Polluting the Future: U.S. mines will annually pollute as much as 27 billion gallons of water, in perpetuity

A new report released today shows existing U.S. hardrock mines (e.g. gold, copper, uranium) will pollute up to 27 billion gallons of fresh water per year, and cost as much as $67 billion per year to clean, in perpetuity. Based on government data, the report also reveals that four proposed mines could annually pollute an additional 16 billion gallons.

"The scale of the problem is enormous, and growing," said Bonnie Gestring, report author and Earthworks' Northwest Organizer. She continued, "Every year, mines will pollute enough water to fill 2 trillion water bottles -- enough bottles to reach to the moon and back 54 times."
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