Animas River Stakeholders
The mission of the Animas River Stakeholders Group (ARSG) is to improve water quality and habitats in the Animas River through a collaborative process designed to encourage participation from all interested parties.
Participants include mining companies, elected officials, local citizens and interest groups, environmental organizations, and landowners, including federal and state agencies. This innovative process holds open meetings allowing all parties to participate at a level suited to their interest and need. The group usually meets on the third Thursday of every month in Silverton, Colorado. Working group meetings, handling specific issues to put before the full group, normally meet immediately preceding the monthly meeting.
The Upper Animas Watershed has a long history of extensive metal mining as an economic mainstay dating back to the 1880s. Headwaters contamination in the Silverton vicinity is from both mining activities and natural sources. In 1995 the Colorado Water Quality Control Commission adopted stricter standards for certain segments of the upper Animas with a delayed effective date at the Stakeholders’ request. The Commission then empowered the Animas River Stakeholders to locate and evaluate sources of metals contamination, determine potential improvement, and prioritize sites for remediation in order to recommend achievable water quality standards and use classifications.
The Stakeholder process involves the extensive collection and analysis consolidation of the chemical, physical, and biological components necessary to assess the impacts of contamination on aquatic life and habitat throughout the Basin. Using this watershed approach, the Stakeholders will synthesize scientific findings with economic, social, and political consideration to influence future regulatory and land management decisions.