Feds stand behind report that Colorado agreed to mine plan

The federal agencies have said two state mining experts endorsed the project and agreed with federal officials from the scene that there was little threat of a massive spill.

In separate reports, the EPA said the state experts agreed the water inside the mine was under little or no pressure, and the Bureau of Reclamation — which conducted an outside technical review of the spill — said the state experts signed off on the plan to insert the drain pipe.

Natural Resources Director Mike King wrote in a Sept. 2 letter to the EPA's inspector general that the state experts didn't make any determination of the water pressure and didn't approve or disapprove of the drain pipe plan.