On a cloudy day in late July, Anthony Edwards surveyed the confluence of Cement Creek and the Animas River in Silverton, a small mining town nestled in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. This spot, now marked by memories of a catastrophic event, was where he stood nearly a decade ago watching as millions of gallons of acid mine drainage flowed downstream, transforming the water into a sickly yellow-orange.
Reflecting on the events of August 5, 2015, when contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inadvertently released 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater trapped behind the collapsed entrance of the Gold King mine, Edwards recalled the immediate and long-lasting effects that would forever change the community.
The spill was not just an environmental disaster, it became a significant turning point for Silverton, leading to national and international scrutiny of mining practices and their ramifications on water quality and aquatic life in the region.
In the aftermath of the incident, many hoped the Gold King mine spill would prompt local and federal authorities to confront the legacy of mining pollution that had beleaguered southwestern Colorado for decades. The EPA responded by establishing an interim treatment plant to manage contaminated water from the Gold King mine, yet other mines in the Bonita Peak Mining District continue to discharge pollutants into the rivers and streams.
Nearly ten years later, local advocates and experts express frustration over the slow pace of action. Peter Butler, a prominent water quality expert, remarked, “The EPA has done nothing to significantly improve water quality,” despite the agency’s expenditure of approximately $140 million over the past decade.
Acid mine drainage is a pressing global concern, prevalent in many mining regions throughout the United States. According to the Forest Service, as of 1994—the year the last gold mine in Silverton closed—there were an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 mines leaking toxic fluids onto forested lands in the West.
The mining history of Silverton deeply intertwines with its current struggles. Tucked away at an elevation of 9,300 feet, the town, founded in 1874, held a significant mining legacy that attracted tourists and intrigued locals alike as they sought treasures hidden in the mountains.
Community efforts in the 1990s and early 2000s consisted of sampling water, discussing treatment options, and contemplating federal Superfund status. Yet, while those discussions unfolded, the acidic water trapped within the network of mine shafts continued to build up, ultimately culminating in the catastrophic spill in 2015. This water, laden with copper, zinc, aluminum, lead, and arsenic, flowed into the rivers, compounding the challenges that aquatic life faced long before the spill.
Scott Roberts, an aquatic ecologist at the Mountain Studies Institute, noted that the delicate balance of fish and insect populations had already been disrupted by previous releases of contaminated runoff. As such, the immediate aftermath of the Gold King disaster did not result in mass die-offs among these sensitive species.
The fallout from the spill was swift. In response, the EPA set up a temporary treatment plant to begin addressing the contaminated drainage from Gold King, while simultaneously facing a barrage of lawsuits and growing distrust from the local community. By 2016, the agency had designated the Bonita Peak Mining District as a Superfund site, including 48 historical mines or sources of acidic drainage.
Butler, who led the community advisory group for the Superfund site, emphasized that the Gold King spill fundamentally altered the EPA’s operations, marking the agency as a potentially responsible party under Superfund law for the first time.
Today, years of data collection are coming to a head as key decisions are being made regarding pollution treatment in the Bonita Peak Mining District. Community leaders are focusing on three primary sources of pollution: the tailings piles at Mayflower Mill and Howardsville, both of which negatively impact the Animas River, and other mines contributing to acidic drainage in Cement Creek.
Nevertheless, the challenges posed by budget and staffing cuts during the Trump administration have delayed critical work. Although some progress has been made, major sources of pollution still persist, severely affecting water quality. The long and arduous journey toward remediation remains far from complete.
Edwards recounted the tension-filled moments in the first hours after the spill, receiving a message indicating a problem up at the Gold King site. From his vantage point, he witnessed the rapid acceleration of the plume of contaminated water racing toward the town center.
Upstream, the contractors with the EPA watched as orange-brown water gushed from the collapsed mine entrance, quickly transforming from a trickle into a torrent that surged down Cement Creek. The volatile runoff not only carried acid-heavy water, but also picked up metal-laden sediment along the mountain path.
The EPA’s estimates indicated that a staggering 99% of the metals in the water were derived from waste rock outside of the mine, further complicating the narrative around responsibility for the spill.
As the plume of orange water traveled more than 100 miles downstream, reaching the Animas River, it caused immediate panic in nearby communities like Durango, prompting them to halt the intake of river water for treatment. Citizens rushed to stores, stocking up on bottled water, while state wildlife officials took precautions by releasing small fish into the river as an early warning system.
The environmental and emotional toll was palpable. Calvin Yazzie, a Navajo farmer and rancher in Farmington, New Mexico, observed the flow of the contaminated waters into the San Juan River, threatening his agricultural livelihood rooted in the river’s waters—a river that holds deep cultural significance for the Navajo people.
For Yazzie, the chaos transitioned into heartbreak as he witnessed the profound impact on his livelihood. Joining a lawsuit with hundreds of other farmers, he ultimately received a meager settlement of $10,000—money that could not restore the loss of his cattle or the alfalfa crops devastated by the polluted water.
In Silverton, stubborn echoes of the mining legacy continue to affect daily life. Edwards noted that the Superfund work still weighs heavily on local government resources, with ongoing projects aimed at remediation still in progress. The interim treatment plant remains operational as it treats drainage from Gold King, yet other significant pollution sources continue to discharge untreated water into the river system.
Ragland, the chairperson of the community group, outlined the EPA’s ongoing efforts and the completion of projects aimed at stabilizing waste rock piles and addressing lead-contaminated soils. However, as they work towards these goals, the severity of the pollution from sources like the American Tunnel and the Red & Bonita Mine remains a pressing issue, with no immediate end in sight for remediation.
The EPA has plans to propose key source control remedies for public comment next year, but community leaders worry about future funding and resource allocation for ongoing monitoring and remediation work. The complexity of Superfund law does not make the path to recovery any easier, as unaddressed pollution leads to difficult choices for the affected communities.
Moving forward, Yazzie aspires to restore his farming operations along the San Juan River while aquatic experts like Butler and Roberts work tirelessly to improve water quality in the river systems. Ragland expressed a cautious optimism, highlighting the importance of continued efforts for remediation and the unwavering resolve of the community to seek improvements.
Despite the fading hopes of completely reversing the damage caused by mining practices, there remains a collective commitment to tackle these ongoing challenges head-on. The future may be uncertain, yet community members and advocates won’t relent in their pursuit of better outcomes for water quality and the ecological health of the region.
image source from：coloradosun
