SILVERTON, Colo. (AP) — A $1.5 million project starting in July will attempt to reduce harmful metals draining from a mine near Silverton and into the Animas River.
Environmental Protection Agency one-scene coordinator Steven Way says polluted water pours out of the Red and Bonita Mine at a rate of about 500 gallons per minute, killing fish and other native river dwellers, the Durango Herald reported (http://bit.ly/1g25R4a ).
Water has been draining the mine since 2006, contributing cadmium, zinc, iron and aluminum.
“It’s been bleeding out of the mountains for a long time,” Way said.
Animas River Stakeholder Group co-coordinator Peter Butler says mine pollution accounts for about 18 percent of the river’s heavy metals.
Way says work on the EPA-funded project starts in July. A concrete bulkhead will be installed to direct water onto its natural path and allow harmful metals to slowly be filtered out by rocks and soil.
Bulkheads have caused other mines to drain in the past, so Way said monitoring will be set up at two nearby sites.
While removing all the metal from the river is probably impossible, the project is expected to improve water quality. Way says a valve on the bulkhead will allow officials to open it up if the river’s water quality fails to improve or gets worse.
“There’s no expectation we’re going to see a bunch of fish swimming up Cement Creek,” he said of one Animas River tributary.
The EPA and Animas River Stakeholder Group the agency is part of are coordinating the effort.
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Information from: Durango Herald, http://www.durangoherald.com
