June 14, 2008--Eagle River will be cleaner, not pristine (Vail Daily)
Newly approved water quality standards won’t lead to a pristine Eagle River, but should mean less toxic metal in the water and possibly healthier trout. The Water Quality Control Commission has adopted new limits on how much toxic metal is allowed to flow through the Eagle River, which for decades has been tainted by zinc, copper and cadmium spilling out of the now defunct Eagle Mine south of Minturn. The pollution killed fish, tainted drinking water, and at one point, stained the river orange. It was declared a ‘Superfund’ cleanup site by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1986, and cleanup by media conglomerate Viacom began in 1988.
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