SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A federal judge in Washington has ruled that his court has jurisdiction to apply the U.S. Superfund law to a Canadian company. U.S. District Judge Lonny Suko of Yakima ruled against Teck Metals Lt., of Vancouver, British Columbia in a long-running case involving pollution of Lake Roosevelt. Teck Metals operates a giant lead and zinc smelter in Trail, British Columbia, about 10 miles from the U.S. border. The company has admitted that pollution from that smelter traveled down the Columbia River into Lake Roosevelt. But the company has said it is not subject to U.S. environmental laws and cannot be ordered to pay for the cleanup. Suko ruled in a lawsuit brought the state of Washington and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Teck can appeal the ruling.
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