Nevada Supreme Court
CARSON CITY, Nev. -- A three-member panel of the state's Supreme Court recently erased an April decision by the full Nevada Supreme Court that ruled that the state's Division of Environmental Protection improperly eased water quality regulations on a major gold mine. Newmont Mining's original discharge permit covered water pumped from its deep open pit mine into Maggie Creek. The Nevada Supreme Court's original ruling said that because Maggie Creek's water quality was higher than applying standards, Newmont had to maintain those standards. But the latest panel ruling overturned this decision, saying that anti-degradation provisions for water supplies weren't violated because, according to the Associated Press, "a requirement to maintain standards on Maggie Creek hasn't been set yet."