August 3, 2000
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Ecology has issued an exemption from a dangerous waste designation for the tailings that would be created by the reopening of a zinc and lead mine in Metalline Falls, Wash.
According to studies conducted by the mine owner, Cominco American Inc., and submitted to the state, the mine, closed since 1977 in a labor dispute, had little effect on the environment, including ground water, in its prior operations.
While the previous tailings landfill was unlined, Cominco is proposing a double-lined landfill for the new operations and a leachate collection system. Cominco, which controls over 25% of the Western world's zinc reserves, acquired the mine in 1995.
In addition to the environmental hurdles, Cominco also required the exemption due to some overly broad wording in the state's dangerous waste regulations. The regulations prohibit the operation of a "facility" within a floodplain. However, "facility" is defined as the entirety of a company's site. Cominco's land abuts the Pend Oreille River which would technically result in the denial of a permit even though the landfill is a mile from the water.
Ecology's administrative order granting the exemption starts a 30-day public comment period on the Environmental Impact Statement filed for the mine.
