A true story. A young mining engineer asked his consultant: “Why are you so worried about putting your professional engineering stamp to this design? ” The crusty old consultant snarled back: “Because if the structure fails, the shareholders could sue the mine, you, and me.” I interjected that there are class action law suites pending against those involved in Galore Creek and Bellavista. This brought silence to the room. The young mining engineer agreed to the necessary testing and analysis.
Today two people sent me this on another massive law suite against a mining company:
Earlier today, the City of Blackwell, Oklahoma, filed a major lawsuit against Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc., one of the world’s largest mining companies. The City of Blackwell accuses the company of failing to clean up lead, cadmium, arsenic, and zinc contamination left behind by the Blackwell Zinc Smelter, which operated in the town from 1916 until 1974. The Blackwell Zinc Smelter was operated by a company now owned by Freeport-McMoRan. Here are a few of the key allegations made by the City:
- Highly toxic levels of cadmium and zinc have polluted the community’s groundwater, and the polluted waters are migrating in a southeasterly direction beneath the city
- The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) has determined it is not feasible to treat the contaminated groundwater, which will remain a source of pollution “for generations”
- Toxins have been found in surface waters that drain into the nearby Chikaskia River
- The smelter owners openly provided contaminated slag and other toxic materials to the City and its residents for use in construction projects, rather than properly treating and/or disposing of these materials
- Lead, cadmium, arsenic, and zinc associated with the defendants’ operation of the smelter have been found in soils on property owned by the City and its residents
- Much of this contaminated soil will not be cleaned up as part of the defendants’ current cleanup efforts
- The defendants have “undertaken a strategy to downplay the scope and impacts of the groundwater contamination,” have attempted “to mislead the community as to the seriousness of the harm,” and “have encouraged the City to be complicit in their efforts,” portraying themselves as “good neighbors” to City officials and residents.
A class action lawsuit relating to the same contamination was filed In Kay County, Oklahoma, by a group of Blackwell residents in April 2008. For more information about that legal action, see cleanupblackwell.com.
The fact is that Freeport probably never even operated the smelter. They bought the company that did. The damaged occurred 35 years ago. The point is once again there is no statute of limitations on pollution, stupidity, failure, or take-overs in the absence of due diligence. The point is that is you are saddled with a polluted mine site, you better get around to cleaning it up, sell it to a major, or flee the country. Enjoy the weekend.
