EPA Considers Treatment Plant For Colorado Mine After Big Spill
DENVER (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is considering building a wastewater treatment plant for an inactive Colorado gold mine after the agency inadvertently triggered a 3-million-gallon spill of polluted water there last month.
The EPA released documents Tuesday outlining the requirements for quickly building such a plant below the Gold King Mine near Silverton. The EPA said Wednesday it has asked for proposals from companies to build a plant but hasn't decided whether to proceed. The EPA said it is analyzing whether it would provide a "measurable benefit" to water quality.
An EPA-led crew triggered the spill on Aug. 5, tainting rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The Senate Environment Committee holds a hearing on the incident Wednesday, one of several planned by Congress.
Wastewater was flowing from the mine before the blowout. The EPA says it's still spilling out at about 600 gallons per minute.
The documents don't say how much the plant will cost. The agency said last week it had spent about $8 million on the cleanup.
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