EPA: Tests show water sent to Navajo Nation met standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says new tests on water sent to Navajo Nation farmers after a Colorado mine waste spill indicate it met federal and tribal standards for livestock and irrigation.

The EPA released the results Tuesday, two months after farmers and Navajo officials said the water delivered by a contractor contained oil. The agency says the results are consistent with earlier tests.

A spokesman said Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye wasn’t immediately available for comment Thursday.

The water was delivered after wastewater laced with heavy metals spilled from the inactive Gold King Mine on Aug. 5 and polluted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, including on the Southern Ute Reservation and the Navajo Reservation.

It was sent for Navajo farmers who use the rivers for irrigation.