Anchorage Daily News

A federal appeals court has lifted its injunction on a permit allowing the Kensington gold mine near Juneau to discharge its rock waste in a nearby lake.

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The 9th Circuit acted after the U.S. Supreme Court last month gave the mining company the go-ahead to put the waste into nearby Lower Slate Lake.

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court said the 9th Circuit had wrongly blocked the Army Corps of Engineers' waste disposal permit for the mine project.

The owner of the mine, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp., said Wednesday that once the Corps reinstates the permit, the company will "resume construction of the tailings facility, the only component remaining to be constructed at the mine." Gold production could begin in the second half of next year, according to Coeur.

The Kensington mine is located 45 miles northwest of downtown Juneau. It will employ an estimated 200 workers when it begins operation.

The Supreme Court ruled that the federal government acted legally when it defined Kensington's rock waste -- left after mentals are extracted from the ore -- as "fill material."

Calling the waste "fill" enabled the Corps to grant the company a permit that does not meet more stringent requirements for gold mines from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Gov. Sarah Palin earlier called the Supreme Court decision "great news for Alaska" and said it "is a green light for responsible resource development."

However, environmentalists feared the ruling could lead to a broader easing of requirements on how companies dispose of their waste.

The discharges in Lower Slate Lake are expected to be letal to its resident fish but Coeur has committed to restocking the lake when it closes the mine.

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