Sept. 13 -- The Sierra Club and two other
conservation groups have filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers for allowing a gold mining company to dispose of
waste in an Alaskan freshwater lake.
The groups contend that the Army Corps violated the Clean Water Act
by permitting Coeur dŽAlene Mines Corp. to dump 4.5 million tons of
chemically processed mine waste from the Kensington Gold Mine north of
Juneau, Alaska, into the lake.
The lawsuit argues that the Army Corps circumvented clean water rules
by categorizing the waste as fill material.