A US Federal Judge held a gold mining company in contempt of court for continuing to discharge arsenic and iron into a river in Idaho.

The judge fined the Atlanta Gold mining company US$251,000 for the damage being done to Montezuma Creek, a tributary feeding the Middle Fork of the Boise River - an important watershed serving highly diverse habitats, including alpine canyons, range and agricultural lands, fisheries, and cities.  It seems a pathetically small fine for a gold mining company.

This case dates back to 2011 when the Idaho Conservation League and Northwest Environmental Defense Center sued Atlanta Gold Corporation for the leaking coming from a horizontal mining tunnel.  In 2012, a court ordered Atlanta Mining to clean up its mess.

But it's five years later, and the situation hasn't improved to the satisfaction of the green campaigners.  They went back to the court, which said Atlanta Mining is treating the effluent water discharge 80 percent of the time.  It's that remaining 20 percent that is the problem.

Atlanta Gold Mining declined to comment.

"Sadly, the people of Idaho have seen this movie before," said Idaho Conservation League program director Justin Hayes.  "Same company, same mine, same arsenic discharges to the same river - just five years later.  The Boise River and the people of Idaho deserve better."