Uruguay River

BUENOS AIRES - An Argentine provincial governor said on Wednesday he would try to block construction of two European-owned pulp mills in neighboring Uruguay by having the case taken to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
Jorge Busti, the governor of Entre Rios province, said Argentina's federal government had agreed to file a petition to the international court against the planned $1.7 billion project along the Uruguay River shared by the two countries. Argentine government officials could not be reached for comment.

Busti argued the mills violated a treaty between Argentina and Uruguay allowing both countries to administer the Uruguay River.
"It will now be up to the international courts," Busti said, adding the petition could be submitted as early as next week.
The legal maneuvering is the latest by the governor to try to stymie the construction plans of the mills, scheduled to be built on the banks of the river that forms a natural border between the two countries.
Entre Rios province is located across the river from the planned site.
On the Argentine side, widespread opposition to the pulp mills has led to months of protests by environmentalists and ordinary Argentines who worry the plants will contaminate the region's farmlands, damage wildlife and choke off tourism.
Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez has hailed the project -- among the country's largest foreign investment plans in history -- as crucial to its economy, now rebounding from a 2002 economic crisis.
The mills would be built by Finland's Metsa-Botnia, Europe's second-largest pulp producer, and Spain's Ence and are expected to produce 1.5 million metric tons of wood pulp for export.
The companies insist any pollutants from the plants would come within internationally tolerated levels.