Colorado Says Don’t Blame Us For EPA Spills

Remember that mine waste spill the EPA caused back in August? The one that turned the Animas River a spectacular shade of orange? The state of Colorado says don't blame them.

The Associated Press is reporting that despite what previous reports said, they did not approve the EPA activities. Here's their story.

Colorado officials say they didn't endorse an Environmental Protection Agency cleanup operation that caused a massive spill of toxic wastewater from an inactive mine, disputing a key claim by federal agencies that state experts signed off on the plan.

State officials neither approved nor disapproved of the operation, according to a Sept. 2 letter to the EPA from Mike King, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. The Associated Press obtained the letter through an open records request.

King's letter is a blow to the EPA's contention that outside technical experts supported its plan to push a drainage pipe through debris covering the entrance to the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado on Aug. 5. The debris gave way, unleashing a torrent of 3 million gallons of wastewater laden with heavy metals from inside the mine.

It's time we ask some serious questions now. For example, why did the river turn orange instead of a nice shade of purple?