It took only a matter of days for the Animas River to return to its typical emerald color palette after contaminated water poured out of the Gold King Mine on Aug. 5, 2015, and turned it a mustard yel.
Durango has always relied on the active flows of the Florida and Animas rivers for its water, but with aging infrastructure, mine spills, wildfires and the problems of drought-prone areas, it might be.
“Has any of this money ever been thought of to be given to the people that actually suffered? The loss of crops? The loss of the joy of farming?” Rep. Anthony Allison said.
New Mexico is accepting applications to help it spend $10 million in settlement money from the Gold King Mine Spill, which turned rivers yellow in 2015 and caused immense economic and environmental damage in the region.