New Mexico To Outline Legal Steps After Toxic Mine Spill

AZTEC, N.M. (AP) — The state's top prosecutor and 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 and the other officials are urging residents affected by the 2015 Gold King Mine spill to file claims. 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 have said they're still concerned about contaminated sediment being stirred up by storm runoff.