The U.S. Supreme Court denied Teck’s appeal on a previous ruling, which awarded more than $8 million in legal costs to the Colville Confederated Tribes. They successfully argued that Teck used the Columbia River, which feeds from southwestern B.C. across the border into Washington State, as a disposal ground for heavy metals like arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead from its smelter facility in Trail, B.C. Teck is also financially responsible for the cleanup. (CBC)

Talking point: This ruling puts an end to the 20-year case. But it’s also part of a larger clash between the U.S. and B.C. around the province’s mining practices, the results of which could have implications well beyond the Teck case: earlier in June, eight U.S. senators penned a letter to B.C. Premier John Horgan, urging him to reform the province’s mining industry and environmental laws to stop pollution flowing from B.C. mines into U.S. waterways. Despite the decades-long dispute, Teck, Canada’s largest diversified resources company, is routinely recognized as one of Corporate Knights’ Best 50 Corporate Citizens, ranking fourth in 2019. And, while its stock was down 1.67 per cent on the news in late afternoon trading, Teck’s core business remains strong, reporting better-than-expected earnings in April.