A $32 million settlement from a disaster that occurred several years ago, has arrived just in time to help victims of a current disaster.
The state of New Mexico was awarded a $32 million settlement from the federal government over a 2015 environmental spill in the Four Corners area. The Gold King Mine Spill occurred when EPA contractors accidentally triggered the release of millions of gallons of toxic mining waste into the Animas River. The toxic liquid turned the water yellow, contaminating drinking water and forcing farmers to stop using the water for irrigation purposes.
While announcing the settlement during a gathering in Farmington, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called the national images of the yellow toxic liquid, “disturbing” as it flowed “through our beautiful communities and rivers.”
The settlement is a result of the economic damage caused by the spill and the resulting stigma that impacted sales.
“There is actual data that shows that the grocery receipt tax in northwest New Mexico, from the day of the spill onward, was less than the state of New Mexico,” Jim Kenney, secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, said at the gathering. “So, we saw harm, it is scientific data that is available to us and that’s the harm we are trying to correct.”
The settlement, according to the governor, will be invested in the communities that rely on the impacted water sources, and also those who were impacted by the recent fires that devastated homes, businesses, and families in the northern part of the state.
“We are going to give that money in that same way so it can translate itself into any number of things that promote local economic development,” Grisham said.
Kenney said impacted communities could receive some financial benefits as soon as August.
“Publicity, marketing, education all of that and the water quality all the environmental and science work, it could translate itself into a number of really productive opportunities that this community deserves,” Kenney said.
