ALBUQUERQUE — Concern about groundwater contamination around a Superfund site in Western New Mexico's uranium belt has left a mining company to pick up the tab for connecting more than a dozen homes to a municipal water system that meets drinking water standards.

The state Environment Department announced Wednesday that it reached an agreement with Homestake Mining Co. of California to connect the residents — who rely on private wells — to the village of Milan's system.

"This agreement will ensure that residents have access to clean drinking water as soon as possible," Environment Secretary Ron Curry said.

The deal comes after the department warned residents in the San Mateo Creek basin earlier this month that their private wells may contain contaminants from naturally occurring ore deposits and from previous uranium-mining operations.

The possible contaminants range from uranium and selenium to radium and lead. The department said long-term exposure has been known to cause cancer and birth defects, among other health problems.

The basin, which spans parts of Cibola and McKinley counties, is rich in minerals. It also is dotted with old uranium mines, milling sites and huge piles of tailings.

State environment officials said Wednesday that they are beginning a long-term study to better understand the basin's watershed and to determine the extent of groundwater contamination and whether it could be because of natural sources or past mining activities.

"You're looking at something that's a large-scale issue and something that has happened over a long period of time, a lot of it prior to any environmental regulations," said Bill Olson, chief of the department's Ground Water Quality Bureau.

Under the deal with Homestake, the company will notify certain property owners of their opportunity to be connected to the village's water system, which is regularly monitored to ensure compliance with drinking water standards.

Homestake also will reimburse property owners who paid to be connected to the system within the last four years.

The Homestake mill is a Superfund site. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has required remediation of groundwater contamination there since the 1970s.

Residents close to the site first notified the Environment Department of well-water problems at a public meeting in August 2005. The department and Homestake agreed to sample well water in the vicinity in response to the concerns.

Contaminants were found in elevated levels, but Olson said the department doesn't have any information about illnesses related to the well water.

Just to the north, recent sampling around abandoned uranium-mine shafts also indicated the occurrence of groundwater contaminants in concentrations above drinking water standards.

The state asked basin residents to bring in samples of their well water for testing during a special fair Wednesday in Grants.

While the field tests reveal only basic data, Olson said the fair will help identify more wells that can be targeted for future, more detailed laboratory testing as part of the state's long-term study of the basin.




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