Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Lower Slat Lake (photo: Brian Wallace/Juneau Empire)
The fate of a little known lake in Alaska, and potentially the practices of the mining industry in the United States, may be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming weeks. The case involves a tiny body of water known as Lower Slate Lake, into which the mining operation of Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. wants to dump tons of effluent from gold mining. Environmental lawyers have filed suit to stop Coeur, and the ruling by the high court could alter the practice of mining companies that use natural lakes as dumping grounds for toxic refuse.
Coeur’s decision to use the Alaskan lake was made possible by regulatory changes implemented during the Bush administration in 2002 that allowed companies to use lakes as receptacles for tailings. The company has been supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which says the tailings Coeur wants to dispose into Lower Slate Lake are as harmless as beach sand.
Tom Waldo, an environmental attorney involved in the case, disagrees with the Corps’ assessment, saying the pulverized rock from the mine would be treated with chemicals to help skim off gold and then pumped into the lake at the rate of 200,000 gallons a day. Waldo insists the runoff will have a “pH level equal to ammonia, which is toxic to aquatic life.”
Alaskan Lake’s Fate Could Echo Across Continent (by Todd Wilkinson, Christian Science Monitor)
Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council(07-984); Alaska v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (07-990) (Cornell University Law School)
Court Transcript: Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council (U.S. Supreme Court) (PDF)
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