Leave it to the Professionals

[930addict]

EPA workers accidentally spill toxic water into Animas River, a source of drinking water.
Magnitude of EPA spill: 'You can't even describe it' | KSL.com

This reminds me of when I was remodeling my house in the SF Bay Area and had a city inspector over to inspect/sign off on some electrical work. This guy was constantly talking about how experienced he was at his job. He went to read the gauge off of a wire that fed the electrical panel in the garage but couldn't. So he got out his screwdriver and proceeded to pry at the cable when all of the sudden sparks were flying everywhere! I jumped back and asked him if he was OK. With a quiver in his voice he told me that that's never happened before and that I'll have to get it fixed before he signs it off.

[mjohnson]

So it's not just the park service I guess...

I was on the receiving end of this one a few years back:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_Grande_Fire

[legion]

[MDH]

We're your government and we're here to help...........

[stealthn]

How do you accidentally spill 3 million gallons?

[GWN7]

Are they going to fine themselves?

[Crowbob]

I hope the EPA will do something to protect us from that Yellowstone Caldera.

I'm against Calderas.

Arsenic, lead, sulfuric acid in the Colorado river ain't nothin'. It's carbon dioxide in the air that we should be worried about.

[fintstone]

While I don't much care for much of hat the EPA does, the EPA leadership and the direction this administration has taken the Agency; the general employees just do what they are told to do.

According to the report, it was an accident. People have accidents every day..,even EPA employees or other officials.

Let's hope this doesn't do much damage. Nature seems to be able to heal itself quite well. There was a time when that stuff was routinely pumped out of mines and into streams.

[kach22i]

EPA spill turns Animas River in Colorado a toxic orange - CNN.com

According to the EPA, the spill occurred when one of its teams was using heavy equipment to enter the Gold King Mine, a suspended mine near Durango. Instead of entering the mine and beginning the process of pumping and treating the contaminated water inside as planned, the team accidentally caused it to flow into the nearby Animas River. Before the spill, water carrying "metals pollution" was flowing into a holding area outside the mine.

EPA crew accidentally turns Animas River orange - CNN.com

According to the EPA, the spill occurred when one of its teams was using heavy equipment to enter the Gold King Mine, a suspended mine near Durango. Instead of entering the mine and beginning the process of pumping and treating the contaminated water inside as planned, the team accidentally caused it to flow into the nearby Animas River. Before the spill, water carrying "metals pollution" was flowing into a holding area outside the mine.

The longer this story is out there, the fewer details of how it actually happened are in print.

I'm under the impression that there were holding ponds made of earth berms, perhaps similar to the one I pulled off the Internet (see below - unrelated).

Newton Consultants, Inc.


I figure that a bulldozer running along side or on the top of the berm caved in the side and the toxic water (3-million gallons of it) poured out.

That is just a guess.

Does anyone have aerial photos of the incident area?

To be clear, the Gold King Mine is a strip mine and not a hole/cave in a mountain, right?

[kach22i]

In an attempt to answer my own questions I found this below.

Waste water from Gold King Mine reaches NM, Durango declares State of Local Emergency - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com

The wastewater from the mine spilling into the Animas River on Wednesday when a cleanup crew supervised by the Environmental Protection Agency accidentally breached a debris dam that had formed inside the mine.......................................

Cohen explained that the yellow-orange color in the river is mainly from iron.

He said to fully understand what happened you have to look at Colorado's mining history.

"There's a very big role for history because you're looking at a mine - the Gold King Mine and it was last worked in 1923," said Cohen.

More than 90 years ago, he said miners would pump the waste out because there were no regulations. Once they were put in place that stopped and now the Gold King Mine is one of hundreds filled with contaminated water in our state.

That was much more informative.

And this explains why different reports were talking about different rivers.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/waste-water-from-gold-king-mine-reaches-new-mexico

The Animas flows into the San Juan River in New Mexico, and the San Juan flows into Utah, where it joins the Colorado River in Lake Powell..........................

Officials said the contamination would likely settle into the sediment in Lake Powell. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials said visitors will be warned starting Monday to avoid drinking, swimming or boating on affected stretches of the lake and river until further notice............................................ .....

When the spill happened, the EPA-supervised crew was trying to enter the mine to pump out and treat the water, EPA spokeswoman Lisa McClain-Vanderpool said.

Not an earth dam, a 90 year old debris blockage which gave way while a clean up crew supervised by the EPA was there.

Question is why would anyone be using heavy equipment in that environment? Sounds like delicate work to me.

[Crowbob]

So here we are again, fint; pumping arsenic, lead and sulfuric acid into the rivers and streams. Lots of progress over the decades, right? This wasn't just an accident like bumping into a kid with a grocery cart in isle 7. This is an environmental disaster, the severity of which has not yet been determined. One thing is for sure; the EPA is not telling us how bad it is and definitely not how bad it can be. Arsenic and lead? The damn river is orange!

It is beautiful, though. Much like Gauguin's 1897 masterpiece* in the synthetist style just prior to his suicide attempt. Blue sky, green trees and an orange river where neither form nor color dominate the other: a precursor to abstraction with a muted application of the theory of complimentary colors. What beautiful effects arsenic has just as the syphilitic Gauguin's open sores were treated with arsenic.

*"Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?"-Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

So here we are again, fint; pumping arsenic, lead and sulfuric acid into the rivers and streams. Lots of progress over the decades, right? This wasn't just an accident like bumping into a kid with a grocery cart in isle 7. This is an environmental disaster, the severity of which has not yet been determined. One thing is for sure; the EPA is not telling us how bad it is and definitely not how bad it can be. Arsenic and lead? The damn river is orange!

It is beautiful, though. Much like Gauguin's 1897 masterpiece* in the synthetist style just prior to his suicide attempt. Blue sky, green trees and an orange river where neither form nor color dominate the other: a precursor to abstraction with a muted application of the theory of complimentary colors. What beautiful effects arsenic has just as the syphilitic Gauguin's open sores were treated with arsenic.

*"Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?"-Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

We absolutely know that Is not what happened. No one pumped anything into the stream. We also know that the reason the water is orange is the iron. The EPA does not know how bad it is as the amount of pollution and released water is only a guess (and the dilution factor is unknown until it reaches the specific area....but initial indications is that it is not as bad as previous large leaks that were not so colorful.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

This is an environmental disaster, the severity of which has not yet been determined. One thing is for sure; the EPA is not telling us how bad it is and definitely not how bad it can be. Arsenic and lead? The damn river is orange!

News reporters shown in videos are claiming it's all arsenic and lead, just like you.

Waste water from Gold King Mine reaches NM, Durango declares State of Local Emergency - 7NEWS Denver TheDenverChannel.com

Cohen explained that the yellow-orange color in the river is mainly from iron.

I agree with your statement that; This is an environmental disaster, the severity of which has not yet been determined.

Don't let the color mislead you, let the testing of the waters determine the severity.

[Crowbob]

Good to know the orange is not as bad as it looks. I admit, the color was shocking to me.

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by Crowbob

Good to know the orange is not as bad as it looks. I admit, the color was shocking to me.

It shocked me too, and I resent the media for playing me like that.

[Rick Lee]

Not one person at EPA will lose their job over this.

[legion]

Indians say EPA trying to swindle them in mine spill - Washington Times

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by legion

Indians say EPA trying to swindle them in mine spill - Washington Times

My computer did not like those pop up ads at all.

Anyway, that article quotes the EPA as saying they are following official procedure/ policy which is already in place as far as getting the waivers signed.

I'm not sure that getting people to sign legal documents without legal representation being present is going to help them any in court.

Might just make things worse.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

There will likely be a few promotions involved actually - in government it's often "eff up, move up". It's a way of "reassigning" people. Go figure.