The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the agency tasked with supposedly protecting the environment, has just created what could be one of the largest economic disasters to ever hit the Southwestern United States.
An estimated 3 million gallons of wastewater spilled out into the Animas River in Colorado, after the EPA says one of their federal cleanup crews “accidentally” released wastewater from the Gold King Mine in Colorado. The dangerous water turned the river into a disgusting sludge of orange contamination, and has raised concerns throughout the entire Southwest.
Ten of Millions Could be Affected
The contaminated water, which is filled with dangerous heavy metals like lead and arsenic, is heading right towards the Colorado River, a system that provides drinking water for millions of people throughout the Southeastern United States.
As of last night, the contaminated water, which according to the EPA is still pouring out of the mine at a rate of 550 gallons per minute, had already reached parts of Northern New Mexico. The Animas flows directly into the San Juan River in New Mexico, and the San Juan flows into Utah, where it joins the Colorado River in Lake Powell.
New Mexico Environment Department Cabinet Secretary Ryan Flynn said the mine is a federal Superfund site — which means it is severely contaminated — and he said estimates of the amount of contaminated water released will increase.
“I can tell you that it was much more than a million gallons,” he said in a briefing Friday evening in Aztec. “The amount of contamination that was visible today — it was staggering.”
Orange waste from CO mine heads toward NM http://t.co/SghKQxm2EA #phoenix pic.twitter.com/TmrqHXUraI — Phoenix News (@phxnews) August 7, 2015
Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet issued the following statement, in part, on the spill.
“Our top priority is to support efforts to protect the health and safety of the citizens there, focus on cleanup and recovery efforts, and make certain that state and federal agencies are taking all necessary steps to mitigate future problems.”
“The community is rightfully very frustrated with the EPA’s slow communication and response and we are relaying these concerns at the highest level possible.The EPA must recognize the severity of this incident and respond with all the resources available. An effective command structure on the ground in Durango will be critical to the response, and must include close coordination with other assisting state and federal agencies.”
A look at the shoreline of the Animas River just north of town on Friday morning. pic.twitter.com/tPJTGJlH6p — jerry mcbride (@jerryphotog) August 7, 2015
Southwestern United States Drinking Water Will be Affected
Officials from the EPA say the contamination will likely hit Lake Powell, where they believe it will settle into sediment throughout the Lake. 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.
Some 20 million people get their drinking water from the reservoir of Lake Powell, which serves as a holding tank for the Colorado River Upper Basin States: Colorado , New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Lake Powell is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States, right behind Lake Mead — which could eventually be affected, as it receives water from Lake Powell.
Rayna Willhite, of Aztec, holds a bottle of water collected from the Animas River that contains mine waste. pic.twitter.com/fTip9LGsDu — jerry mcbride (@jerryphotog) August 6, 2015
Local government officials in New Mexico and Colorado are blasting the EPA, saying they didn’t alert communities soon enough after the spill and that answers have been slow in coming.
“There’s not a lot we can do. We can keep people away (from the river) and keep testing. We still don’t know how bad it is,” San Juan County Emergency Management Director Don Cooper said.
Officials in both cities shut down the river’s access to water treatment plants, and say the communities have a 90-day supply of water and other water sources to draw from. The EPA is now warning people to stay out of the river and to keep domestic animals from drinking from it.
Photos show EPA Breaching Mine Without a Way to Contain Waste now Flowing into Animas River http://t.co/8EMbZn83S5 pic.twitter.com/WdAcup5GJ8
— Off Grid Survival (@offgridsurvival) August 9, 2015
This is the Same Agency who just seized all of our nation’s waterways.
Earlier this year, The Obama administration claimed unprecedented power over this nation’s waterways; laying claim to all of America’s creeks, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and yes even ditches and ponds. Under the new regulations, which were unconstitutionally granted by President Obama, The EPA was given power to regulate all U.S. waterways including isolated wetlands and ponds on private lands.
At the time, environmental groups celebrated the unconstitutional power grab, but now many are left asking if this agency is capable of managing anything. It seems the only thing the EPA excels at is destroying our environment, while at the same time punishing land owners in the name of that same environment.
It doesn’t really matter if anyone was warned quickly or not nor if the highest authorities were inundated with complaints and restitution demanded. Nobody will do anything about this problem because no solution currently exists to deal with it. Paying people money, taking responsibility or passing the buck will not clean up the water. The water will continue to flow destroying life and the environment throughout the southwest until it eventually ends up back in the ocean contaminating that too and still nothing will be done. The EPA won’t solve the problem either. Throwing money at Scientific research for the next 20 years accomplishes nothing. Don’t expect a solution. Take action now to insure that you have a safe drinking water supply until this crisis is over lest you end up as a statistic. Good Luck.
Considering what I know about the government and agenda 21, this was a deliberate act just as the man made drought in California. It is to put pressure on people in the Western U.S. to volunteeraly relocate.
I’m with you. The real “Terrorist’s” that need dismantling profit from U.S. tax dollars, “S” on the Constitution, and destroy from within by creating their own agenda. This is not an “accident”. It’s a criminal act.
Gary: Yes, this was a deliberate act, to destroy business, tourism, etc.like the oil spill in the gulf which ruined tourism, fishing, and bankrupted businesses near me. This will trash rivers downstream for who knows how long, with residue that must be cleaned out. These scum of the earth criminals should be taken out and shot.
Finally someone else gets it that was my first thought was why was this done.
It isn’t what I’m thinking, it’s what I know: What do I know: Government employees and their dismal track record. Honestly, what did we expect. Perfection! Not hardly. These blowhole bureaucrats have contaminated the drinking water of millions of people. There is a solution: Take every EPA employee on the planet and make them camp out next to the river. Make them bathe in, cook with, and drink from the same river until it runs dry, clears up, or the EPA employees glow in the dark, and then, what the hell, problem solved.
I bet they know where you can now purchase your emergency water rations, but it’s gonna cost you. Government employees committing treason. We need to act accordingly.
EPA is a rogue agency and needs to be dissolved!
I so agree, if this is the jerks in Washington protecting us, then just leave us alone, we were better off!
this was anything BUT “accidental”
Omg you guys are sooo screwed
We are worried about ISIS in the USA, we are ignoring the U.S. government Terrorists. Time we look to our own government who is making a cause for Marshal Law for Obummer to take over as DOTUS.
Marshal law is a college in Georgia. Martial law is when the military is in charge of government.
Donald Trump hasn’t begun to tap into the anger and frustration of American’s. I frankly don’t believe he has a clue. Obama and his minions have been working diligently to dismantle our Republic and, thanks to our ignorance and complacency, they have been very successful. This is just one more example. The real question is, when are we going to put a stop to it.
MY 2 CENTS;
this is “O’s” way of destroying America ruin the land start fires up & down the west, move people off the land, Now that it’s useless. “you get nothing”.
again MY 2 Cents.
see the movie “Fiddler on the Roof” the same action coming to “YOUR neighborhood”
keeb
This is what the epa does after obumble gave them the rights over any and all water in America,,,,,ummm
Obviously a Gov’t tactic to re-locate the pop. of the Western States … Jaded Helm just a dry run … Man Made drought .. Killing of Millions of Poultry …. only Black Lives Matter ….Put it all together…
Looks like a class action law suite —- For everyone effected, to me. Might be a good way to reverse and destroy EPA!!!!!!!
A class action lawsuit could take decades, and by then Congress could make them ammune to litigation, as in the case of Monsanto. It seems to me that the only real recourse is to elect a whole new gov’t from the top down, and reverse all the damage done in the past by abolishing the EPA and all the other Unconstitutional Agencies that are here to “help us”. For too long many of us have been sitting and complaining, but not being active in cutting the head off the beast. VOTE! Make sure your friends do also.
There seems to be no doubt that EPA caused this spill. Whether or not it is a conspiracy as some suggest we don’t know yet. However there are two thing at really need to be considered.
1. It may have started out as an accident but when it got beyond 500 gallons, it turned to being deliberate. After all how hard is it to turn a “faucet” on and off?
2. Since the EPA is so quick to set regulations and fine people and businesses, it stands to reason that the EPA should be fined by the states, counties, residents and businesses affected by the spill.
3. The entire team involved in this “spill” should be fired along with EPA management.
I would not be surprised if this “accident” ends up in federal court.
I personally live 100 feet from the Animas just inside NM.
“I’m from the Government, I’m here to help you” said the Nazis.