Democrats scotch Lamborn’s Leadville Mine Tunnel bill

LEADVILLE– Citizens here will continue to wait for the federal government to take responsibility for a mine drainage tunnel running through town and brimming with contaminated water.

A U.S. House bill ordering the Bureau of Reclamation to pump and clean the contaminated water backed up behind a blockage in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel was voted down Tuesday, largely by Democrats, including two from Colorado, in what observers suggest looked like clear political gamesmanship.