July 23, 2012
A Big Win for the Boise River
Advocates for the West, the Idaho Conservation Leagueand NEDC win in a Clean Water Act case protecting the Boise River.
Open gallery
<picture class="lw_image"> <source type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/106/width/500/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/106/width/500/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.webp 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/106/width/500/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.webp 3x"/> <source type="image/webp" media="(max-width: 800px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/106/width/800/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.webp 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/106/width/800/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.webp 2x"/> <source type="image/webp" media="(min-width: 801px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/106/width/1000/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.webp 1x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(max-width: 500px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/106/width/500/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/106/width/500/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/106/width/500/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.jpg 3x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(max-width: 800px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/106/width/800/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.jpg 1x, /live/image/scale/2x/gid/106/width/800/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.jpg 2x"/> <source type="image/jpeg" media="(min-width: 801px)" srcset="/live/image/gid/106/width/1000/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.jpg 1x"/> <img src="/live/image/gid/106/width/1000/30741_atlanta_gold.rev.1373935107.jpg" width="1000" height="750" alt="Judge agrees that this water capture is not enough to curtail arsenic from polluting the nearby creek." data-max-w="1651" data-max-h="1238"/></picture>
NEDC, the Idaho Conservation League and Advocates for the West teamed up to bring suit against Atlanta Gold Inc. in spring 2011.
On July 19, 2012, the U.S. District Court for the State of Idaho issued a Memorandum of Decision imposing a $2 million penalty to be paid by Atlanta Gold for their violations of the Clean Water Act. Additionally, the court ordered Atlanta Gold to implement measures to come into compliance with their NPDES permit. This is a big win for the Boise river, Idaho and the Pacific Northwest.
To learn more about this victory, read the Associated Press article at the Washington Post or visit Boise Public Radio.