Three million gallons of toxic mining sludge has leaked into the Animas River from a mine in southwest Colorado, the EPA says.
The US Environmental Protection Agency had initially reported that the mine waste spill was one million gallons.
Some residents along the Animas have reported discolored drinking water. EPA crews are checking water samples.
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The spill occurred last week on Wednesday, as the EPA was investigating the abandoned Gold King Mine along with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. The crew accidentally breached a debris dam that had formed inside the mine, triggering the release of waste into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River in San Juan County.
The toxic waste, including arsenic and lead, has now crossed the state border into New Mexico.
The Colorado governor, John Hickenlooper and the Navajo Nation have both declared emergencies over it.
RT reports: The Navajo Nation also plans to sue, as the toxic water is running through their territory.
Hickenlooper declared a state of disaster emergency on Monday in order to “ensure public safety and minimize environmental impacts.” The order will allow the state to move $500,000 from the state emergency fund towards response efforts.
“By declaring a disaster emergency, we are able to better support impacted businesses and communities with state resources. We will work closely with the EPA to continue to measure water quality as it returns to normal, but also to work together to assess other mines throughout the state to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” the governor added in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Navajo Nation also declared an emergency as some of its communities feel the impact of the spill. Intake systems at some drinking water networks have already been shut down, the Associated Press reported.
The US Environmental Protection Agency had originally reported that one million gallons of waste product from the abandoned Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado had spilled into the Animas beginning on Wednesday. The EPA determined the updated amount using a stream gauge, according to the Associated Press.
In addition to arsenic and lead, federal officials said the spill contains, cadmium, aluminum, copper, and calcium.
Niamh Harris
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