That is interesting and I wonder if it will open up a whole new can of worms on both sides of the border. Can I sue American companies for pollution?Two U.S. citizens have been given permission to sue a Canadian mining company that they claim is sending pollutants across the Canada-U.S. border into Washington state.
With the decision, a U.S. federal appeals court overruled claims by mining giant Teck Cominco Ltd. that it is not subject to U.S. environmental regulations because it is a Canadian company, based in Canada.
Teck Cominco's smelter sits beside the Columbia River.
In a written argument released Monday, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said U.S. citizens will be allowed to sue because the pollutants are allegedly in the United States, causing potential damage to U.S. citizens.
"The suit concerns actual or threatened releases of heavy metals and other hazardous substances into the Upper Columbia River site within the United States," the court said.
The latest ruling confirmed a 2004 decision by U.S. District Judge Alan McDonald of Yakima, Wash.
The lawsuit against Teck Cominco was filed by two members of the Colville Confederated Tribes, Joseph Pakootas and Donald Michel, who claim they suffer damages from lead and zinc smelter that flows down the Columbia River from a smelter in Trail, B.C.
The Colville tribe borders a river which flows from central British Columbia past the Teck Cominco smelter, across the border and through Washington state before reaching the Pacific Ocean.
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