(Photo courtesy of Environmental Protection Agency)

The scene near Gold King Mine.

The EPA is acknowledging the concerns of officials in New Mexico that spring runoff could stir up contaminants left behind by the Gold King Mine spill in southern Colorado last year.

EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry, in a letter sent this week to New Mexico's congressional delegation, said the federal agency is providing $2 million for long-term monitoring and planning. States and tribes can apply their share to monitoring this spring.

Earlier this month, the New Mexico delegation told the EPA it had concerns over delays in compensation for expenses and damages caused by the spill, which fouled rivers in three Western states.

New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn said Thursday that the money offered by the EPA is less than half of what it would take to fund a long-term monitoring effort that would protect communities.

New Mexico plans to sue the federal government, the state of Colorado and the owners of two mines over the spill.