Mine Spills Not That Rare
by Christopher Kolomitz
When the Gold King Mine blew out in southwestern Colorado above Silverton in early August, it sent millions of gallons of toxic sludge into the Animas River, turning the popular river orange and prompting closure of the waterway.
The blowout reminded Central Colorado residents of two eerily similar incidents that fouled the Arkansas River in 1983 and 1985. The toxic discharges on the local river occurred in a period of time when the Environmental Protection Agency was beginning Superfund clean-up of old mines around Leadville. The culprit of both discharges was the Yak Tunnel, which was one of three constructed to drain mines in the district.
Leading up to Superfund designation, the years of inaction were becoming a public health emergency. Drainage ditches in Leadville neighborhoods were turned orange or red because of the heavy metals coming from the historical mines. Annual discharge from the Yak Tunnel was pumping 210 tons of heavy metals into California Gulch, which was then reaching the river, according to the EPA.
The Yak’s first discharge occurred early in the morning of Feb. 23, 1983 and resulted in a “dead river” for miles below where California Gulch enters the waterway. It caused shutdown of the Otero Pump Station, which delivers municipal water supplies to the Front Range. By late in the evening, the toxic plume had discolored the river in downtown Salida. Municipal water supplies in Salida and Buena Vista were not impacted because the towns draw from the South Arkansas River and Cottonwood Creek.
Much like the Gold King incident, work at the Yak Tunnel area created the mess when crews removed rotten wooden boards along a two-mile stretch of the gulch, the Buena Vista Times reported then. The removal created a toxic sludge which contained high concentrations of cadmium, lead, iron hydroxide and other heavy metals, according to public health officials at the time.
The river ran orange again on Oct. 22, 1985, when a natural surge from the tunnel caused about 1 million gallons to release. Although not as large as the previous discharge, The Mountain Mail reported Mt. Shavano Fish Hatchery closed water intakes from the Arkansas River, while Florence and Cañon City did the same. Ranchers were told to prevent livestock from entering the river.
A few days after the incident, the river through Salida was running clear but state wildlife officials were worried about the impact upon the brown trout spawn, and they estimated up to half of the eggs may have been lost, the local paper reported. Subsequent research found that high levels of cadmium prevented fish from living more than three or four years, wildlife officials said.
Threat of another catastrophic discharge surfaced once again in February 2008, when alarm was raised over the potential blowout of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel. Tunnel collapses and blockages had created a potentially dangerous situation for an uncontrolled surge. In response the EPA drilled a relief well, which worked to reduce the danger.
Twelve specific cleanup units were identified as part of the Superfund designation and to date, seven have been wrapped up to a point where regulators are calling them deleted from the operational plan. Examples of the process include construction of water diversion channels and settling ponds to prevent heavy metals from reaching surface water, and consolidation of smelter waste and mine tailings which were then covered with clean soil.
At the Yak Tunnel, a water treatment plant has been credited with dramatically improving water conditions in the Arkansas River, and the overall cleanup has been hailed as a success, although the EPA has ruffled some local feathers. The river now supports a vibrant, healthy fishery with greater public access, and the residents of Leadville and downstream are living around less toxicity.
While the discharges in 1983 and 1985 weren’t the direct cause of the EPA Superfund designation, they ultimately helped draw serious attention to the problem and may have sped up the work. And for the residents around Silverton, Durango and along the Animas River, the blueprint for a successful remediation and restoration is already printed.
Christopher Kolomitz is a small business owner and freelance journalist living in Salida. He likes his river water clear, crisp and cold.
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Zack Wins Triple Crown
George Zack of Broomfield and his burro Jack won the Triple Crown of Burro Races, having placed first in Buena Vista, Leadville and Fairplay.
“He’s an older donkey, and I wasn’t sure he had the wheels to do it,” said Zack, after winning the final leg of the Crown in Leadville.
6,000 Watts for the Wets
Wet Mountain Broadcasting Corporation is rolling out a full-power license, KLZR 91.7 FM. KLZR is a non-commercial, educational radio station that will serve the communities of Westcliffe, Silver Cliff and most of the Wet Mountain Valley from the Arkansas River to northern portions of Huerfano County. KLZR will be rolled out in several stages over the next six months. Earlier this month, Wet Mountain Broadcasting received FCC approval to increase KLZR’s transmission power from 100 to 6,000 watts and to change the frequency from 91.9 to 91.7 FM.
Mountain Bikers Perish
Colorado lost two professional mountain bikers in August. Will Olson of Edwards died during the Big Mountain Enduro World Series in Crested Butte on Aug. 1, after crashing his bike on the course. 55-year-old Scott Ellis of Johnstown died of an apparent heart attack during the Leadville Trail 100-mile mountain bike race on Aug. 15. His death was the first in the 22-year history of the Trail 100.
Shorts …
• The Denver Post is phasing out its outdoors editor, Scott Willoughby, and dumping its outdoors pages. Colorado Central will continue to write about the outdoors in this beautiful state.
• A pilot from Texas was forced to make an emergency landing in a pasture at the Bull Domingo Ranch near Westcliffe. Lee Roy Hoskins lost engine power at 14,000 feet on July 25 on his way to Salida. Neither he nor his passenger was injured.
• James E. “Jim” Martin, former mayor of Leadville, passed away on Aug. 7 at the age of 84.
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Aug. 13 nearly $828,00 in grants to preserve habitat for threatened species such as the Gunnison sage grouse.
• More than $30,000 was raised at an auction to benefit the Rialto Theater in Florence in mid-August.
• Gunnison’s One Room Schoolhouse, also known as Orsch, will be closing due to financial and personal issues arising from accusations of failure to report child abuse and neglect.
• The infamous Laura Evans home, currently housing the Mon-Ark Shrine Club, is up for sale. They cited declining membership as the reason for the sale. Laura Evans operated a brothel at the location from the early 1900s until 1949.
• Florence City Councilman Mel Edwards, 52, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 26. He was first appointed in 2012.
