BOISE, IDAHO, OCT 24, 2018 -- Idaho officials and a local conservation group have reached a tentative settlement over toxic discharge from an abandoned silver and lead mine in the state, according to the Associated Press.
The Idaho Conservation League agreed to dismiss a federal lawsuit, provided state officials get a federal permit for discharge from the mine.
The lawsuit, filed in September, claims that state officials are in violation of the Clean Water Act for discharging arsenic and other pollutants into the east fork of the Big Wood River.
The area covers about 60 acres and includes a mine tunnel and tailings, both of which that leaking toxic waste. According to the EPA, the site's 1 million cubic yards of black sand left over from the defunct mine constitutes a health hazard because it is laced with lead, arsenic and zinc, and water from the mine area has an orange tint.
Both the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and the Idaho Department of Lands are named in the lawsuit. A judge still needs to approve the deal.
