A federal judge ruled in favor of Kennecott in a lawsuit brought for pollution at its Bingham Canyon mine. A coalition of environmental activists including the Sierra Club and the WildEarth Guardians sued the copper mining company over emissions from the mine. The environmental groups accused Kennecott of exceeding its permitted authority under the Clean Air Act. In his ruling, the judge said Kennecott obtained permission from the state each time it increased the amount of materials at the mine.
“If citizen groups believe either federal or state actors should do more, or are failing to honor their responsibilities, then they may direct their arguments to those actors through the appropriate avenues,” U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby wrote on summary judgment.
Judge Shelby said the lawsuit should be dismissed.
