Last week’s report criticizing the provincial government for doing too little to address lingering concerns about mercury contamination in the Wabigoon River was the latest plea for action on a problem that’s been a cause for concern since the 1960s.

But even if the government occasionally takes a pounding over this issue, like it did in the legislature and media last week, we won’t be surprised if several more years, if not decades, pass before the polluted Dryden-area river is addressed.

How can something seemingly so dire take so long to get resolved? The case of how the provincial and federal governments dealt with Marathon’s polluted harbour is instructive.

Though the harbour was similarly contaminated with mercury from a pulp mill’s chlor-alkali plant — eventually dubbed one of Lake Superior’s so-called “hot spots” — it literally took decades for a clean-up plan to be developed and approved.

And the harbour wasn’t really “cleaned”; the mercury was merely covered over with a layer of sand because of legitimate concerns that dredging the contaminated sediment would release the mercury into the water column.

Volunteers on a citizen’s committee got frustrated as experts mulled various proposals over several years, including a bizarre idea that fortunately didn’t go forward — putting the mercury-contaminated sediment into a break-wall.

By 2012, the province and the feds were finally moving forward with a $7-million plan to cover the mercury with a “cap” of sand. But there was a wrinkle: the province wanted a company with ties to the dormant Marathon mill to cover some of the cost.

This made sense in principle, and eventually the company did pay a share. But it led to more lawyering and further delays. (The province has an emergency fund that’s used for clean-up projects when private companies can’t or refuse or pay up.)

Even though there was no compelling evidence that mercury was getting into the harbour’s water column, or that main fish species, like lake trout, had absorbed dangerous levels of the chemical, the plan went ahead. Though it did take many years.

The case for addressing the Wabigoon River seems just as compelling, perhaps more so because of earlier evidence of some Grassy Narrows First Nation resident coming down with mercury poisoning from eating contaminated fish.

Since 1984, the province has offered compensation to those who have mercury poisoning symptoms, like shaky limbs and blurred vision. So far, nearly $20 million in benefits has been paid out.

Longer term, the province says that “in co-operation with Grassy Narrows First Nation, we will work together to determine the best path forward, ensuring the health, safety and well-being of their community.”

Sounds good. Why then, is Grassy Narrows being forced to hire its own consultant, accusing the province of inaction? Where is the plan, the clean-up options that some scientists insist will work?

If it’s good for a town harbour, surely a river and those in a First Nation who depend on it are no less deserving.