New Mexico is the first to issue plans of suing the Federal government and owners of two Colorado mine with the Environmental Protection Agency. The two mines caused an orange sludge toxic spilling into the Animas and San Juan rivers.
According to Wall Street Journal, the New Mexico Environment Department first filed a notice of its objective to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the spill. They are the first to do it. The lawsuit targets state of Colorado and the owners of the Gold King and Sunnyside Mines. Last year of August, an EPA clean-up crew unintentionally released millions of gallons of polluted wastewater from the inactive Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado. It contaminated rivers in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico.
The toxic waste contained arsenic and lead. ABC News reported that the toxic spill shut down the drinking-water supplies and raised worries about the possible damage it can bring to the agriculture. The orange-yellow goo toxic spills run through the Animas Valley and into New Mexico and the San Juan River. It made farmers and municipalities shut off their taps. It left farmers and ranchers on the Navajo Nation without a water source for their crops and livestock for weeks.
Washington Times stated that New Mexico Environment Department Cabinet Secretary Ryan Flynn said EPA failed to protect the state and caused a huge problem that may affect the agriculture for the next years. Colorado is still looking into the issue if they will sue like New Mexico.
A reclamation manager for Sunnyside Mine, Larry Perino, said the mine is not involve in the spill and has no responsibility. He said that they will strongly protect themselves from any possible legal action. While a representative for Gold King Mine did not immediately respond to an email requests seeking comment.
The two gold mines are pointing at each other as to who is the responsible one over the spill. Owner of Gold King Mine San Juan Corp. said it was because of Sunnyside Mine and it stemmed from the 90's. Sunnyside owner, Canada's Kinross Corp., denied those claims. The two in the end agreed to have a "collaborative approach" to solve the problem.
