New report: Abandoned mine pollution in the West

[Bob Hersh <bhersh@cpeo.org>]

Mines are deep trouble
Report: Abandoned sites slowly polluting state's water supplies

By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News
August 19, 2004

Chronic water pollution leaching from about 7,000 abandoned mines poses
a significant threat to Colorado's environment, yet almost no money is
available to solve the problem, a conservation group said Wednesday.

Toxic metals and acidified water are seeping from old mines into more
than 1,600 miles of rivers and streams in Colorado, but meager state and
federal resources are preventing cleanups, according to a representative
of Trout Unlimited.

To draw attention to the issue, Trout Unlimited released a report,
"Settled, Mined and Left Behind," that highlights the ecological damage
created by about 500,000 abandoned hard-rock mines in the western United
States.

The group also called for more partnerships between local activists,
private organizations and government agencies to target the most
polluting sites for cleanup, then pursue grants from the U.S. Forest
Service, the Environmental Protection Agency or even philanthropic
groups to get the work done.

"There's no way one agency can address a problem of this extent," said
Russ Schnitzer, western field director for Trout Unlimited.

Unlike coal-mining operations, which must contribute to a federal
cleanup fund, hard-rock mines have no such requirement, activists say,
leaving the public to deal with the legacy of an industry that left its
footprint throughout Colorado's mountains.

To read the entire article see:
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3121314,00.html


Bob Hersh
CPEO