New Mexico is suing the federal government and the owners of two mines over environmental and economic damages caused by the release of 3 million gallons of wastewater from a southern Colorado mine.
The lawsuit filed Monday in federal court states the environmental effects of the August 2015 spill are far worse than claimed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said last week it's taking responsibility for the cleanup.
It was an EPA contractor that triggered the release at the Gold King Mine.
Part of the nearly $155 million in damages sought by New Mexico would go toward reimbursing the state for its response to the disaster, long-term monitoring and a marketing campaign to undo the stigma left behind by the yellow plume of arsenic, lead and other heavy metals.
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