On This Date in Minnesota History: February 17

February 17, 1972 – “The U.S. Justice Department sued the Reserve Mining Company, alleging that the firm’s taconite plant in Silver Bay, MN, was dumping waste rock contaminated with asbestos-like fibers into Lake Superior.”

http://mn70s.tumblr.com/post/17759957593/the-case-against-reserve

Reserve Mining Company, Silver Bay, Minn.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RESERVE_MINING_COMPANY'S_TACONITE_PLANT_IN_SILVER_BAY._NORTH_CONVEYOR_CHUTE_DISCHARGES_TACONITE_TAILINGS_INTO_LAKE..._-_NARA_-_551611.jpg