(AP) — The U.S., Canada and several indigenous groups announced a proposal on Monday to address the pollution from coal mining in British Columbia that's been contaminating waterways and harming fisheries on both sides of the border for years. The proposal would be executed through a century-old U.S.-Canada boundary waters treaty, establishing independent boards to study the pollution’s extent and make cleanup recommendations. It comes after indigenous groups in British Columbia, Montana and Idaho lobbied for more than a decade for the federal governments in the U.S. and Canada to intervene and stop the flow of pollution. The proposal calls for no more than two years of study to gauge the extent of pollution. Investigators in Canada found Teck Resources Limited discharged hazardous amounts of selenium and calcite from two coal mines north of Eureka, Montana.

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Persons: ”, Tom McDonald, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Stephenne Harding, Gary Aitken Jr, “ It’s, Rachel Poynter, ” Poynter Organizations: The Associated Press, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, U.S ., White, Council, Environmental, Investigators, Teck Resources Limited, of, of Teck Resources Locations: Mont, U.S, Canada, British Columbia, Montana, Idaho, Kootenai, Lake Koocanusa, U.S . Canada, Elk, Kootenai Tribe, Canadian, Montana and Idaho, Eureka , Montana ., of Teck