What the FUCK? Alaska content

[likwid]

Court OKs dumping gold mine waste in lake

By H. JOSEF HEBERT – Jun 22, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — A mining company was given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court on Monday to dump waste from an Alaskan gold mine into a nearby 23-acre lake, although the material will kill all of the lake's fish.

The court said that the federal government acted legally in declaring the waste left after metals are extracted from the ore as "fill material" allowing a federal permit without meeting more stringent requirements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called the decision "great news for Alaska" and said it "is a green light for responsible resource development." The Kensington gold mine 45 miles north of Juneau will produce as many as 370 jobs when it begins operation.

But environmentalists feared the ruling could lead to a broader easing of requirements on how companies dispose of their mining waste.

"If a mining company can turn Lower Slate Lake in Alaska into a lifeless waste dump, other polluters with solids in their water can potentially do the same to any water body in America," said Trip Van Noppen, president of Earthjustice, which had participated in the litigation.

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court said a federal appeals court wrongly blocked on environmental grounds the Army Corps of Engineers' waste disposal permit for the mine project. The Alaska mine, which had been closed since 1928, now plans to resume operation and will dump about 4.5 million tons of mine tailings — waste left after metals are extracted from the ore — into the lake located three miles away in the Tongass National Forest.

The court, in its majority opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, said that the Army Corps was correct in agreeing with the mining company that the waste should be considered "fill material" and not subject to the more stringent EPA requirements.

The 2005 permit was issued three years after the Bush administration broadened the definition of fill material so that waste, including some contaminated materials, can be dumped into waterways.

"We conclude that the Corps was the appropriate agency to issue the permit and that the permit is lawful," wrote Kennedy. He said the court should "accord deference to the agencies' reasonable decision" on the matter.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said it is "neither necessary or proper" to interpret the waterway protection law "as allowing mines to bypass EPA's zero-discharge standard by classifying slurry as fill material." She argued the lower court had been correct in concluding that the use of waters as "settling ponds for harmful mining waste" was contrary to the federal Clean Water Act.

Environmentalists said dumping 200,000 gallons a day of mining waste water — containing aluminum, copper, lead, mercury and other metals — has dire implications not only for the Alaska lake, but possibly other lakes and waterways.

Rob Cadmus of the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council said there were better ways to dispose of the mine waste such as dry land storage. But the mining company argued that the alternative would have been to put the material into nearby wetlands, which it maintained was more environmentally harmful.

Officials of the Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mine Co., owner of the Alaska mine, said the decision was the last hurdle to building the tailings facility so that mining activities can begin.

The court ruling "confirms that this thoroughly studied permit and plan is the best environmental choice" for disposal of the mine's waste, said Tony Ebersole, the company's director of corporate communications. Company lawyers said in court arguments that after mining activities are halted the lake will be restocked.

"The lake will be as good or better as a fishery than it is today," Ebersole said. The waste deposits are expected to raise the lakebed 50 feet to the current lake surface level and eventually triple its size to 60 acres. The lake contains a variety of common fish that are not expected to survive, according to court documents.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, welcomed the court ruling and said it "resolved the most significant obstacle to the creation of hundreds of direct and indirect jobs and a major boost for the economy of Juneau and Southeast Alaska."

The disposal plan had been approved by various state agencies. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in 2007 blocked the permit.

Joining Kennedy in approving the disposal plan were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito Jr. In addition to Ginsburg, dissenting were Justices John Paul Stevens and David Souter.




RESPONSIBLE MY FUCKING ASS YOU CUNT!

[OSECS]

RESPONSIBLE MY FUCKING ASS

I couldn't agree more.

[schwerty]

2nd....

WTF is wrong with people?

[NMmatt]

>> "The lake will be as good or better as a fishery than it is today," Ebersole said.

Total bullshit! They know that this isn't true. Sad.

[G. Gordon Liddy]

What a cunt she is. Did anybody else get the ad at the top of the page for www.sarahPAC.com... What the hell is that about?
Quote:
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News Update: Palin Announces No Second Term Read More.


-----------------------------
Hmm. I think they're a little behind the times... No second term? How about I quit my fucking job because I suck at life?

[likwid]

They're all batshit fucking insane.

[basinbum]

woah woah its creating 350 jobs so that makes it ok...



plus i hear that aluminum, lead, copper, and mercury make not only fish but also drinking water taste super good and they are elements so they gotta be good for you right...

sounds to me like this is a good thing...


thanks a lot dumb asses that made that brilliant decision...
im to lazy to scroll up and see exactly who that was

[WyoWill]

Quite the unfortunate opinion. Hopefully Congress or the Executive will step up to remedy this mess since the courts won't.

Edit to add: Just to be clear, this goes well beyond Alaska and has the potential to impact federally-permitted dumping of waste into navigable waters (rivers, lakes, the oceans, it doesn't matter) throughout the country.

[OSECS]

Edit to add: Just to be clear, this goes well beyond Alaska and has the potential to impact federally-permitted dumping of waste into navigable waters (rivers, lakes, the oceans, it doesn't matter) throughout the country.

No shit, ya think ??

[TexER]

I worked pretty hard, and gave some hard earned money, to get our new president elected because I was tired of exactly this type of nonsense from republicans and democrats alike. A private business gets permission to ruin a lake on public land only for the benefit of their employees and shareholders. WTF?

Let's hope President Obama comes through. If not, it will be back to voting for the libertarian candidates for me. They don't win, but they don't do this either. President Obama does have the authority to direct the EPA to restrict the definition of FILL to prevent Coeur d' Alene Mining from dumping that crap in our lake.

[72Twenty]

What will this mean for the Pebble situation?

[WyoWill]

This has no effect on the ruling, but at least they're taking another look at things: http://juneauempire.com/stories/0717...65132949.shtml

[topwater]

Supreme Court Transcripts
Page 45
"CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: All the fish. There are a thousand fish in this lake.
MR. WALDO: Yes.
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Right?
MR. WALDO: Right, and --
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Those aren’t endangered fish. There are millions of them somewhere else. Right?
MR. WALDO: That’s right.
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: Okay."

[DeeAre]

Chief Justice Roberts is a dick. So is Scalia.

[ak_powder_monkey]

THanks for fucking up mining laws in this country SEAK this should have never gone to the supreme court, 1000 dollies is not worth allowing the roberts court to decide that dumping mine tailings in lake is legal, which it now is, sometimes we have to sacrifice small things to save the big ones (like bristol bay)

[ak_powder_monkey]

What will this mean for the Pebble situation?

We can't hold Couer responsible wen their tailings dam breaks and flows into lake Illiamna??

[WyoWill]

THanks for fucking up mining laws in this country SEAK this should have never gone to the supreme court, 1000 dollies is not worth allowing the roberts court to decide that dumping mine tailings in lake is legal, which it now is, sometimes we have to sacrifice small things to save the big ones (like bristol bay)

AKPM--you frustration is misplaced. Yes, SEACC lost at the Supremes, but they had no part in "fucking up mining laws" or giving the rule legal effect. The Bush administration created the "fill" rule and, absent a court challenge, it had binding effect from the moment it was promulgated. This Supreme Court opinion didn't change the law--it merely affirmed the Bush Administration rule which was already in place regarding what constitutes "fill" under the clean water act. SEACC won at the 9th cir. Hard to ask much more of them--or blame them for the final Supreme Court decision.

Even in their loss, SEACC at least was successful in elevating the issue and creating greater public awareness. Ultimately, the "fill" rule will require an administrative or legislative fix. One requirement for such a fix is public awareness. Small consolation, I know, but the threats to Bristol Bay have not increased because of the Kensington decision, they increased years ago when the shitty Bush administration rules about how to regulate under the clean water act were originally promulgated.

[CravenurdotterII]

Until we get the US navy to torpedo all foreign(Jap) fishing boats the oceans are doomed.
A 23 acre lake is really a minor issue.

[zab]

What the fuck? stupid cunts.

[OSECS]

Until we get the US navy to torpedo all foreign(Jap) fishing boats the oceans are doomed.
A 23 acre lake is really a minor issue.

Certainly a cogent argument.

[CravenurdotterII]

Anybody watch whale wars? Why don't they just drop the stink bombs out of the helicopter....or did they try that already.

While they're on shore leave they need to dump a bottle in congress, AIG, and Goldman Sachs. Make it impossible to work there for awhile......then things would straighten out.
Would that be classified as domestic terrorism, or just a prank?

[WyoWill]

This seems as good a place as anywhere else: http://www.adn.com/money/industries/...ry/880648.html