Catastrophe struck last week when an old gold mine with a large deposit of mining waste water accidentally spilled into a creek that poured straight into the Animas River in Colorado. EPA and other government agencies are currently monitoring the yellow sludge moving quickly across the state. Ironically, it's the Environmental Protection Agency who is said to be responsible for this incident. While authorities are rushing to find ways to contain the fast spreading toxic water, a critical issue on homes near Superfund sites is slowly being raised - will this incident affect the value of properties in these locations?
According to a report from kunc.org, "For years, the EPA has wanted to name areas around Silverton as a Superfund site. This brings funding for cleanups. The town, in turn, has resisted, fearing the label would be toxic to tourism.". Clearly, it's an indication of the negative impact of being included in the National Priority List or being tagged a Superfund site. If it can drastically affect tourism, it's obvious that it can also impact the market value of real estate in affected areas.
In a separate report from latimes.com, The EPA sampled 107 homes near the Del Amo and Montrose Superfund sites earlier this year under pressure from residents worried they are breathing dangerous chemicals seeping in their homes from a plume of tainted groundwater below. While news like these are certainly something to worry about, there is also something positive that can be taken from such situations.
The yellow sludge incident in Colorado is far from over and its repercussions will surely be felt by the entire nation, which is a good thing because finally, more people will be aware of the dangers these sites pose and they will demand stricter safety measures in the future to avoid similar disasters. Peter Butler, of the Animas River Stakeholders Group, said in the same report from kunc.org "I think it highlights the issues of water quality related to mines. And that getting a lot more publicity, a lot more people are going to be interested in doing stuff about mines."
