The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a federal district court order calling for the closing of the Reserve Mining Company's ore processing facility on the shore of Lake Superior by July 7, 1977 unless a suitable site is found on land for disposing of taconite tailings from the plant. The asbestos-bearing tailings from the Silver Bay plant have been dumped into the lake for years and have polluted Duluth's drinking water.
The appellate court also assessed the company and parent companies $1 million in fines and court costs for violations of the state water-discharge permits and of earlier court orders.
The federal appellate court order left the fate of the plant in the hands of the state district court at Duluth, which began hearing a suit brought by the company in November 1976. The suit seeks to force the state to grant the company permission to dump the tailings at a site identified as Milepost 7. The state has insisted on Milepost 20. At stake are the jobs of 3,200 workers as well as an important source of the nation's iron ore. A decision is expected early in the year. If the matter is resolved in state courts, or if there is compromise agreement on a disposal site, the closure order can be withdrawn.
A version of this article appeared in print in the January–March 1977 issue of Resources magazine.
