EPA mine spill dumped a week's worth of toxic sludge

The massive mine spill that the Environmental Protection Agency caused in August 2015 equaled a week’s worth of normal mine leaks in the region of Silverton, Colo., where it occurred, the agency said Friday in its final report on the spill.

The report showed that the spill of 3 million gallons of toxic waste water at the Gold King Mine caused by EPA contractors lasted about nine hours Aug. 5. The spill was “comparable to four to seven days of ongoing acid mine drainage” from the Gold King Mine, or “the average amount of metals carried by the river in one to two days of high spring runoff,” the report said.