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<br />L<B>and</B> <B>mine</B> <br /> <br /> <br />,~, <br />, <br /> <br />RockyMountainNews.com <br /> <br />Keyword Navigation: <br /> <br />leitenar alist orJeg <br /> <br />lost in a sea of IT <br />outsourcing options?; <br /> <br />JonBenet <br />EiectiOR2000 <br />Homeless Murders <br />Le2islature <br />Nation <br />World <br />Sciffech <br />COiiiDliiists <br />ODinlon <br />Denver SQuare <br />Births <br />weddiDl!S <br />Obituaries <br />Weather <br />Lottery <br /> <br />,~iness <br />,\Sports <br /> <br />,~eation <br />,(G;;ing Out <br />,f$!ayin 9 In <br /> <br />,-;- <br />". Auto, <br />.["Cc;reers <br />rHomes <br />[Classified, <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />land mine <br /> <br />Summitville's golden promise exploded in an <br />unnatural disaster <br /> <br />By Berny Morson <br />Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer <br /> <br />It was a grand vista, but it became a moonscape, <br /> <br />It held the rich promise of gold, but it delivered <br />disaster. <br /> <br />Summitville - the name itself has become <br />synonymous with environmental destruction, A <br />Colorado catastrophe. A $150 million mistake <br />whose scars are still visible in the high country, <br /> <br />Its journey to notoriety began in 1984, when state <br />regulators welcomed a Canadian firm that <br />promised an economic jolt for Colorado's San Luis <br />Valley. The company said it wanted to open a <br />mine that would wring gold from ore by a new <br />process involving cyanide, <br /> <br />Nine years later, the Environmental Protection <br />Agency rushed an emergency team to the mine <br />high in the San Juan Mountains, where an <br />earthen dam was precariously holding back an <br />enormous pool of water laced with the deadly <br />cyanide, <br /> <br />The mining company had declared bankruptcy, <br />abandoning the mine and leaving a square mile of <br />devastation, Any vegetation that hadn't been <br />ripped out by the company's giant diggers was <br />killed by sulfuric acid, a byproduct of the mining, <br /> <br />The acid, plus years of leaks from the cyanide <br />pool. streamed into area waterways, When that <br />toxic water entered the Alamosa River, it killed all <br />the fish - and nearly all other life - in most of <br />the river, . <br /> <br />Now, state and federal attorneys have amassed a <br />library of documents that sketch the most <br />complete picture yet of how one of Co.lorado's <br />most scenic areas became permanently scarred <br />by a mine that even now continues to ooze acid <br />into area streams, <br /> <br />http://www.denver-rmn.com/news/0507smmt I.shtml <br /> <br />,\'fa)' 7 <br />Summitville drama <br />could play out soon <br />in federal court <br /> <br />Land mine <br /> <br />'There will never be <br />another Summitville' <br /> <br />Libertarians speak <br />allainst state's druQ- <br />war sentencing <br /> <br />Civil Service director <br />resigns <br /> <br />Neighborhood under <br />siege <br /> <br />Staking the future <br />Buying social <br />change <br /> <br />Most cruisers keep <br />the peace on second <br />night of Cinco de <br />Mayo <br /> <br />Crowd turns out for <br />Cinco de Mayo <br /> <br />ShootinQs spur <br />community leaders <br />to urge peaceful <br />Cinco de Mayo <br /> <br />Loch Ness Monster <br />kilts the competition <br /> <br />Growth push <br />uncovers more <br />pioneer graves <br /> <br />Driyer admits <br />shooting bicyclist <br /> <br />Page 1 of 20 <br /> <br />~{'l <br />.". : <br /> <br />tit <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />5/7/00 <br />