The owner of a now-abandoned mine in Yavapai County leaking arsenic into local waterways has been fined millions of dollars.
A judge has ordered Bagdad Hillside mining company to pay $2.7 million for contaminating a public creek for about three years.
An Arizona Department of Environmental Quality investigation found that Bagdad Hillside agreed to make a plan for stopping the arsenic leak, but never did.
MORE: What Do Abandoned Mines Mean For Our Health, Environment?
The arsenic-contaminated water went directly into local Boulder Creek at five gallons a minute, or about 2.6 million gallons a year.
The mining company was convicted of three felony violations and put on two years of felony probation.
