Federal officials say water sent to Navajo Nation farmers after mine waste contaminated nearby rivers met federal and tribal standards for livestock and irrigation. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released those new test results this week.
The EPA says the results are consistent with earlier tests.
This comes two months after farmers and Navajo officials said the water the U.S. government sent was tainted by oil. That water was delivered in tanks after orange wastewater laced with heavy metals spewed from a long-closed mine in Colorado.
The tainted water filled the Animas and San Juan rivers and creeped across parts of the Four Corners, including the the Navajo Reservation.
Nation President Russell Begaye said he’s glad the EPA released the test results, but insists a number of the tanks did contain petroleum residue, rust and other contaminants.
