The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that a U.S.-based conservation group is urging Glencore PLC to tell the U.S. and Canadian governments that the Swiss miner would support bringing B.C. coal mine pollution before the International Joint Commission, a group set up to resolve cross-border water conflicts between the two countries. The Globe's Wendy Stueck writes that the National Parks Conservation Association made the request in a December letter to Glencore, which is acquiring a majority stake in Elk Valley Resources, the coal-mining arm of Teck Resources, in a $8.9-billion transaction. Environmental and indigenous groups say pollution from Elk Valley coal mines is contaminating water in Canada and the U.S. and they want to see the matter put before the commission. It reviews cross-border issues when it gets a request, or reference, from the Canadian and U.S. governments. Typically, requests are made jointly, but either country can make a unilateral request. Glencore's deal is subject to regulatory approval, so for now, Teck is the owner and operator of the Elk Valley mines. The NPCA chose to lobby the prospective new owner, in part because Teck in the past has opposed a reference to the commission.