with a comparison of how it used to be, honestly I'm appalled and ashamed at how things are going these days. I also feel like this will probably just be the start of things.

a reply to: Lilroanie

What I find so Ironic is its a EPA goof that caused the worst ecological disaster on the Animas river in 50 years that I know of .

I use to fish the Animas river from Aztec to Silverton great fishing , It really saddens me to see it. At least a lot of deer elk bear are usually in higher altitudes this time of year . But I still bet it will play hell on the wild life.

This is the same EPA telling everybody to beware of CO2?

a reply to: xuenchen

Yea the ones that say do as I SAY not do as I do.

The EPA is a oxymoron

I'm familiar with the Rio de Las Animas.

Great Uncle James Gray settled on the Purgatoire River at the mouth of the Rito San Lorenzo (Gray Creek) before Colorado became a state. Gray's Landing is there on the Purgatoire and the Gray Ranch was nearby. Mom's side of the family is from Trinidad Colorado, haven't been there in ages, probably all built up by now.

Great Uncle Jimmy is probably rolling ins his grave, where ever that is (maybe on the old ranch site).

When the orange sludge water flowed past a bridge north of Durango the ph of the water dropped from 7.8 to 5.8 . The river water is a buffered solution I believe salts from run off. To change ph in a buffered solution mean highly acidic. You change your home aquarium that much you just KILLED your aquatic community .

www.cortezjournal.com...

I wasnt aware that mine was a superfund site .

www.theguardian.com...

This is fubar !

originally posted by: Lostinthedarkness
a reply to: Lilroanie

What I find so Ironic is its a EPA goof that caused the worst ecological disaster on the Animas river in 50 years that I know of

This may be the largest ecological disaster...in terms of square miles, at least....in the US....not just the Animas River...or Colorado.

What if this was a private company...and not the EPA....where is the outrage????

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

I agree . The river flows threw wild areas farms orchards a hatchery great fishing . Alot of the area tourism is river dependent. Besides a ecological disaster it could be a economic disaster as well.




It hurts to see this.

Sorry I started another thread I even did a search first.

This is going to have so many far reaching effects, it's pretty damn grim. I can't imagine what it's like living there on the banks of that river now. Surely this will kill all the fish in the river and that's just for starters. It's devastating.

What the hell does this have to do with the EPA? Mining companies do this crap every year, without the EPA they'd probably do it daily.

originally posted by: CB328
What the hell does this have to do with the EPA?

ummm, the EPA is the responsible party for this toxic dumping:

The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed it triggered the spill while using heavy machinery to investigate pollutants at the Gold King Mine, north of Silverton.

www.denverpost.com...

Had anyone else been responsible, it would have been breaking news and on all the 24/7 news channels.

ETA
Sadly, looks like the Grand Canyon may get contaminated as well....

And, another potential "accident waiting to happen":

And today – as the contaminated pulse of mine waste flows downstream – Energy Fuels is beginning operations at the Canyon uranium mine. Despite being only six miles from the Grand Canyon’s south rim, the Canyon Mine lacks a rigorous well-monitoring program. The Canyon Mine has no consistent system to test water quality in mine seeps, and there is no regular spring monitoring intended to detect or prevent radiological contamination of the Grand Canyon’s water resources. Already, the USGS has found dozens of the Grand Canyon region’s seeps and springs contaminated by the legacy of uranium mining.

www.grandcanyontrust.org...

3 million, not 1 million, gallons of contaminated water rushed from mine, EPA says

www.durangoherald.com...

At first they said 1200 gpm from mine

next day 750 gpm

the last few days 550 gpm

first rush 3m

1st day 1.7m

2nd day 1.08 m

3rd day .79m

4th day .79m

5th day .79m

so far 8.3 million gallons of orange toxic sludge has been introduced into our Animas River.


This is unacceptable !