But before I get on with my practice.....

[johnny9fingers]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090918/ap_on_re_us/us_abandoned_mercury_mines_6

If you want clean water....and your mercury mining organisations have escaped their financial obligations concerning the cleanup of their mess, well it has to be paid for somehow. Perhaps with tax-income? 

Some selective quotes.

Government officials blame mining companies for shirking their financial responsibilities to clean the sites, either by filing for bankruptcy or changing ownership.

The Sulfur Bank Mine has made the nearby Clear Lake the most mercury-polluted lake in the world, despite the EPA spending about $40 million and two decades trying to keep mercury contamination from the water. Pollution still seeps beneath the earthen dam built by the former mine operator, Bradley Mining Co.
For years, Bradley Mining has fought the government's efforts to recoup cleanup costs. An attorney for the company didn't return calls seeking comment.

It took a hundred years to pollute and will take almost as long to put right. But strangely enough we can't force the folk that made the mess to clean it up. This is the marketplace in action, and the long-term consequences of....not enough regulation, perhaps. Or have I missed something germane?