FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1996                             (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 
  U.S SUES EIGHT MINING COMPANIES FOR VAST ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE
                     TO THE IDAHO PAN HANDLE

     Coeur d'Alene River Basin Contaminated By Lead, Arsenic
                     And Other Toxic Materials

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The United States sued eight companies
today for extensive environmental damage caused by their mining
operations in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin in northern Idaho. 
The cost of restoring the river and the surrounding area is
estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
     
     The affected area, stretching over 1,500 square miles, is
one of the largest contaminated areas the United States has ever
sought to restore.

     The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Boise, Idaho,
alleges that more than 70 million tons of mine wastes have been
discharged by the companies into the Coeur d'Alene River and its
tributaries.

     Through today's action, the United States' seeks to restore
an area contaminated by more than 100 years of mining and ore
processing activities.  The complaint alleges that the mining
wastes, which have been deposited into the Basin by the
companies, continue to seep into the soils and waters in the
1,500 square mile area, seriously injuring or destroying wildlife
and vegetation.  As a result, birds, fish and other wildlife and
their habitats, along with federally managed lands, have been
damaged.

     The Department brought suit against:

          þ    ASARCO Inc., based in New York, New York
          þ    Hecla Mining Company Inc. of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
          þ    Sunshine Mining Company Inc. of Boise, Idaho
          þ    Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation a Coeur d'Alene,
               Idaho-based company
          þ    and several affiliates of these companies
                              (MORE)
     "Our country's natural resources are a precious legacy that
we must  restore and manage for the benefit of future
generations," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General
in charge of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural
Resources Division.  "It is critical that those who damage our
environment with years of mining activity -- not the American
taxpayer -- pay the clean up costs."  
     
     Bob Davison, the Department of the Interior Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, stated that "this case
demonstrates the commitment of the Department of the Interior, in
cooperation with the Department of Agriculture and the Coeur
d'Alene Tribe, to restore the unique natural resources injured by
the release of mining wastes in the Coeur d'Alene Basin."   

     To determine the costs needed to restore natural resources
in the basin, the United States and the Tribe are jointly
conducting a damage assessment.  The assessment, which is due to
be completed in 1997, is a process in which the agencies and the
Tribe, with input from the public, collect and analyze scientific
information to determine the extent of injuries to natural
resources, and develop a plan for restoration of those resources. 
Through this assessment, the United States has determined that a
variety of resources in federal and tribal trusteeship have been,
and continue to be, injured and destroyed by the mining wastes in
the Basin.

     In early 1991, the United States and the Tribe invited the
defendants to cooperate in a joint damage assessment effort.  It
was the hope of the two governments that the joint effort would
result in a resolution of the claims without litigation.  None of
the defendants responded to the governments' requests. 
     
     The U.S. Department of Justice filed today's complaint on
behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department
of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 
The United States' lawsuit filed under the federal Superfund law
and Clean Water Act, is similar to one filed by the Coeur d'Alene
Tribe of Idaho, pending in the same court.
     
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