Court Seeks More Details On Mine Tailings Case

DAN JOLING

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court asked for supplemental briefs in a case that could set a precedent in how mines dispose of tailings, the waste rock left over after metals are extracted.

Justices on Monday ordered briefs by May 15 in a lawsuit that focuses on the proposed Kensington Mine north of Juneau.

Mine developer Coeur Alaska Inc. in 2005 received permits from the Army Corps of Engineers to dump tailings into in Lower Slate Lake.

That triggered a lawsuit by the Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, the Sierra Club and Lynn Canal Conservation Inc., which said the U.S. Clean Water Act prohibits dumping tailings into lakes, rivers and streams.

The mine developer and the government prevailed in U.S. District Court but the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the environmental groups.

The case was argued before the Supreme Court in January, and Tom Waldo of Earthjustice, who represented the environmental groups, said Monday he was pleased that the court was taking such a hard look at the case.