EPA: Colorado mine waste spill larger than first reported

Andy Corra, left, co-owner of 4 Corners Riversports in Durango, Colo., talks with Colorado U.S. Sens., Cory Gardner, front right, and Michael Bennet, middle right, on a bridge over the Animas River, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. in Durango. An Environmental Protection Agency official said Sunday she doesn't believe wildlife will suffer significant health impacts from the large volume of wastewater that spilled from a nearby abandoned mine. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT Andy Corra, left, co-owner of 4 Corners Riversports in Durango, Colo., talks with Colorado U.S. Sens., Cory Gardner, front right, and Michael Bennet, middle right, on a bridge over the Animas River, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2015. in Durango. An Environmental Protection Agency official said Sunday she doesn't believe wildlife will suffer significant health impacts from the large volume of wastewater that spilled from a nearby abandoned mine. (Jerry McBride/The Durango Herald via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

By Associated Press August 10, 2015 2 min read

DENVER (AP) – The Environmental Protection Agency says the mine waste spill into Colorado waters is much larger than originally estimated.

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.

The agency said the amount of heavy-metal laced water that leaked from the Gold King Mine into the Animas River, turning the water a mucky orange and then yellow, is three times larger than its initial estimate.

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.

The agency has so far been unable to determine whether humans or aquatic life face health risks. However, EPA toxicologist Deborah McKean said the sludge moved so quickly after the spill that it would not have “caused significant health effects” to animals that consumed the water.