Thousands Near Mexico Border Without Drinking Water Following Toxic Mining Spill Juan E. Gastelum - BuzzFeed
go to original August 20, 2014

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The Mexican government Monday filed a criminal complaint against a copper mining company believed to be responsible for an acid spill that sent 10 million gallons of toxic wastewater down two rivers in the border state of Sonora earlier this month.

Officials at the Attorney General for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) are looking to impose a fine of up to about $15,400 (201,870 Mexican pesos) and up to nine years in prison to whomever is determined responsible for the spill, which they have deemed to have resulted in “probable crimes against the environment,” according to a release published on the agency’s website.

The sulfuric acid spill on Aug. 6, happened at the the Buenavista copper mine near the city of Cananea, located about 25 miles south of the U.S. border near Nogales, Ariz. Residents downstream noticed the spill the next day, before mine operators reported it to authorities, according to a state official.

The acid turned parts of the the Bacanuchi and Sonora rivers orange, cut off water supplies to tens of thousand of people in the region, and prompted officials to push back the re-opening of 88 schools until a supply of safe drinking water for students is secured, according to media reports.

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