New Mexico will investigate mine spill

Gov. Susana Martinez has added the state Environment Department to the list of agencies investigating the Aug. 5 spill of millions of gallons of toxic gold mine wastewater into the Animas River. Most of the heavy metals in the water have settled to the bottom of the river, which flows from the spill site in Silverton, Colo., into New Mexico, where it joins the San Juan River, and flows through the Navajo Nation and on to Utah. The EPA and Interior Department are both investigating. The Navajo Nation launched its own plans for a lawsuit. And, on Wednesday, Martinez said the state Environment Department will do its own investigation into the spill. “New Mexicans deserve answers as to why this catastrophe happened and why the EPA failed to notify us in a timely manner,” the governor said in a statement. An appropriation of $400,000 that is already in place for litigation will fund the state investigation, NMED spokeswoman Allison Scott Majure said Wednesday. “As New Mexico’s lead agency for the initial response to the Gold King mine spill, the New Mexico Environment Department encountered multiple data gaps and operational miscues in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s handling of the spill event,” Majure said in a statement. NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn and the agency’s chief counsel, Jeff Kendall, will lead the investigation. “The results will help us to ensure that EPA is held accountable and that New Mexico is fairly compensated,” Majure said...more