Alva Review-Courier -

CUBA, N.M. (AP) — For decades, yellow- and white-tinged piles of waste from a defunct copper mine have covered the mountainside at the edge of the quintessential New Mexico village of Cuba — out of sight, out of mind and not nasty enough to warrant the attention of the federal government's Superfund program.

Still, State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn says something needs to be done as heavy metals leach from the tainted soil.

"It's not going to go away," Dunn said while standing on the expansive sand dune that has developed over the tailings. "There are two choices: Do nothing and look the oth...