Mining Waste OK To Be Put Into Watersheds?
A lawyer for a mining company in Alaska argued today for the company to continue dumping deposits into a nearby lake, even though the deposits are killing off the local aquatic life. The logic behind the argument? The metal waste from the company can be defined as a “fill,” and after 10 years or so, the lake can be put back to normal and “restocked” with wildlife, according to the AP.
So…it’s OK for the mining company, Kensington, to keep killing wildlife because it can be replaced somewhere down the line? If everyone started arguing this way, it would be OK to continue putting too much waste in landfills and too much pollution into the air, because we could eventually stop doing it and clean up. Somehow that doesn’t seem like the right way to look at environmental protection.
But the judges seem to disagree in the case of the lake, Lower Slate Lake. One said that the dumping in the lake prevents the waste being dumped somewhere else, like wetland areas. Environmentalists sued, and the federal appeals court revoked the company’s permit for the practice. But the company appealed, and it ended up in court on Monday.
>>Read more about Alaskan mining from Green Options
The lawyer for the company, meanwhile, said that restoring the lake wouldn’t necessarily be a sure thing. But another judge also said that there are plenty more fish in the sea, so to speak, and losing a few wouldn’t be such a big deal.
This doesn’t just affect Alaska. The case could clear the way for waste to be dumped into rivers and lakes all over the country.
Photo Credit: moonjazz at Flickr under a Creative Commons License
