Colorado river’s pollution levels fall after spill

Colorado state officials said pollution appears to have cleared from the Animas River after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) caused a massive mine waste spill.

Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and Larry Wolk, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said Tuesday that their latest sampling show that the river is back to the pollution levels it had before the spill of 3 million gallons of heavy metals last week, The Durango Herald reported.

“Isn’t that amazing? That’s much better than what I would have hoped for,” Hickenlooper said in Durango, according to the Herald.

“The indications are that the threat to the human health is returning back to pre-event levels, if not already there now,” he continued.

Wolk said his agency does not believe there is any risk to human health.

The test results mean that officials could potentially reopen the river to recreation, fishing and drinking water intakes before the Aug. 17 target that was initially planned.

The EPA, meanwhile, said it was encouraged by the new findings but wanted to verify the results itself before giving its blessing.

The spill caused the river to turn bright orange and shined a spotlight of attention and embarrassment on the EPA.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy was due Wednesday to visit Durango and Farmington, N.M., which is downstream.

She and other officials have repeatedly apologized for the spill, which was caused accidentally when EPA contractors moved soil that was holding back a tailings pond from the gold mine that was abandoned decades ago.