The U.S. Supreme Court is considering allowing the owners of an Alaska gold mine to dump mining waste into a nearby lake, a decision that could create a dangerous precedent.
The lawyer for the mining company is arguing that the waste should be defined as "fill," and that although fish in the lake will be killed, after a decade or more of mining, the lake will be made bigger and restocked–no harm done.
"Fill" is the term used by the coal industry to describe the ruinous practice of mountain top removal mining, which the Bush administration sought to make easier for companies last year.
Justice David Souter pointed out the ridiculous quaility of this "Orwellian" argument, but other justices reportedly disagree–thinking a lake full of waste is better than waste on the ground or in wetlands.
Justice Antonin Scalia asked: "Isn’t it arguable that the best place for really toxic stuff is at the bottom of a lake so long as it stays there?"
A ruling in favor of the mining company could allow such waste to be dumped into waterways throughout the United States, according to Tom Waldo, a lawyer with the environmental group Earthjustice.
"The whole reason Congress passed the Clean Water Act was to stop turning our lakes and rivers into industrial waste dumps," he said.
Read full Associated Press coverage at the link below.
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