Tag Archives: Gold King Mine

Clean-up moves forward after spill: Entities vie for government funding in wake of 2015 Gold King Mine disaster

August 9, 2016
Sonja Horoshko

San Juan County is one of the five smallest counties in Colorado – only 388 square miles – but it undulates with some of the most rugged mountain terrain in the Rocky Mountains, and has the highest mean elevation of … Continue reading →

Published in July 2016 Tagged

Spill controversy flows on: EPA rejects request for $6 million for spring-runoff preparedness plan

June 2, 2016
Adrianne Chalepah

Farmington, N.M. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a request of roughly $6 million for a “Spring Runoff Preparedness Plan” developed in response to last fall’s disastrous Gold King Mine spill into the Animas River. The denial was … Continue reading →

Published in May 2016 Tagged ,

Moving forward with clean-up: Silverton, San Juan County seek Superfund status in wake of spill

March 19, 2016
Christine Larsen

Six months after the release of 3 million gallons of wastewater from the Gold King Mine into a tributary of the Animas River, vested interest groups are working to determine the best plan for moving forward. “It’s been six months … Continue reading →

Published in March 2016 Tagged ,

Next steps for the Animas: Superfund status remains a controversial idea, but cleanup efforts continue

November 16, 2015
Christine Larsen

A little more than two months after the Gold King Mine discharged 3 million gallons of acidic drainage into Cement Creek, the Animas River, and eventually the San Juan River, affected communities are still trying to decide what to do … Continue reading →

Published in October 2015 Tagged ,

Pollution solution elusive: Water clean-up is proving a herculean task

October 17, 2015
Christine Larsen

For days in early August, the Animas River ran Tang orange during the Gold King Mine disaster, but it was not the first massive discharge from mines along its upper tributaries nor the deadliest to aquatic life. Members of the … Continue reading →

Published in September 2015 Tagged

A legacy of distrust: Residents of the Utah Navajo Strip are worried, skeptical about water quality

September 12, 2015
Sonja Horoshko

For the Navajo Nation, environmental contamination is nothing new. The toxic legacy of uranium-mining lingers to this day in the form of tainted soils and waters. So the nation’s response to the Aug. 5 Gold King Mine spill, which discharged … Continue reading →

Published in September 2015 Tagged

Spill will have long-term impacts, officials say

August 8, 2015
4cfp

By Gail Binkly Long-term impacts are expected from the spill of more than 1 million gallons of toxic mining waste into the Animas River on Aug. 5. “We anticipate as this plume moves downstream, the sediment will settle out and … Continue reading →

Published in August 2015 Tagged , ,

Notes from a disaster: Part 2

August 8, 2015
4cfp

Commentary by Janneli F. Miller Aug 7/8 midnight I can’t sleep. the spill haunts me. I close my eyes only to see that hideous orange-yellow river in my brain imagery. I am obsessed with knowing all that I can, & … Continue reading →

Published in August 2015 Tagged , ,

Notes from an environmental disaster: The Animas River contamination

August 7, 2015
4cfp

By Janneli F. Miller Thursday afternoon, Aug. 6 4 p.m. I’m just above the 33rd St put-in in Animas City. The Gold King Mine clean-up near Silverton has gone awry & at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, a toxic sludge of mining … Continue reading →

Published in August 2015 Tagged , ,

Animas River closed to recreation because of spill

August 6, 2015
4cfp

The Animas River has been closed to all watercraft as of 3 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, because of the contamination of the Animas River from a spill of mining waste. La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith issued an order pursuant … Continue reading →

Published in August 2015 Tagged , ,