>>> WE ARE COVERING COLORADO FIRST ON CBS NEWS AT 6:00 TONIGHT FOR YOU. WE START WITH AN UPDATE OUT OF MORGAN COUNTY, WHERE NEIGHBORHOOD HAS BECOME A HAZMAT SCENE. ASK FOR BEING WITH US, I'M KAREN LEE. >> AND I MICHAEL SPENCER. THIS COMES AFTER A STORY BY CBS COLORADO EXPOSING TOXIC SLUDGE IN THE DRINKING WATER. RESIDENTS IN THE DISTRICT HAVE BEEN SOUNDING AN ALARM ABOUT BLACK SLUDGE IN THEIR WATER FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS. NOW THE STATE IS FINALLY TAKING ENFORCEMENT ACTION, ISSUING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN FINES AND ORDERING DEVELOPERS TO PAY FOR THE REMOVAL OF THE SLUDGE, WHICH TESTS SHOW IS RADIOACTIVE. THE STORY OF HOW OUR SHAUN BOYD EXPLAINED JUST HOW BAD THE SITUATION HAS BECOME. >> IT IS HARD TO BELIEVE THIS IS BEEN GOING ON BY SO LONG. >> THE RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN LET DOWN BY ONE GOVERNMENT AGENCY AFTER ANOTHER. AGENCIES ABOUT THEIR HEALTH AND HOMES AT RISK, CAUSING SOME TO SIMPLY ABANDON THEIR PROPERTIES BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET CLEAN WATER. WHILE THE STATE IS NOW TAKING ENFORCEMENT ACTION, IT MAY BE TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE. THIS IS WHAT IT HAS COME TO AT PRAIRIE VIEW RANCH WATER DISTRICT. THE TANKS THAT HOLD DRINKING WATER FOR NEARLY 140 RESIDENTS ARE FULL OF SLUDGE THAT IS SO TOXIC, HAZMAT CREWS HAVE NOW BEEN BROUGHT IN TO DIG THEM UP AND CLEAN THEM OUT. >> I DON'T KNOW HOW ELSE TO EXPLAIN HOW THIS COULD'VE HAPPENED. THERE ARE CHECKS AND BALANCES THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN PLACE. >> Reporter: BUT JESSE McALPINE, WHO BOUGHT A HOUSE HERE IN 2020, SAY THOSE CHECKS AND BALANCES HAVE BEEN MISSING FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS, PUTTING THE HEALTH OF THOSE WHO LIVE HERE AT RISK. THE EPA REQUIRES THE STATE WILL WATER QUALITY DIVISION II APPROVE DESIGN PLANS FOR WATER SYSTEMS BEFORE THEY ARE BUILT. DEVELOPERS BUILD THIS SYSTEM WITHOUT APPROVAL , AND WHEN THE STATE FOUND OUT IN 2007 IT DID NOTHING, WAITING 10 YEARS TO ISSUE A NOTICE OF VIOLATION . THE DISTRICT HAS RECEIVED NEARLY 200 NOTICES SINCE 2017, BUT ONLY AFTER OUR STORY LAST MONTH DID THE STATE FINALLY ISSUE AN ENFORCEMENT ORDER. BUT COPPIN SAYS IT IS TOO LATE. >> IT HAS MOSTLY BEEN DETERMINED BY ENGINEERS AND OTHER EXPERTS THAT WE ARE FACING A TOTAL SYSTEM REPLACEMENT. FIRE HYDRANTS, PIPELINES, THE TREATMENT PLANTS, IT ALL JUST NEEDS TO BE RIPPED OUT OF THE GROUND AND REPLACED. IT >> Reporter: CERTIFIED LAB RESULTS SHOW THE BLACK SLUDGE THAT HAS BEEN COLLECTING ON WATER FILTERS IN RESIDENTS HOMES IS CONTAMINATED WITH RADIOACTIVE LEAD, URANIUM, AND RADON. THE WATER QUALITY DIVISION SAYS IT ONLY BECAME AWARE OF THE SLUDGE IN DECEMBER OF LAST YEAR, BUT EMAILS SHOW RESIDENTS COMPLAINING FOR YEARS OF INDOOR PLUMBING CLOGGED WITH THICK, BLACK SLUDGE LIKE MOTOR OIL. KITCHEN SINKS AND TOILETS THANKS COATED WITH THICK, BLACK TAR THAT WILL NOT COME OFF. BLACK CHUNKS AND SEDIMENT FILTERS, RUST CLUMPS IN WATER, AND WATER THAT IS CRUNCHY WITH SOLID GRAINS OF MANGANESE DIOXIDE. >> SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE STOPPED IT. SOMEONE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO STOP IT. >> Reporter: INSTEAD, THEY ALLOW THE SYSTEM TO EXPAND AND THE SLUDGE TO WORSEN. >> IT HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE IT IS CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE PUMPS, DAMAGE TO THE SYSTEM, DEFINITELY CAUSING PRIVATE PROPERTY DAMAGE TO THE HOMEOWNERS WATER HEATERS AND WHATNOT. >> Reporter: HE BLAMES NOT ONLY THE STATE WATER QUALITY DIVISION, BUT MORGAN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS , SAYING THEY RUBBERSTAMPED THE SERVICE PLAN FOR THE WATER DISTRICT DESPITE ALL KINDS OF RED FLAGS. NOT ONLY WAS THE SPECIAL DISTRICT SET UP AS A PRIVATE , FOR-PROFIT COMPANY WHEN IT IS A TAX-EXEMPT GOVERNMENT ENTITY, BUT IT WAS SET UP DESPITE ANOTHER WATER DISTRICT RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET. STATE LAW REQUIRES COMMISSIONERS DENY APPROVAL OF A WATER DISTRICT IF THERE IS ALREADY SERVICE AVAILABLE. BUT MORGAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER JOHN BAKKER SAYS IT IS NOT THE BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY TO DO THAT DUE DILIGENCE. >> THE COUNTY HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE SURE THINGS ARE BEING DONE PROPERLY, BUT THEY JUST SIMPLY TURNED A BLIND EYE TO EVERYTHING. >> Reporter: HAD COMMISSIONERS ASKED FOR PROOF THAT THE WATER MET DRINKING WATER STANDARDS AS DEVELOPERS CLAIMED, HE SAYS THEY WOULD HAVE LEARNED TEST BY A STATE ENGINEER ALREADY SHOWED HIGH LEVELS OF URANIUM, SELENIUM, AND RADIOACTIVE ACTIVITY. BUT COMMISSIONERS DIDN'T ASK, AND COPPIN SAYS BECAUSE THE DEVELOPERS AND OUT-OF-STATE FAMILY MEMBERS RAN THE DISTRICT BOARD, RESIDENTS WOULDN'T LEARN WHAT WAS IN THEIR WATER FOR YEARS, DESPITE WARNING AFTER WARNING FROM THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO THE DISTRICT. THE WATER QUALITY DIVISION ORDERED THE DEVELOPER TO PAY FOR HAZMAT CREWS TO REMOVE THE SLUDGE AND CLEAN THE TANKS AND DISTRIBUTION LINES. BUT COPPIN SAYS WITHOUT A CENTRAL TREATMENT FACILITY IT IS A TEMPORARY FIX. >> WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF THIS PROJECT BEING COMPLETED, THE MANGANESE LEVELS AND THE SLUDGE LEVELS WILL BE MUCH LOWER, BUT THEY WILL INEVITABLY GET BACK TO WHERE THEY ARE NOW IF NOTHING CHANGES. >> Reporter: HE TELLS ME SOME HOME FILTRATION SYSTEMS ARE ALREADY TURNING LACK AGAIN. THE WATER QUALITY DIVISION HAS ISSUED MORE THAN $8000 IN FINES AGAINST THE DEVELOPERS AND THE WATER DISTRICT, WHICH IS NOW BEING RUN BY RESIDENTS. BUT IT IS ONLY REQUIRING THEM TO PAY ABOUT 800 OF THAT , IF THEY COME UP WITH A PLAN TO FIX EVERYTHING BY JUNE. THAT MEANS COMING UP WITH MONEY FOR A COMPLETE SYSTEM OVERHAUL IN CENTRAL TREATMENT, WHICH WILL LIKELY COST OVER $1 MILLION. AND HE SAYS THE DISTRICT IS MISSING $1 MILLION FROM WHEN THE DEVELOPERS RAN THE BOARD. HE HAS ASKED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE REPEATEDLY FOR HELP , BUT HAS YET TO EVEN HEAR BACK. AGAIN, THESE RESIDENTS LET DOWN , AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. >>
