4256 x 2832 px | 36 x 24 cm | 14,2 x 9,4 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
9 luglio 2011
Ubicazione:
Panther Creek Road, Lemhi County, Idaho, USA near Salmon,
Altre informazioni:
Panther Creek Idaho near the City of Salmon on the western side of the Sawtooth range of mountains. This was saved from pollution of the Blackbird mine. The sordid saga of Blackbird Mine begins in the late 1800s, when mining companies first began digging tunnels and open pits to extract copper and cobalt. As production ramped up, so did the accumulation of acidic tailings — nearly 10 billion pounds altogether. The waste tainted surrounding creeks, forming a “chemical dam” in Panther Creek: a wedge of polluted water, impassable to fish. Back in ‘92, Mebane’s grim testimony convinced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to enter the fray on behalf of salmon, adding another player to the legal muddle. Blackbird had changed hands numerous times over the years, and its owners, Noranda and Hanna, were reluctant to pay for their predecessors’ sins. Finally, in 1995, the sparring parties reached a settlement: Four companies would pay $50 million to clean up the festering site.
