Santa Fe, NM – This afternoon, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and the New Mexico Environment Department filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), its contractor and two Colorado mine owners in response to the Gold King Mine Spill’s devastating impact on the State. New Mexico, in addition to the State of Utah, the Navajo Nation and the Southern Ute Tribe, suffered catastrophic environmental, public health and economic damage due to the release of hazardous substances into the Animas River. Since the incident occurred, the State of New Mexico has been in communication with the EPA but the parties have not been able to mutually agree on a monitoring plan that appropriately protects New Mexico and surrounding tribal lands.
