House report details EPA missteps in Colorado mine spill
DENVER (AP) — A probe of a mine waste accident in Colorado that fouled rivers in three states with arsenic, lead and other toxic substances has found further evidence that government workers knew a spill from the gold mine was possible, according to documents released Thursday by a U.S. House committee.
An EPA cleanup crew triggered the spill during excavation work at the mine's entrance, unleashing a 3 million-gallon deluge that contaminated rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah and highlighted the dangers posed by tens of thousands of abandoned mines across the U.S.
The Colorado release dumped more than 880,000 pounds of heavy metals into Colorado's Animas River, forcing the closure of downstream public water systems until the plume passed and raising concerns about long-term environmental impacts.
The committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, said Republicans were using the EPA's role in the accident to shift responsibility away from the mining industry for toxic mines that have been abandoned by owners.
Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop of Utah said federal officials still have not turned over some information on Gold King requested by his committee, and the government appeared to be engaged in a "pattern of deception" about events surrounding the spill.