EPA holds public hearing in Farmington on mine spill; existing closures and non-use orders expected for at least another week

The Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday it does not anticipate reopening any waterways affected by the Gold King Mine waste spill in northwest New Mexico and southern Colorado until at least Aug. 17, and said people in the area should continue to follow existing closures to the Animas and San Juan rivers.

The agency said it has deployed response teams to Durango and Silverton, Colorado, as well as northwest New Mexico and the Navajo Nation.

Two federal coordinators, two water quality experts and ten technicians were already on site Monday, and the EPA said there will be 26 employees and contractors in our state by Monday night.

The agency said staffing is expected to grow as workers canvass residents possibly affected and test water quality throughout the area. Water quality testing will be free, and water for livestock is being provided free of charge by San Juan County and EPA officials.

A mobile command center arrived in Farmington Monday and is expected to be “fully operational” by Tuesday, according to the EPA.

There are now four ponds just outside the mouth of the spill site that EPA workers are using to balance acidity levels, and the EPA said the discharged water that has been treated is leaving the site at levels cleaner than they were before the spill.

Tuesday, anyone wanting to submit a claim with the EPA can submit signed electronic versions of Standard Form 95 for the incident by emailing it to R8_GKM_Claims@epa.gov.

The EPA says that although they have six months to resolve a claim, it “will make every effort” to respond to claims for this particular incident “as soon as possible.”

Testing of the water, fish and wildlife continues daily in both the Animas and San Juan rivers, and the EPA said the plume has dissipated downstream. It said there is “no leading edge of contamination visible in downstream sections of the San Juan River or Lake Powell.”

A two-day test of 108 fish in the river turned up only one dead fish, though it was not clear if the fish died because of the heavy metals in the river.

HUNDREDS GATHER AT FARMINGTON PUBLIC MEETING

Hundreds of people got the chance to ask the EPA and state environment officials questions about the spill at a public meeting in Farmington Monday.

Most were not easily pacified, including New Mexico’s Environmental Department Secretary, who said he was done waiting for answers from the EPA.

Muddy data and explanations have caused disappointment for most residents in the Four Corners, who still feel left in the dark as to why they can’t water their crops and livestock – much less themselves.

“If you put that on your plants you’re going to cut it for feed or feed it for your family. What are going to be the long-term effects of these metals on your body?” asked Doris Stock, a longtime resident of the area.

The answer: it is still unknown. But New Mexico officials aren’t taking that answer easily.

“The level of metals released were high and they are very disconcerting,” said New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn. “We’ve had limited access to information.”

After what was reportedly more than 24 hours before the state was informed, Flynn says the state began its own testing.

“Honestly, we felt like EPA wasn’t responding to this as fast as they should have,” Flynn told KOB. “They clearly didn’t take it as seriously as we have from the get-go.”

EPA and county officials stressed that municipal water sources are still OK to use, but anyone with a well within 1,000 feet of the Animas River should get their water tested.

Public meetings will be held at the Farmington Civic Center each evening at 6 p.m., where members from the EPA, New Mexico Environmental Department, New Mexico Division of Livestock and the NMSU Agricultural Extension Agency will answer written questions from community members.

The Red Cross is also handing out bottled water at the meetings.

San Juan County officials urged residents late Monday to avoid contact with the river and its water until test results confirm it is safe. They also urged people not to flush their wells, as a flush could suck existing tainted water into the well and contaminate it.

A list of potable drinking water stations set up in the region can be seen here.

Originally published for KOB.com