New Mexico recently announced a $5 million settlement with two contractors in litigation over the 2015 Gold King Mine spill in Colorado.
A Dec. 29, 2022, release from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's office said the settlement had been reached with Environmental Restoration, LLC and Weston Solutions Inc. The announcement was made with Grisham, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas, Environment Secretary James Kenney and Natural Resources Trustee Maggie Hart Stebbins.
"Today marks the conclusion of years of hard work to hold accountable those responsible for this spill, which was devastating to the communities and environment in northwest New Mexico," Grisham said in the news release. "As a result of our efforts, the state and the communities affected are receiving the resources and compensation they deserve."
The settlement requires both contractors each pay to the state $2.5 million in cash to cover, among other things, litigation costs, harm suffered by the state and communities since the spill. About $2 million of the settlement will be paid out to the state's Office of the Natural Resources Trustee "for natural resource damages claims arising from the spill," the release said.
The settlement is part of about $48 million in settlements the state has won, including the $32 million that the federal government and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed early last year to pay the state. New Mexico also previously reached $11 million in settlements with mining company defendants, the release reported.
The state also received a $10 million federal grant for restoration and replacement projects over the spill.
"New Mexico's northwest region suffered serious environmental harms and economic loss, and this final settlement brings closure to years of hard work and the state can now move forward with restoration efforts," Balderas said in the news release.
The spill occurred in August 2015 while the EPA was carrying out an investigation at the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colo. During an excavation, pressurized water began to leak above the mine's tunnel, which spilled millions of gallons of water — laced with mine drainage and heavy metals — into the Animas River. Communities in the San Juan and Animas River watersheds in three states, including New Mexico, were affected.
