2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill

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This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The last updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (August 2015)

2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill
Entrance to Gold King Mine from EPA site management web site
Date	August 7, 2015
Location	Gold King Mine Silverton, Colorado United States
Cause	Release of up to 3,000,000 US gallons (11,000,000 litres; 2,500,000 imperial gallons) of mine wastewater into the Animas River
Participants	United States Environmental Protection Agency

The 2015 Gold King Mine waste water spill is a 2015 environmental disaster at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.^[1] On August 5, 2015, when trying to add a tap to the tailing pond for the mine, employees of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accidentally destroyed the dam holding the pond back, spilling three million gallons of toxic mine waste water and tailings, including heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, and other toxins, such as arsenic,^[2] into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River in Colorado.^[3]
The EPA has taken responsibility for the incident and the governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, declared the zone a disaster. The spill affects waterways of municipalities in the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah as well as the Navajo Nation.

Background

Gold mines in the hills around Gold King were the primary income and economy for the region until the last closure of a mine around Silverton in 1991.^[4] Prior to the spill, the Upper Animas water basin had become devoid of fish, because of the environmental impact of regional mines such as Gold King.^[4] Other plant and animal species were adversely affected in the watershed before the Gold King Mine breach, as well.^[4]
In the 1990s, sections of the Animas had been nominated by the EPA as a Superfund site for clean-up of pollutants from the Gold King Mine and other mining operations along the river, but lack of community support prevented its listing.^[5] Locals had feared that the label of a Superfund site would reduce the tourism in the area, the largest remaining source of income left in the region after the closure of the metal mines.^[4] Officials have noted that the mine is only one of 22,000 abandoned mines in the state.^[4]

Toxic metals

The EPA reported, 10 August 2015, that levels of six metals were above limits allowed by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for domestic water. The department requires municipalities to cease to use water when the levels in it exceed the limits. Some metals were found at hundreds of times their limits, e.g. lead 100 times the limit, iron 326 times the limit. The measurement was made 15 miles upstream from Durango.^[6]

Environmental impact

A map of the San Juan River watershed, which drains into the Colorado river, showing the northern tributary of the Animas River

As of August 10, the Animas River was closed indefinitely, and county officials warned river visitors to stay out of the water.^[7] Residents with wells in floodplains were told to have their water tested before drinking it or bathing in it. People were told to avoid contact with the river, including by their pets, that livestock should not be allowed to drink the water and people should not catch fish in the river. The Navajo Nation Commission on Emergency Management issued a state of emergency declaration in response to the spill.^[8]
People living along the Animas and San Juan rivers were advised to have their water tested before using it for cooking, drinking, or bathing. The spill also was expected to cause major problems for farmers and ranchers who rely on the rivers for their livelihoods.^[9]
The long-term impacts of the spill were unknown, but sedimentation is expected to dilute the pollutants as the spill cloud moves downstream.^[10] The mine tailings changed the color of the river to orange.^[11]
By August 10, the waste had reached the San Juan River, which flows through the Navajo Nation, with no evidence to that date of human injury or wildlife die-off. The heavy metals appeared to be settling to the bottom of the river because largely, they are insoluble unless the water becomes very acidic.^[5] The waste is expected to reach Lake Powell by August 12.^[3]

Emergency tailing ponds constructed in response to the 2015 Gold King Mine Spill, pictured on August 7

Government response

Although the river turned a bright orange-yellow soon after the incident, the EPA failed to notify local residents of the spill for more than 24 hours. The EPA has taken responsibility for the incident.^[12] Press and local officials sharply criticized the EPA for this slow response.^[4]
On August 8, the governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper declared the zone a disaster.^[2]
Multiple municipalities and jurisdictions along the course of the river, including the Navajo Nation, stopped drawing drinking water from the Animas River because of the contamination by heavy metals.^[10]