Americans sue Canadian company over river pollution

In what is believed to be the first case of Americans suing a Canadian company under the US Superfund law, a tribe is demanding that the owner of a huge smelter north of the border comply with environmental laws in cleaning up waste dumped for decades in the Columbia River.

In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the federal court in Spokane, the Colville Confederated Tribes asked that Teck Cominco Metals be ordered to immediately comply with a US Environmental Protection Agency order to pay for studies of pollution from the smelter in Trail, British Columbia.

Tribal attorneys said the lawsuit is the first in which US residents have sued a Canadian company under the Superfund law, which forces polluters to pay for cleaning up hazardous waste sites.

The lawsuit contends that for nearly 90 years, the smelter dumped millions of tons of heavy metals into the river, with the pollution washed into the US.

The tribe, whose reservation borders the Columbia, says its members eat fish from the river for subsistence, as well as cultural and spiritual reasons.

The river is “an international treasure that needs to be preserved and protected,” said Joe Pakootas, chair of the tribe’s business council.

The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company, Teck Cominco, operates the world’s largest integrated lead-zinc smelting and refining complex in Trail, about 10 miles north of the border.

Officials for Teck Cominco said they were disappointed by the lawsuit.

“This suit will result in time and money being wasted on litigation, which could best be used to address the public’s environmental concerns regarding Lake Roosevelt,” said senior vice president Doug Horswill. The lake is a reservoir on the Columbia created by Grand Coulee Dam.

The issue of whether US law applies already has created friction between the nations.

The Canadian government has strongly objected to the US government about the EPA order filed in December, which Canada considers to be an attempt to extend EPA authority into Canada.

Teck Cominco contends that a Canadian company operating in Canada is not subject to US laws.

But last year it did offer to spend $13m (€10.6m) for health and ecological studies in Lake Roosevelt and to pay to clean up metal contamination attributable to its operations.

Attorney Richard Du Bey, representing the tribes, said Teck Cominco’s offer did not meet EPA standards.

Du Bey said that although he expects Teck Cominco will immediately challenge the US court’s jurisdiction, US law applies to pollution that flows into the country.