Alva Review-Courier -

DENVER (AP) — Economic damage from a Colorado mine waste spill caused by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency might be far less than originally feared after attorneys drastically reduced some of the larger claims, The Associated Press has learned.

Farmers, business owners, residents and others initially said they suffered $1.2 billion in lost income, property damage and personal injuries from the 2015 spill at the Gold King Mine, which tainted rivers in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

But the total now appears to be about $420 million. A single law firm that originally filed claims totaling...