LEADVILLE, Colo. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that the pumping and treatment of water from the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel in the historic Leadville Mining District will begin by mid-June.

In February, the EPA promised to do two things to alleviate concerns about a potential catastrophic failure of the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel:

Install a pump in the Gaw Shaft to pump water from the mine workings.

Construct a relief well into the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel to pump water directly from the tunnel and transport it via pipeline to the Bureau of Reclamation’s water treatment plant.

On February 27, EPA began pumping water from the Gaw Shaft.

A news release from the EPA said 28 million gallons of water have been pumped from underground mine workings in the Leadville Mining District.

The EPA initially planned to complete drilling the relief well and pumping the water from the Leadville Mine drainage tunnel by mid-May. While the contractor will begin working immediately, the EPA now estimates that it will take longer than originally anticipated to complete the well.

Officials said that's because of the limited availability of large drilling rigs and the need to secure the custom-made equipment necessary to drill the well.

The schedule change means the work on the relief well and pipeline may not be finished until mid-June.

For more information on the Leadville mine drainage response and progress reports, go to the EPA mine response Web site.