[JURIST] In Wednesday's environmental law brief, the Philippine provincial government of Marinduque [official website], a small island about 100 miles south of Manila, filed suit Tuesday against Placer Dome Inc. [corporate website] seeking $100 million for environmental rehabilitation and compensation to local residents. The suit against the Canadian mining company was filed in Nevada, where the company has some holdings, and alleges that the company's negligence in managing waste from mines killed two rivers and smothered a bay that provided the livelihood for 12 fishing villages. Canadian Press has more.

In other environmental law news...

• The European Parliament's Committee for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety [official website] has approved a proposal to reduce data requirements for chemicals produced or imported in amounts below 10 ton a year. The proposal is part of a larger, comprehensive, piece of legislation known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) [EU backgrounder], which is being debated and approved of in sections. Financial Times has more.


• The Madera County, California Board of Supervisors [official website] has voted to bring a lawsuit against a water-bank project proposed by the Madera Irrigation District (MID). The project would store water taken from the nearby San Joaquin and Fresno rivers underground. The Board argues that a conditional use permit needs to be approved for the project, while MID officials maintain that according to the county's groundwater ordinance, the district does not need a permit if the water is not exported. The Fresno Bee had more.