Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Canada’s minister of the environment, claiming that potentially a billion pounds of toxic mine waste are not being reported to the Canadian public.

Ecojustice filed an Application for Judicial Review in the Federal Court of Canada, Nov. 7, on behalf of MiningWatch Canada and Great Lakes United. The suit alleges Minister John Baird broke the law when he told metal mining companies to ignore their legal responsibility to report mine tailing waste under the National Pollutant Release Inventory.

The United States requires mining companies to report tailings generated from their operations under the Toxics Release Inventory. U.S. mines released 1.17 billion tons, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2005 Toxics Release Inventory Report. More than 97 percent of that was tailings and waste rock, said Justin Duncan, the staff lawyer with Ecojustice who filed the lawsuit.

Seventy-two U.S. mining facilities reported releases in 2005. In Canada, 80 metal mining sites reported to the NPRI.

"Given the enormous amounts of carcinogens and heavy metals like lead and mercury in U.S. mine tailings, it is absurd that Canadian mines are being let off the hook," said Joan Kuyek of MiningWatch Canada.

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