"Mining Company To Pay $263M To Settle Superfund Suit"

"The largest mining company in Idaho's Silver Valley will pay $263.4 million plus interest to settle one of the nation's largest Superfund lawsuits -- one of the top 10 such settlements in history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced that Hecla Mining Co., of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, will pay the money to the United States, the state of Idaho and Coeur d'Alene tribal governments for releasing mining wastes into the environment during decades of silver production

"We are really pleased with this settlement because it helps us get certainty and hopefully begin a new era moving forward in the valley," Dennis McLerran, EPA regional director in Seattle said."

The Associated Press had the story June 13, 2011.