A wastewater spill from a Colorado mine has prompted state officials to expand the list of downstream users they warn after such accidents.
Colorado officials notified only agencies inside their state after 3 million gallons of water tainted with heavy metals gushed out of the Gold King mine Aug. 5, eventually reaching rivers in New Mexico and Utah.
Colorado health department spokesman Mark Salley says the agency is changing its guidelines and will warn downstream states in the future. He says Colorado officials didn't know the magnitude of the spill when they issued their warnings.
New Mexico officials are unhappy because they say the federal Environmental Protection Agency never alerted them, even though an EPA-supervised crew inadvertently triggered the spill.
EPA officials didn't immediately respond to phone calls Wednesday.
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