Washington, DC – The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that waste from a gold mine in Alaska can be dumped into lake, rivers, or streams without violating the Clean Water Act.  In this decision, the Army Corps of Engineers was given the authority to grant Couer Alaska Inc., a gold mining company, permission to dump the waste leftover after extracting gold into Lower Slate Lake, north of Juneau, Alaska. 

Environmentalists opposed the original decision from 2005, allowing 4.5 million tons of the waste known as “slurry” from the Kensington Mine into the lake, since all life in the water would be destroyed.  The Army Corps felt that disposing of it this way was less damaging to the environment than other methods.  Governor Sarah Palin applauded the decision, saying it was “great news for Alaska” because the Kensington Gold Mine would provide as many as 370 jobs to Alaskans.  She called it “a green light for responsible resource development.”

Environmental advocacy groups filed a lawsuit, accusing the Bush administration of violating 30 years of stringent environmental protection through the Clean Water Act.  In 2007, The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed, and the permit to dump waste into Lower Slate Lake was invalidated. 

In the Supreme Court’s decision, they cited a change made in the language of the Clean Water Act in 2005.  Under George W. Bush, the definition of “fill material” was broadened to include waste that contained some contaminated minerals. 

In the mining of gold, mercury is the easiest way to separate gold from the surrounding ore.  Although it is illegal to use, the steady value of gold makes it tempting to cut corners.  Despite the economic downturn, gold and gold jewelry have maintained a high price.  A black market for mercury has developed because of this.  Whether or not mercury is used, the chemicals that separate the gold are toxic, and need to be disposed of as toxic waste.  However, following the guidelines of the Clean Water Act, “fill material” is allowed to be dumped.  The product of mining gold is now considered ‘safe’, despite the open knowledge that all wildlife reliant on the lakes, rivers and streams into which it is dumped will die.

“If a mining company can turn Lower Slate Lake in Alaska into a lifeless waste dump,” said Trip Van Noppen, President of the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, “other polluters with solids in their wastewater can potentially do the same to any water body in America."  It was Earthjustice’s lawyers who argued the case before the Supreme Court.

The decision passed 6-to3, with dissenting votes from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David H. Souter, and John Paul Stevens.   The Environmental Protection Agency stated that it is reviewing the decision to ensure that it doesn’t affect their ability to safeguard the waters of the United States.

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