3 million gallons of toxic water spilled by EPA is turning Colorado waters to orange sludge

  • 9 years ago
The Environmental Protection Agency says the mine waste spill into Colorado waters is much larger than originally estimated.The EPA now says 3 million gallons of wastewater spilled Wednesday and Thursday, instead of 1 million. The revision came after the EPA used a stream gauge from the U.S. Geological Survey. An EPA-supervised crew, who was trying to enter the mine to pump out and treat the water, caused the spill. The agency has not said how long cleanup efforts will take.But an EPA official said Sunday that she doesn't believe wildlife will suffer significant health impacts from the wastewater from an abandoned mine in southwestern Colorado.