Bill would OK Leadville cleanup

From the AP:

Colorado congressmen Doug Lamborn and Mark Udall introduced legislation today that makes the Bureau of Reclamation responsible for removing up to 1 billion gallons of contaminated water trapped in a Leadville drainage tunnel.

The legislation comes two weeks after Lake County officials declared a state of emergency, saying water pressure in the tunnel could cause a blowout and flood the town.

The tunnel drains water from hundreds of abandoned mine shafts. A collapse inside the tunnel, detected in 1995, caused the water to back up inside the shafts.

Udall has said some of the water could be pumped to a nearby well the EPA owns. But longer-term, Udall and Lamborn want Reclamation to build another well and transfer the water to its treatment facility.