Nation IN BRIEF : IDAHO : Mines Accused of Fouling River Basin

Some of the eight mining companies accused by the Justice Department of dumping 70 million tons of waste into the Coeur d’Alene River Basin said the lawsuit is part of a “war on the West.” The Justice Department filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit in Boise against the companies, accusing them of causing extensive environmental damage to the 1,500-square-mile basin over nearly a century of operations. A statement released by the Coeur d’Alene Basin Mining Information Office called the government’s action an attempt “to divert attention away from its own mining activities in the valley.”