New Mexico AG vows to keep pressuring feds over mine spill

New Mexico AG vows to keep pressuring feds over mine spill

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AZTEC, N.M. (AP) — The state's top prosecutor, elected officials from northwestern New Mexico and the Navajo Nation are meeting with residents and business owners to talk about possible legal steps following last year's mine waste spill that fouled rivers in three western states.

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas on Tuesday urged residents affected by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill to share their stories as the state continues to build its case against the federal government.

A cleanup team led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency triggered the Aug. 5, 2015, spill while working at the mine near Silverton, Colorado. The 3-million-gallon blowout tainted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah with tons of toxic heavy metals including arsenic, mercury and lead.

New Mexico officials said Tuesday they're still concerned about contaminated sediment being stirred up by storm runoff.

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