When the River Died, a Quiet Community Raised Its Voice in Anger
Ignacio Rodriguez still vividly remembers the horror he felt six
years ago after seeing dozens of dead trout lining the banks of
the Alamosa River in front of his southern Colorado home. At the
time, the trout were the latest victims of a series of toxic-
substance spills emanating several miles upriver at the
Summitville Mine--spills that began when the gold mine went into
operation in 1986. "Before the fish had always come back," says
Rodriguez. "But this time the wipeout was total. The toxics
killed fish, frogs, insects--every living thing in the river.
And it was permanent. The river is still dead today." In
December 1992, after Galactic Resources Ltd., the Canadian
owners of the mine, went bankrupt and walked away from the mess
they created, taxpayers were left holding the bag. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) soon went into emergency
response (a process that opens up funding for toxic cleanup).
Rodriguez winces as he recalls how hi