Opinion ID: 1189066
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: 1972-1975: Federal Litigation and Injunction

Text: In February 1972, the United States filed suit against the Reserve Mining Company (Reserve), seeking injunctive relief limiting the air and water emissions discharged from Reserve's iron ore processing facility in Silver Bay, Minnesota. The United States alleged that the Silver Bay facility was discharging harmful cummingtonite-grunerite mineral fibers (fibers) into the waters of Lake Superior and into the air above the Great Lakes in violation of various federal and state statutes and federal and state common law. [2] After a 139-day bench trial, the district court issued a memorandum opinion and order granting injunctive relief to the plaintiffs. See United States v. Reserve Mining Co., 380 F.Supp. 11 (D.Minn.1974), modified and remanded sub nom. Reserve Mining Co. v. EPA, 514 F.2d 492 (8th Cir.1975) (en banc). The district court found that the fibers discharged into the air by Reserve's Silver Bay facility were similar or identical to amosite asbestos, a known carcinogen. Although the court recognized that medical science had not yet determined what would constitute a safe level of airborne asbestos fibers, the court was satisfied that the amount of fibers discharged by the facility posed a serious health hazard to the people exposed to it. Id. at 17. Thus, the district court concluded that Reserve's air emissions constituted a nuisance under federal and state common law and violated Minnesota's air pollution control regulations. Id. Based on these violations of state and federal law, the court enjoined the Silver Bay facility's discharge of fibers into the air, beginning at 12:01 a.m., the following day, April 21, 1974. Id. at 21. The injunction had the practical effect of requiring the closure of the facility. Reserve immediately filed a motion to stay the district court's injunction pending an appeal on the merits, which this court granted, conditioned upon a showing by Reserve that it is taking prompt steps to prepare and implement an appropriate plan for abatement. Reserve Mining Co. v. United States, 498 F.2d 1073, 1086 & n. 15 (8th Cir.1974). Shortly thereafter, this court sitting en banc modified the injunction in part and remanded the case to the district court. Reserve Mining Co. v. EPA, 514 F.2d 492 (8th Cir.1975) (en banc). We agreed with the district court's conclusion that the Silver Bay facility's air emissions violated Minnesota's air pollution control regulations and constituted a nuisance under Minnesota state law. Id. at 524. We disagreed, however, with the district court's conclusion that the air emissions constituted a nuisance under federal common law because the evidence did not show that the emissions had interstate effects. Id. at 520-22. Additionally, we modified the district court's injunction as it related to air emissions, requiring that Reserve must use such available technology as will reduce the asbestos fiber count in the ambient air at Silver Bay below a medically significant level. According to the record in this case, controls may be deemed adequate which will reduce the fiber count to the level ordinarily found in the ambient air of a control city such as St. Paul. Id. at 538-39. The parties refer to this requirement as the control city standard. We allotted Reserve a reasonable time to design and implement measures to bring its facilities into compliance with the modified injunction. Id. at 537-38.