COLORADO, SEPT 22, 2017 -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is installing a barrier and valve inside an inactive Colorado mine.
ABC News reports the 12-inch (30-centimeter) valve will regulate wastewater pouring from the Gold King Mine in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, where the EPA inadvertently triggered a wastewater spill while excavating at the mine entrance in August 2015.
The spill released 3 million gallons of wastewater containing aluminum, iron and other heavy metals into rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The EPA says the valve will be mounted in a steel-and concrete barrier about 70 feet inside the mine. At another part of the mine, the EPA is also drilling a 170-foot horizontal well to drain water buildup. In official documents, the EPA said it can control the flow of wastewater from the new drain to avoid another blowout.
Read more here.