The EPA was investigating the abandoned Gold King Mine on Wednesday together with the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety, when they triggered the release of the waste into Cement Creek, a tributary of the Animas River in San Juan County.
Ironically, the initial goal was to find a safe way to pump out the wastewater and treat it.
Some one million gallons of wastewater is estimated to have been discharged during the incident. The spill turned water in the river bright orange.
EPA accidentally spills millions of gallons of #wastewater, turning river orange http://t.co/esvkSaK9Y1 pic.twitter.com/i7f5pww9Dr
— Acre (@acre) August 7, 2015
Local residents were advised to cut back on water use and keep away from the contaminated river until officials give it the all clear.
"The primary environmental concern is the pulse of contaminated water containing sediment and metals flowing as an orange-colored discharge downstream," said EPA spokesman Rich Mylott.
By Thursday, the spill had made its way to La Plata County and the city limits of Durango, the local Durango Herald reported. The city was forced to stop pumping river from the water and close it for public use.
EPA accidentally caused a massive waste spill that turned this River in Colorado Orange> http://t.co/34bM4VZqmk pic.twitter.com/JLmcNsmT8h
— Earthjustice (@Earthjustice) August 6, 2015
City residents were asked to conserve water from the local reservoir, which cannot be refilled with the Animas River now under quarantine. However, no formal water restrictions were issued.
The EPA expects the first resulquats of the tests to come out on Friday. They will show whether the waste has passed and poses no risk to aquatic life or water users.
Toxic waste turns Colorado river yellow via /r/WTF http://t.co/O32cLZEdaO pic.twitter.com/vkOFMUKck0
— me (@not_actuallyme) August 7, 2015
When gov't employees are responsible, they and their higher-ups keep drawing their taxpayer-funded salaries, perks, automatic raises, bonuses, and accumulating their cushy retirement bennies, all while forcing taxpayers to cough up all the costs of the consequences of their errors/incompetence. At the very worst, some fall guy will be forced to take an early retirement, also at taxpayer expense.