Do You Know about Juneau?

A long-fought battle in Alaska between a mining company and environmentalists has ended, at least for now. The Supeme Court ruled yesterday that Coeur Alaska Inc., a mining company, could dump its mine tailings and slurry into Lower Slate Lake in Alaska. The issue--to me at least--isn't only this particular mine waste in this particular lake, but more that the Supreme Court has the power to determine who has the "right" to pollute all over the country.

It seems like maybe we should have a national agency tasked solely with environmental decision making. It might even be a good idea to have people with specific knowledge to a particular part of the country deciding policy for that area. (Here are just a few of the documents issued by EPA Region 10 about this case).

Back to this particular case.

• Here's the story at the Anchorage Daily News.

• And here's the New York Times' take on the issue today: Justices Say Waste Can Be Dumped in Lake

• Elizabeth Bluemink from the Juneau Empire reported on this issue several years ago. Read "Is Kensington Waste Toxic?"

What does this mean to the Great Lakes Region?  Well, in some ways that's yet to be determined.

We have quite a history of mining waste distribution here in MI. Look at this google timeline of mining waste issues (of course this only includes materials that are on the web).

But what if this case sets a new precedent--that it's really the best option to dump waste into lakes and streams? How would that change the ecology of the Great Lakes?  If you don't know about it already, check out the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The 40th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River burning just passed; in which direction is Great Lakes water policy heading now?

Today we'll also be hearing more about attempts to combine Michigan DEQ and DNR into a Department of Conservation. More on that soon!

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