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Superfund cleanup needed downstream

If you have ever been fortunate enough to go four-wheeling up Bolam Pass, you may have stopped to read the permanent placards dedicated to the history of the Graysill mine, located on the south side of Bolam. Uranium for yellowcake was mined there for about 35 years; it was used for the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos. This mine’s drainage runs directly into the Hermosa Creek drainage, which then runs into the Animas river near the top of the Animas Valley.

It seems very possible that contaminants and heavy metals could be entering the river there, as well as above Silverton. Shouldn’t any sincere and real efforts to clean up the Animas include Hermosa Creek? If the Superfund site is located in or around Silverton, the river could be recontaminated before it reaches the busiest usage areas.

Don’t forget, there were at least two dumps with leach fields that also run into the Animas: one at the east base of the Hogback and another on the southwest side of Bodo.

What about the unexplained murk from Lightner Creek? If we’re really going to go with a Superfund designation, shouldn’t it have real solutions for the health of our beloved river and the folks downstream?

Lisa Schaefer

Durango



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