Contractor Weston Solutions did not cause the 2015 release into several rivers of an estimated 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater, including 880,000 lb of heavy metals, from the abandoned Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colo., which eventually contaminated large areas in the state, New Mexico and Utah, a federal district court judge ruled Nov. 21. The court added that the company also is not responsible for cleanup costs related to the spill under the federal CERCLA law.
New Mexico and its environment agency filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its remedial contractors and the owners of the mine for damages caused by the spill. But they did not establish that Weston Solutions “possessed, owned, or controlled the water impounded in the Gold King Mine,” chief district court Judge William Johnson said.