EPA Reduces Estimate Of Sediment Release At Superfund Site

DENVER (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says between 500 and 600 gallons of sediment-bearing water was released from a pond at a western Colorado Superfund site, not 2,000 gallons as the agency first reported.

The EPA released the revised estimate Friday.

The agency says a contractor was using a vacuum truck to transfer treated water from the holding pond into a creek on Tuesday and inadvertently picked up sediment as well as water.

The pond contains water flowing from the inactive Standard Mine, a Superfund cleanup site above Crested Butte. It also holds water used in drilling operations involved in the cleanup.

The EPA says the water was treated to have a neutral pH, meaning it was neither acidic nor alkaline. The agency hasn't said whether it contained any remaining contaminants.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)