In this Feb. 1, 2007 picture, snow covers Lower Slate Lake, right, in the Tongass National Forest, with Berners Bay in the background. The Supreme Court on Monday, June 22, 2009 upheld a federal permit to dump waste from an Alaskan gold mine owned by Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mine Co. into Lower Slate Lake, even though all its fish would be killed. Environmentalists feared the ruling could weaken protection of other lakes, streams and waterways from mining waste.
This Feb. 1, 2007 picture shows trees which have been cleared around Lower Slate Lake in Tongass National Forest to make room for mine tailings from the Kensington Mine about 50 miles north of Juneau, Alaska. Lions Head Mountain is seen in the background.
In this Feb. 1, 2007 picture, Kevin Torpy, chief engineer for Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mine Co., studies rocks at a freshly-blasted area in the tunnel coming from the Comet Mine side of the Kensington Mine project about 50 miles north of Juneau, Alaska. The Supreme Court on Monday, June 22, 2009 upheld a federal permit to dump waste from the gold mine into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest, even though all its fish would be killed. Environmentalists feared the ruling could weaken protection of other lakes, streams and waterways from mining waste
This Feb. 1, 2007 picture shows the Kensington Mine mill site and portal at the base of Lions Head Mountain about 50 miles north of Juneau, Alaska. The Supreme Court on Monday, June 22, 2009 upheld a federal permit to dump waste from the Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mine Co.'s gold mine into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest, even though all its fish would be killed. Environmentalists feared the ruling could weaken protection of other lakes, streams and waterways from mining waste.
Jerry Harmon, the surface general supervisor for the Kensington Mine, receives a hug from Rep. Cathy Munoz, R-Juneau, during a lunchtime rally on the steps of the Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Monday, June 22, 2009, after the Supreme Court upheld the government's decision to issue permits to use Lower Slate Lake to hold mine tailings. The Supreme Court on Monday, June 22, 2009 upheld a federal permit to dump waste from the Idaho-based Coeur d'Alene Mine Co.'s gold mine into Lower Slate Lake in the Tongass National Forest, even though all its fish would be killed. Environmentalists feared the ruling could weaken protection of other lakes, streams and waterways from mining waste.
