New Mexico sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an agency contractor and two mining companies on Monday over the 2015 breach of an abandoned Colorado gold mine that spilled some 3 million gallons of toxic wastewater into three states. The Gold King Mine rupture, which was accidentally triggered by an EPA inspection team called there to inspect seepage, unleashed a torrent of yellow sludge that contained high concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead. New Mexico, Colorado and Utah were affected.
