Navajo Nation, New Mexico reach settlements over mine spill

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Navajo Nation and the state of New Mexico have reached multimillion- dollar settlements with mining companies to resolve claims stemming from a 2015 spill that resulted in rivers in three Western states being fouled with a bright- yellow plume of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals, officials confirmed Wednesday.

Under the settlement with the Navajo Nation, Sunnyside Gold Corp. — a subsidiary of Canada’s Kinross Gold — will pay the tribe $10 million. New Mexico’s agreement includes a $10 million payment for lost tax revenue and environmental response costs as well as $1 million for injuries to the state’s natural resources.

The spill released 3 million gallons (11 million liters) of wastewater from the inactive Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado. A crew hired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency triggered the spill while trying to excavate the mine opening in preparation for a possible cleanup.

The wastewater made its way into the Animas River and eventually down to the San Juan River, setting off a major response by government agencies, the tribe and private groups.

Water utilities were forced to shut down intake valves, and farmers stopped drawing from the rivers as the plume moved downstream.

The tribe said the toxic water coursed through 200 miles (322 kilometers) of river on Navajo lands.

“The Gold King Mine blowout damaged entire communities and ecosystems in the Navajo Nation,” Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez said in a statement announcing the settlement. “We pledged to hold those who caused or contributed to the blowout responsible, and this settlement is just the beginning.”

The tribe’s claims against the EPA and its contractors remain pending. About 300 individual tribal members also have claims pending as part of a separate lawsuit.