In response to petitions for a writ of certiorari filed by Coeur Alaska and the state of Alaska, the United States Supreme Court has agreed to review a Ninth Circuit court ruling that invalidates tailings permits, granted by the United States Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers, for the Kensington gold mine near Juneau in Southeast Alaska.
Judges of the appeals court ruled in May 2007 that the disposal of Kensington’s tailings into Lower Slate Lake would be a violation of the Clean Water Act, and that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was wrong to issue a 404 permit for that purpose.
The tailings permit has been a back and forth battle between environmental groups and Coeur Alaska Inc., the operator of the Kensington Mine. The case ended up in Ninth Circuit Court when SEACC and other environmental groups disagreed with an August 2006 ruling by the U.S. District Court in Anchorage that upheld the permits.
In the meantime Coeur is permitting an alternative tailings site for the project. The company worked out a plan, in cooperation with SEACC, for paste-tailings storage at the Comet Beach site, a place previously approved for dry stack tailings.
Regulatory agencies led by the United States Forest Service have recommended an environmental assessment level of review for the alternate tailings plan which could allow permitting to be complete by the fall0, several months before a review by the Supreme Court is expected.
Coeur, which hopes to be producing gold by late 2009, said it will not wait for the possible precedent setting Supreme Court ruling and will continue with the paste-tailings permitting for the Comet Beach site.
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin-R said the Supreme Court’s decision should provide direction on how certain federal technology standards, that are in addition to state water quality standards, apply in determining the location of tailing impoundments for future projects.
Palin said, “We need the Supreme Court to decide once and for all what the federal rules are for dealing with mine tailings. The federal laws have been interpreted differently by different courts at different times. The resulting uncertainty makes it more difficult for everyone involved in the permitting of mines in Alaska.”
U. S. Representative Don Young R-Alaska, applauded the Supreme Court’s decision to review the case.
“On average, only seven percent of certiorari petitions filed are actually heard by the Court; I think it’s a great victory for Alaska that the Court saw this as a serious and important case. One of the biggest issues we have with developing our natural resources today is the extreme environmental groups who look for any possible grounds to sue and shut development down. I look forward to the Supreme Court providing an objective review of the erroneous Ninth Circuit decision that has been holding up a critical project to help grow Southeast Alaska’s economy. The mining industry creates among the highest-wage jobs in the private sector,” said Rep. Young.
