A COLUMBIA RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF THE TRAIL SMELTER CASE

A COLUMBIA RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF THE TRAIL SMELTER CASE

This Article focuses on one of the most seminal crossborder environmental law disputes involving Canada and the United States, the Trail Smelter case. This case originated in the early 1900s involving the emission of fumes by a lead and zinc smeltering plant located in British Columbia that was found to have affected nearby Washington State by a Joint Canada-U.S. arbitration panel in 1931 and 1938. The Trail Smelter case reemerged in the 1990s, this time involving alleged water pollution in the form of emitted “slag” into the Columbia River, which connects to Washington State. The author reviews and analyzes both the original Trail Smelter case (beginning in the early 1900s) as well as the more recent dispute (beginning in the 1990s) from a multidisciplinary law, economics, and negotiation perspective. The lessons learned is also noteworthy given the age of increased economic development in Asia, which in turn, may lead to greater environmental litigation.