It’s been eight days since an Environmental Protection Agency-supervised crew accidentally burst a Gold King Mine plug that unleashed 3 million gallons of wastewater containing heavy metals and arsenic into the Animas River.

Communities in three states are increasingly frustrated about the downplayed and delayed response from the EPA and lack of information about the health impacts of the spill.

Yesterday Colorado health officials said the city of Durango can resume using drinking water treatment facilities that draw from the river. Experts believe this accident could significantly shape the way in which the EPA and others conduct future mine cleanups in the western United States.

Guests:

Jonathan Thompson, lives and works in Durango, CO, where he’s Senior Editor at High Country News

Joel Reynolds, Western director and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), he has penned an Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Times titled "The Animas River spill and the myth of mine safety"