At issue is Newmont's use of a waste disposal method, effectively banned in the United States under the Clean Water Act, that is called submarine tailing disposal.
12.
However, the states lacked the equipment and personnel to properly oversee tailings disposal sites statewide, and the ambiguity and drafting errors present in the act left them confused about how much regulatory power they had.
13.
The proposed mine, access roads, and tailings disposal areas are located on federal land overseen by the U . S . Forest Service ( USFS ), State of Alaska tidelands, and on private patented property.
14.
According to William Riley, regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle, who has written opinions on the system, submarine tailing disposal is effectively banned in the United States under the Clean Water Act.
15.
The main concern with riverine tailings disposal as practised by the PJV is not the quantities of sediment, but the toxicity of the tailings, which contains significant quantities of cyanide, mercury and other heavy elements.
16.
In Panna Maria, Texas, where DuPont and Chevron jointly operated a uranium mill, religious investors a few years ago withdrew their proposed protest resolution after they met with company officials and negotiated an agreement for the cleanup and cessation of tailings disposal operations.
17.
In 2005 Coeur Alaska Inc ., a subsidiary of Coeur d'Alene Mines, successfully applied for a tailings disposal permit from the USACE . The permit allowed Coeur Alaska to dispose of 4.5 million tons of tailings from the Kensington gold mine, north of Juneau, into Lower Slate Lake.
18.
At present besides the open-pit mine and concentrator plant the project has also been provided with auxiliary facilities such as Tailings Disposal and Water Reclamation System, repair shops, Maintenance Garage, Water Treatment Plant, Warehouses, Fuelling Stations, 132 kV power sub-station, Waste Treatment Facilities and township with modern amenities.
19.
In response, Newmont says it received official clearance to flush wastes into the bay under a system known as " submarine tailing disposal . " The company also insists that the underlying data does not support the disturbing conclusions that have appeared in the news media, and that other studies have shown no contamination of the fish or the water.
