Document 44Z3zRpB4Bpqn0RM39BogVZk1

FILE NAME Newspaper & Magazine Articles NMA DATE 1973 Aug 31 DOC NMA079 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION NYT - Economics is Key in Pollution Suit NEW LOCK LUMES pg 109 -Currefnuse Aug 11915 ProQuest ProQuest Historical Newspapers he New York imes 1851 2 ECONOMICS IS KEY IN POLLUTION SUIT Mine's Dumpings in Lake Pit Environmentalists Against Company =f, | ' By E. FARRE FARL REL LL * Special to The Kew York Times MINNEAPOLIS Aug. 28 - A complex pollution trial under way in Federal District Court here pits the Government five environmental groups and Wis- consin Michigan and Minnesota against the Reserve Mining of Company and a number Chambers of Commerce and small towns whose economies are inextricably linked to the company's mining operations The trial about to enter its fifth week is considered by many to be a classic confron- tation over a pollution issue Its origins date to 1969 At that time the Federal located at ly to persuade the company Silver Bay to stop dumping 67,000 tons of taconite tailings daily into Lake Superior something the company has done for 16 years and some- thing the Government says a body of water thought to be the largest and purest freshwater lake in the world The grains from tailings particles which are of magnetic particles of Iron have been extracted . In addition the contended that the company's of use the lake as a dumping hastened its ecological ground decline and violated water The Reserve Mining Comp the Steel Corporation Salt Filed in 72 A Federal suit was finally brought February against Reserve in 1972 at the request of Protection Federal Environmental spokesmen suit had Agency suggested that Agency that the because been delayed Willis Boyer chairman of Re- public was a vice chairman of the Ohio Republican Finance Committee and C. William Ver- ity head of Armco was a Re- publican fund raiser In June of this year another issue arose when the E.P.A. saying released a report high concentrations that off potentially injurious asbestos fibers had been found in the Duluth for the city of and the smaller communities of Silver bors Beaver bors Bay and Two Har- The Federal agency said that while there was no conclusive evidence that the lake water OE, pprudrencue deunncfeit consumption ddicitacttesates that an al- ternate source of drinking wa ter very found for very youyounngg ter children found The contention by the Minne- tions the company said would result in "severe economic re- percussions in northeast Min- nesota and other areas of the and and lPaotlelrutbiyoan Agency Control government wit- . state One of the questions that has in asbestos type fibers detected DuluDutluth'sh'sDuluth's watwateer r supplsuply y couldcould suply suply only have come from Reserve's the planAtotrneys SilverReserve sald in Attorneys that company will present concrete " that asbestos evidence found in a mineral called cum- mingtonite a substance the enters Superior from Lakej streams located on the Cana- been posed during the trial by United States District Judge Miles Lord is what the effect might be if he ordered the pany is shut down if it com- Re- initely established that serve's serve's taconite waste is a health hazard He said it was a matter he wanted pursued at some point during thesignificant velopments in significant has been Judge Lord's ruling dian side of the lake's basin Land Disposal insisting The Government is that the company dispose Its waste from its mining proc- polluting alegations air Reserveas the water by discharging patentially injurious asbestos fibers would be heard during the trial Babbitt ess on_land on_land at where Reserve mines the Minn taco nite that is shipped for process- ing to Silver Bay 47 miles Reserve away land disposal said that onwas not feasible since a revamping of its op erations to permit such a meth- The posed charge strenuously op- by Reserve's attorneys was made by the Environmental Defense Fund one of the plain- intervenors in the case The fund a nonprofit environmental group composed of scientists Hawyers and is based od of disposal disposal would cost m, r^t In East Setauket L. 1 million a sum theate the waning Mesabi iren The fund's motion was also than company says it cannot by attorneys for the coompfany its trial brief one faces 15 per cent the Unitederal Unitedral Government who said documents filedates filedates iron ore used in they wanted the question of the case Reserve said it wountry's blast furnaces Jair pollution to be taken up in that Reserve's establish methodie company estimates that separate court action methodie The of of tallings of 2,933 employes Studies of asbestos workers thier this year are receiving bave shown that they had has significantadverse no Lake and high fects Superior It was the best availabyroll availabyroll of million It saideath rates from cancer of micolon lungs availabyroll budget for purchase of and stomach method for supplies minimizing trials trials will tota - potential adverse ecological and million from 550 vendors potential bearitexes will the the Reserve ploneered in the prod prod the state Its state and local ess that frees the bearitexes amount to mil- particles from the taconite son company says says its process that helped to rejuve disruption opera- with of the owner Further without