There go those fish and everything thats coming upstream is dead!

http://www.kfsk.org/2015/06/17/new-report-questions-ksm-mines-safety/

New report questions KSM mine’s safety, economics

by Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska News
June 17, 2015 4:00 am

The KSM project’s mine site layout during the operation phase, from its environmental assessment certificate application. (Image courtesy Seabridge Gold)

A new report from two environmental groups claims a proposed gold and copper mine northeast of Ketchikan is too risky to build. http://www.earthworksaction.org/ksmrisk

It says British Columbia’s Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell project threatens the safety of Alaska and B.C. salmon.

“The most significant risk associated with what KSM is proposing is the unprecedented volume of water that the mine is planning to manage and treat,” says Bonnie Gestring, of the Montana office of Earthworks, a conservation organization focused on mines.

She says it will handle more than 20 billion gallons a year, nearly eight times the volume of the next-largest open pit mine in North America.

Another major concern is the tailings dam, which will store waste rock. The report calls it a failed technology condemned by a Canadian report on another mine’s dam breach last summer.

The risk analysis, co-authored by the Alaska-B.C. group Salmon Beyond Borders, follows a similar critique produced last year. http://riverswithoutborders.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/KSM-RiskReport-2014_11.pdf

Gestring says what’s new is an examination of the KSM’s financial feasibility. Construction of the remote mine is estimated to cost more than $5 billion, Canadian. She says the numbers just don’t work.

“We looked at the company’s economic analysis and the metal prices it based that it based its analysis on and compared that with current metal prices to show that its forecast or economic assumptions are unrealistic,” she says.

The report says that would make it difficult for the company to pay for long-term storage and treatment of mine wastewater.

The KSM prospect is owned by Toronto-based Seabridge Gold. It’s in the watersheds of two rivers that enter the ocean within 50 miles of Ketchikan.

The company’s spokesman is at the remote mine site and couldn’t be reached for a response.

In an earlier interview, Environmental Affairs Vice President Brent Murphy said the mine design is safe and can generate profits.

“We have confidentiality agreements with major mining companies and discussions are ongoing. So we have people who are going through our files,” he said.
 
http://www.kstk.org/2015/06/17/red-chris-mine-gets-final-environmental-permit/

Red Chris mine gets final environmental permit

by Katarina Sostaric, KSTK News
June 17, 2015 4:31 pm

The first of several mines being developed across the border from Southeast Alaska has received its final environmental permit. Some Alaskans are worried the Red Chris and other British Columbia mines will impact salmon in Southeast.

The Red Chris copper and gold mine got final approval last week to discharge wastewater in the Stikine River watershed.

The final permit was delayed because of extra scrutiny by a First Nations group and the B.C. government. It was the last environmental hurdle for the mine to jump before being guaranteed full use of its tailings storage facility.

The tailings dam system, which holds waste rock, is facing a lot of criticism after a dam at the Mount Polley Mine in B.C. collapsed last summer. It spilled millions of gallons of waste into Canadian waterways.

Imperial Metals owns that mine and Red Chris. It has not responded to requests for interviews.

Red Chris has been operating on a temporary permit since February. The amended Environmental Management Act permit from the B.C. government allows it to use its tailings facility continuously, as long as it adheres to certain water quality standards.

The permit allows the mine to discharge tailings into its storage facility and discharge wastewater from there. That untreated wastewater is released into a creek.

The Red Chris mine is upriver from Wrangell and Petersburg.

Many Southeast Alaskans worry B.C. mines could destroy salmon and other wildlife that many people depend on for subsistence and income.

Rob Sanderson Jr. is a vice president of the Tlingit-Haida Central Council and co-chair of the United Tribal Transboundary Mining Work Group. Sanderson said he is not surprised that Red Chris got its final permit because B.C. is approving mines at a breakneck speed.

“We have the Unuk River which is poisoned. We have the Taku River which is poisoned. And now the last pristine river, a great river in Southeast Alaska, is up next unless we do something about it, which we are,” Sanderson said.

He said a solution ultimately depends on the Canadian and U.S. governments agreeing to work together to provide international oversight.

The State of Alaska has communicated with B.C., but Sanderson does not think there is a mechanism that could make a real difference.

An Imperial Metals press release calls the permit an “important milestone” for Red Chris.

Imperial Metals expects the mine to operate at commercial production levels later this summer.
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...y-mine-gets-restricted-ok-to-reopen-1.3145642

Mount Polley mine gets restricted OK to reopen

Up to 220 workers expected on site within a month

The Canadian Press Posted: Jul 09, 2015 3:30 PM PT| Last Updated: Jul 09, 2015 3:30 PM PT

The tailings dam at Mount Polley mine breached last August, and 24 million cubic metres of mine waste and water gushed into area lakes and waterways. Now, the mine has been allowed to reopen with restrictions. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

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■Mount Polley mine spill report released by B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner
■Mount Polley could reopen in July: mines minister
■Cariboo Regional District supports reopening of Mount Polley
■Mount Polley spill shows increase in temperature, sediment levels: UNBC report

The B.C. government has issued a conditional permit allowing the Mount Polley mine to reopen with restrictions.

Mines Minister Bill Bennett said Thursday the permit is the first of three steps the mine must take before it can be authorized to operate fully.

"Our choice was do we wait for them for a year to do absolutely everything that shows that they have a long-term plan, or do we let them operate for a few months and get people working again," said Bennett.

He said the mine must submit a long-term water treatment and discharge plan to the government by next June.

The tailings dam at the central B.C. mine breached last August, and 24 million cubic metres of mine waste and water gushed into area lakes and waterways.

Production likely to begin next month

An independent government-ordered report concluded the spill was caused by poor dam design, which didn't account for drainage and erosion failures associated with glacial till beneath the pond.

The company estimates it will take about 30 days before it can start production with up to 220 workers on site.

Imperial Metals Corp. Vice-President Steve Robertson said he expects Mount Polley Mine Corp. to immediately recall up to 30 workers.

He said the conditional permit fits the company's intention to have Mount Polley operating permanently within a year.

"The strategy here is to be able to do this temporary work plan in order to give us the time to get in place a long-term water management plan and discharge plan," Robertson said.

"We expect to be able to go back to the government in the fall with a proposal for a full-time restart of the mine."

With files from CBC
© The Canadian Press, 2015
 
http://www.cftktv.com/News/Story.aspx?ID=2182749

Tahtlan Protest Mineral Exploration in Sheslay Area

John Crawford

7/9/2015

A group of Tahltan elders has set up a blockade, to halt mine exploration in the Sheslay River Valley, northwest of Telegraph Creek.

The elders, supported by Tahltan Central Council president Chad Day, are opposed to Doubleview Capital's drilling operations on the company's "Hat Project".

Day says the Sheslay is an important cultural, spiritual and traditional-use area to the Tahltan people, noting there are grave sites for many of the Tahltan clans there.

Doubleview President Farshad Shirvani says the company was issued a five-year exploration and drilling permit by the province, after meeting requirements for First Nations consultations.

He says Doubleview is reviewing its options.


=== TAHLTAN NEWS RELEASE ===

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 8, 2015

Unwanted Sheslay mining exploration causes Tahltan protest

SHESLAY, NORTHWEST BC - A group of Tahltan Elders, supported by Tahltan Central Council (TCC) president Chad day, have travelled this week to a mine exploration site in the Sheslay area to seek a halt to work there.

Meanwhile, TCC president Chad Day also issued an open letter to the Province and junior mining company Doubleview reminding them of the Tahltan Nation’s requirement that all mining activity in the Sheslay stop.

The TCC has repeatedly asked for Doubleview’s drilling rig to be removed because the Tahltan Nation strongly opposes mineral exploration in the area surrounding the Sheslay River.

Traditionally, Sheslay was occupied by the western Tahltan people. There are grave sites for many of the Tahltan clans there and the whole area was occupied and used. Today, Sheslay remains an important cultural, spiritual and traditional use area to the Tahltan people.

“Our people have been clear that the Sheslay area is not appropriate for major industrial development,” said TCC president Chad Day. “We have repeatedly asked Doubleview and the Province for the current work to stop, but we have been ignored.”

Although Doubleview has permission from the Province for exploration work, the Tahltan Nation was not properly consulted before a permit was issued. In May, the TCC sent a letter to all exploration permit holders asking them to stop work. Since then, TCC has also met with the Province and with Doubleview to request that activity stops, with no success.

The TCC is not opposed to all mining development. It works with industry and with the Province on its government-to-government relationship to make sure appropriate development takes place with proper consultation. In April of this year, the Tahltan people voted more than 80% in favour of an agreement with the new Red Chris mine in Tahltan territory.

TCC asserts that major mineral exploration in Sheslay is not in the interests of the Province, industry or the Tahltan people when the chance of Tahltan approval of any development there is so small.

Notes

•A copy of the open letter sent to the Ministry of Energy and Mines and to Doubleview can be viewed here: http://bit.ly/1HgH4T0

•Sheslay is a remote part of northwest British Columbia. It is approximately 50km west of the Tahltan town of Telegraph Creek and is an important part of Tahltan life. To see the area on a map, click here: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Sh...2!3m1!1s0x53f88f09a60f4885:0x371994bf2cb1f801
 
http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/07/09/M...ce=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=100715
As Mount Polley Re-Opens, Neighbours Feel Like 'Collateral Damage'

Fishing guide supports mine's reboot, but says more is owed to those hurt by 2014 spill.

By David P. Ball, Yesterday, TheTyee.ca
Skeed Borkowski

Lodge owner Skeed Borkowski: 'I'm not impressed with the way we've been treated by the government.'

The British Columbia government has given the green light for Imperial Metals to re-open its Mount Polley mine, 11 months after the mine's tailings pond broke and dumped 25 million cubic metres of toxin-laden sludge into the environment near Williams Lake.

The firm received a "conditional" permit that will allow it to unload waste water into a mining pit on site, which has been deemed safe by inspectors. For now, Imperial Metals is forbidden from discharging any water off-site or into the failed tailings storage facility.

But Mines Minister Bill Bennett expressed confidence that the firm could successfully get permits for those activities by next summer -- so long as authorities are convinced they are safe and pose no risk to the environment.

In a teleconference on Thursday, Bennett said the "careful" decision to reopen Mount Polley is welcome in the Cariboo region, with more than 200 workers set to return to their jobs.

Imperial Metals will still have to jump through two more hoops before any long-term operating plan is approved, he said. "From mid-July until sometime early mid-fall, they will be allowed to operate -- to keep these families working and to generate some revenue for the company."

Before full operations resume, Mount Polley must obtain a water discharge permit by this fall, and submit a "long-term plan" next year, the minister said. No permit will be issued unless the water discharged into the environment is safe for both drinking and aquatic organisms, he said.

Broken dam, broken business

For fishing guide Skeed Borkowski, the Aug. 4 disaster marred the 20th anniversary year of his Northern Lights Lodge on Quesnel Lake. Last summer, after the mine's waste tumbled through the watershed near the lodge, the 67-year-old bemoaned: "They killed my beautiful lake."

Reached by phone today, Borkowski declared his support for the mine re-opening, but maintains that the province didn't do enough to consider the social and economic damage of the failure, or speak one-on-one with the locals most impacted. He said he lost business and customers over the spill.

"Our friends, family and the community need this," he said of the re-opening. "But I'm not impressed with the way we've been treated by the government. It wasn't my dam that broke, but it was my business that has almost gone broke because of it… We're such a small community, we're basically collateral damage here."

When The Tyee brought these concerns to Minister Bennett, he replied that local residents and businesses have been adequately consulted and kept abreast of developments and investigations over the past 11 months, including through "several public meetings" attended by representatives of the ministries of environment and mines.

"There's been quite a bit of opportunity for local governments, chambers of commerce and citizens to know what's happening in terms of the accident and the re-start," Bennett said. "There's been lots of consultation. In terms of compensation, it isn't government policy that local businesses would be compensated under these kinds of circumstances."

Aim to re-open on 'permanent basis'

In the same Thursday teleconference, David Morel, assistant deputy minister of B.C.'s Mines and Mineral Resources Division, said that Mount Polley operators have conducted drilling below the mine's breached tailings storage facility, as well as built buttresses to reinforce the earthen structure, suggesting plans to resume use of the facility in the future.

A government-appointed panel of engineers concluded in January that an unstable foundation was largely to blame for the dam's collapse.

Bennett said it's unlikely that Mount Polley could permanently re-open without the use of the same tailings facility that failed, but that "a lot of work" is needed to ensure its safety.

"We are very pleased to hear that the company intends to re-open on a permanent basis," Bennett said. "That is good news for the province and it's good news for the region."

Imperial Metals did not return phone or emailed requests for an interview in time for publication.

'No one wanted this to happen'

While the return of mining jobs may be welcome news for many, the scars of the 2014 disaster remain. Hazeltine Creek, which flows below the dam, has seen extensive cleanup work, but much of the slurry deposited at the deep bottom of Quesnel Lake remains unaddressed.

Borkowski used to drink the water from Quesnel Lake, but said that since the spill he hasn't "had a sip."

"No one really knows what's in there," he said of toxins such as mercury, arsenic and lead that the company itself declared were in its tailings pond.

Borkowski said authorities still have much to learn from the largest mine tailings accident in Canadian history. "I'm sure no one wanted this to happen, but it did. There should have been more caution taken right from the beginning."

He said his beloved lake "will never be the same," and the damage is done.

"At 67 years old, it's a little late to start over," he said. "We don't have 10 years to rebuild the business. This is the age where we cram for finals before we circle the drain."
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/desmog-canada/bc-mines-alaska-salmon_b_7771244.html

Alaskans Leery Of Bad Neighbours Amid B.C. Gold Rush

Posted: 07/15/2015 1:22 pm EDT Updated: 07/15/2015 1:59 pm EDT

BC RIVER FISH SALMON

Long-held perceptions of Canada as a country with strict environmental standards and B.C. as a province that values natural beauty are taking a near-fatal beating in Southeast Alaska, where many now regard Canadians as bad neighbours who are unilaterally making decisions that could threaten the region's two major economic drivers.

Fishing and tourism -- each billion-dollar industries -- are the lifeblood of Southeast Alaska, where glaciers sweep down into rivers home to five species of wild salmon and massive snow-covered peaks tower over fertile wetlands.

Tourism accounts for 10,900 jobs in the Alaska Panhandle and salmon fishing employs 7,300 people.

Air and water are the only ways into communities such as Juneau, the state capital, and almost seven million hectares, or three-quarters of Southeast Alaska, are within the Tongass National Forest, where industrial activity is limited.

But, upstream, in northwest B.C., there is a new-style gold rush with an unprecedented number of applications for open-pit gold and copper mines, some made viable by construction of the Northwest Transmission Line and all requiring road access.

Alaskan politicians, tribes, fishing organizations and environmental groups have come together in a rare show of unity to condemn B.C.'s push to approve mines close to major transboundary salmon rivers, such as the Stikine, Taku and Unuk, which run from B.C. into Alaska. Tensions are running so high the groups are asking the International Joint Commission, designed to resolve Canada/U.S. water problems, to step in.

Canada is increasingly viewed as a "bad actor," whose record -- most recently illustrated by the Mount Polley mine tailings dam collapse -- shows that the province's environmental regulations and oversight is not strong enough to protect downstream communities.

"It's the new wild west," said Heather Hardcastle, a commercial fisherman and co-ordinator of Salmon Beyond Borders, pointing out that, even though Alaska has nothing to gain and everything to lose, Alaskans are being denied meaningful input into mine decisions.

10 Advanced Mining Projects in Northwestern B.C.

The new mines include Imperial Metals' Red Chris, a copper and gold mine operated by the same company that owns Mount Polley, and Seabridge Gold's massive KSM (Kerr-Sulpherets-Mitchell) mine, 30 kilometres from the U.S border and Misty Fjords National Monument, which will open up mining of the largest undeveloped gold reserve in the world. KSM has provincial and federal environmental assessment approval and is waiting for permits.

According to B.C.'s Ministry of Energy and Mines there are 10 advanced projects in the northwest corner of B.C. and numerous others in exploration phases.
2015-07-10-1436545926-3386756-TransboundaryWatershedBCAlaska.png
Image: Salmon Beyond Borders

They include Kitsault (under construction), Silvertip (provincial permit granted in June), Tulsequah Chief (construction started, but project delayed), Brucejack (Mines Act permit application under review), Kutcho and Schaft Creek (both in the environmental assessment pre-application stage).

In comparison, there are only five operating mines in Alaska, of which two are in Southeast Alaska and one of which uses dry stack tailings, the method of dealing with acid-generating mine waste favoured by the expert panel that investigated the Mount Polley dam collapse.

The Canadian system appears to aim "to get to yes fast," without consideration of other values when it comes to resource extraction, said Jev Shelton, a commercial fisherman and former member of the Pacific Salmon Commission, the joint Canadian/U.S. regulatory body designed to protect salmon stocks.

"It is certainly triggering a fair bit of anger," Shelton said.

B.C. Moving 'Full Speed Ahead'

The pace and scale of development is huge, said Chris Zimmer of Rivers Without Borders.

"B.C. is going full speed ahead without any brakes. It looks as if they're trying to move as fast as they can before Alaska puts up hurdles."

There is growing indignation that B.C. is not listening to Alaskan concerns and that additional input, promised in May after Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett met with Alaska's Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott, amounts to little more than window-dressing.

"We were a bit stunned by Bill Bennett giving us the table scraps and saying Alaska can come in at the final stages of permitting -- they're saying we will involve you when the final decision has been made to build the mine," Zimmer said.

Alaskan Concerns Ignored

Gillnetter and fisheries consultant Lindsey Bloom agrees that Alaskan questions are being ignored.

"Since I started working on this issue, the disregard of Canadian officials towards us is concerning," she said.

While Mallott and Bennett were meeting in B.C., a group of Alaskan tribal leaders, fishing industry representatives and environmental advocates met with high-level provincial government staff.

However, it was an exercise in frustration because of the lack of answers or acknowledgement of downstream concerns, according to several people who attended the meeting.

"We tried to explain we don't want more say in the permitting process, we want something to put us on an equal footing with B.C.," Hardcastle said.

B.C. government staff appeared to think their task was to explain the process instead of listening to concerns and suggestions, said several members of the Alaskan delegation.

Mallott, who is leading an Alaskan transboundary waters working group, said in an interview with DeSmog Canada, that, during their meeting, Bennett was amenable to the notion of more Alaskan involvement and he has been invited to Alaska to continue the conversation.

Staff who have looked at B.C.'s technical permitting and assessment of mines believe the rules in B.C. and Alaska are generally equivalent, said Mallott.

"But there are significant differences. Whether the entire range of environmental assessment and permitting is robust enough to protect both B.C. and U.S. and Alaskan interests is still something we all need to be made more comfortable with," he said.

"We would want Alaskan officials at the table when decisions are made in such areas of permitting that it is possible that catastrophic events could take place."

- Judith Lavoie, DeSmog Canada
 

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http://juneauempire.com/opinion/2015-08-25/my-turn-cautionary-tail
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My Turn: A cautionary 'tail'

Posted: August 25, 2015 - 12:01am

By JACK A. STANFORD

FOR THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

I, and a number of other interested Montanans, have been following the proposals for a large number of mines in the British Columbia portions of the Taku, Stikine and Unuk River watersheds.

We in Montana have had decades of experience with BC mines and their polluting effects on our shared, transboundary rivers — not to mention their polluting effects on BC’s own resources.

Our direct experience with pollution of Montana waters and contaminated fish comes of being downriver from a string of coalmines in the Elk River drainage of BC.

And as for BC polluting their own resources, and what one might expect from the proposed mines in the shared watersheds between Alaska and BC, one need look no further than the catastrophic mine tailings failure at the Mount Polley mine in BC just this past year, one of the worst mining disasters in the history of the world.

We understand that BC might ask Alaska to sign a so-called Memorandum of Understanding similar to those BC has managed to negotiate with the states of Washington, Montana and Idaho.

Make no mistake, such an MOU would be a disaster for Alaska and the tens of thousands of Alaskans who rely on the waters of these magnificent rivers for their sustenance and way of life that has endured for centuries. BC Minister Bill Bennett is in Alaska preaching “cooperation” and will likely seek an MOU.

Alaska’s response should be a resounding NO!

Before BC entered into MOUs with its southern U.S. neighbors, we in Montana had an equal seat at the table with regard to a coal mine proposal for the BC portion of the Flathead River.

That proposal would assuredly pollute the river that forms the western boundary of Glacier National park and Flathead Lake. Equal numbers of Americans and Canadians participated in a comprehensive study that reached a consensus conclusion that construction of the mine should not proceed until there was a level of risk acceptable to both the U.S. and Canadian governments.

That mine was never built, and Montana and BC citizens forced BC (in 2010) to prohibit mining in the entire Flathead watershed.

Since that time, BC has worked hard to establish these MOUs. Why? Because they essentially bind the signatory states to participate in upstream BC mine proposals only in the context of the BC permitting process.

When a downstream US state agrees to this stipulation, they surrender the protection guaranteed to them under Article IV of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, and the strong downstream protections described in other international instruments.

We in Montana have been keen observers of the BC permitting process, and we have experienced the polluting nature of BC practices. BC’s current mine licensing process is wired for approval, while the Canadian federal environmental safeguards have been substantially weakened recently. The mining companies themselves dictate the environmental data and heavily influence the permitting process.

The proposed mines in the BC-Alaska transboundary region will pollute Alaskan waters. It is not a question of when, but rather by how much, and to what extent the billion-dollar per year Alaska salmon fishery in the Taku, Stikine and Unuk watersheds will be damaged, and the livelihoods and way of life of tens of thousands of people degraded.

Should Alaska sign the same kind of MOU as was signed with Washington State, Montana and Idaho, Alaska will find it has forfeited its right to compensation when mining impacts its fish and water. Native peoples who have lived in rhythm with the natural cycles of these magnificent rivers, and those who depend on that fishery and on the tourism dollars associated with it, will be the big losers.

I hope the elected officials of the state of Alaska will protect the state’s existing right to full protection of the international waters of the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers, and reject the empty rhetoric and “promise” of meaningless MOUs with BC.

Don’t sign it! Let’s follow common sense and work with BC citizens proactively to really understand the long-term environmental and economic consequences of the BC mines in advance of construction and operations.

• Dr. Jack A. Stanford is a professor of ecology at the University of Montana and director of the Flathead Lake Biological Station.
 
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http://www.terracestandard.com/business/322627331.html

B.C. seeks mining agreement with Alaska

Red Chris mine has begun operation near the Iskut River in northwest B.C., where several other mine projects are proposed.— image credit: Imperial Metals

by Tom Fletcher - BC Local News

posted Aug 23, 2015 at 11:00 AM

B.C. Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett is spending this week in Alaska, his second trip this year to work out a formal agreement on mine regulation between the state and the province.

Bennett has meetings lined up with Alaska conservation groups, state legislators, commercial fishing representatives and Alaska Governor Bill Walker. With major mine projects proposed on both sides of the border and continued public concern in the wake of last year's Mount Polley tailings dam collapse near Quesnel, Bennett is hoping to have an agreement ready for Walker and Premier Christy Clark to sign later this year.

Several B.C. mine projects have opened or received permits to proceed this year in northwest B.C., where salmon-bearing river systems extend across the Alaska panhandle to the Pacific Ocean.

Two of those mines are just north of Stewart B.C. and Hyder, Alaska near the Unuk River, which flows into Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Brucejack Mine is an underground project expected to proceed with construction this year. Its tailings are to be returned to the mine shaft, reducing concern about environmental impact.

Near Brucejack is the KSM Mine, one of the largest copper and gold ore deposits in the world. It was given B.C. permits last year for a design that includes open pits and a pair of tunnels to carry ore 23 km away for processing.

Bennett plans to fly into the Taku River region, where B.C. has issued permits for the Tulsequah Chief mine south of Atlin. It also plans a tailings storage site to restart mining on two ore deposits that were previously mined in the 1950s.

"We're going to meet with dozens of different interests and people, do a lot of listening, but also make sure that Alaskans become a bit more aware of how much access their government has to our processes in B.C.," Bennett said.

The Alaska government participated in the approvals for KSM and others, but many state residents aren't aware of that, he said.

Many Alaskans are aware of the Mount Polley situation, where recovery work continues a year after millions of tonnes of mine waste poured into Quesnel Lake. Testing of water and aquatic life continues and the water continues to meet Canadian drinking water standards.

"It's going to take years to have any long-term certainty on this, but so far it would seem that there hasn't been a negative impact on aquatic organisms that we know of today, or on humans," Bennett said.

An engineering review of all operating tailings dams at B.C. mines was ordered after the Mount Polley investigation found a glacial material layer that was undetected led to the dam failure in early August 2014.
 
http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/08/29/BC-Minister-Fails-Ease-Alaskans-Concerns/

BC Minister Bennett's Visit Fails to Ease Alaskans' Mining Concerns

Downstream salmon advocates renew call for international mine review.

By Judith Lavoie, Today, DeSmog Blog

Taku-River

The Taku is southeast Alaska's top salmon-producing river. Photo courtesy Rivers Without Borders.

Promises of a closer relationship between B.C. and Alaska, and more consultation on B.C. mine applications are a good start, but so far, southeast Alaska has no more guarantees that those mines will not pollute salmon-bearing rivers than before last week's visit by B.C.'s Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett, say Alaskan fishing and conservation groups.

Bennett, accompanied by senior civil servants from the ministries of Energy and Mines and Environment, took a conciliatory tone as he met with state officials, policy-makers and critics of what is seen as an aggressive push by B.C. to develop mines in the transboundary area, close to vitally important salmon rivers like the Unuk, Taku and Stikine.

''I understand why people feel so strongly about protecting what they have,'' Bennett said in a Juneau news conference with Alaska Lt. Governor Byron Mallott.

''There's a way of life here that has tremendous value and the people here don't want to lose it. I get that,'' he said.

But promises of a strengthened dialogue and more opportunities to comment on mine applications fall far short of Alaskans' demands for a review by the International Joint Commission. Formed under the Boundary Waters Treaty, the IJC investigates cross-border water disputes.

It was a step forward to have such a high-level meeting, said Chris Zimmer of Rivers Without Borders, but it is an international issue that demands international attention.

''Increased involvement in the B.C. permitting process is not a bad thing but it is not a solution on its own. In other words, we stand firm for the need of an international solution under the Boundary Waters Treaty,'' Zimmer said.

Both sides agreed the status quo cannot continue, but the question is how to move forward, Zimmer said.

''How do we move from words to real, concrete action to protect Alaska's interests?''

No compensation agreement

Bennett did not rule out the possibility of going to the International Joint Commission but he felt it was premature and the commission should be brought in only if the province and state could not work it out between themselves, said Heather Hardcastle of Salmon Beyond Borders, a coalition of fishing, tribal, tourism and community organizations.

AlaskaMap.jpg


Advocates call BC’s plans 'a modern day gold rush.' Map courtesy Salmon Beyond Borders.

There was also no agreement on the question of how Alaskans would be compensated if there was an upstream spill.

''We are saying we are taking on the lion's share of the risk and we are not receiving the benefits,'' Hardcastle said at a news conference following a meeting with Bennett. ''There is nothing in place right now, Minister Bennett told us, to deal with liability… That's just unacceptable to us that there's nothing to compensate us for the lack of our livelihood.''

Financial assurances that Alaskans would be compensated if B.C. mining damages fisheries and water quality are needed prior to projects receiving permits, Hardcastle said.

Dale Kelley, Alaska Trollers Association executive director, said the universal theme was how to ensure no harm befalls Alaska's fisheries.

''It was quite disturbing to hear the minister say there really is no remedy,'' she said.

Both federal governments need to be involved in compensation discussions as a spill would mean a disaster on a scale that could not be handled by the state and provincial governments, Kelley said.

'A black eye for Canada'

During the visit, Bennett agreed that B.C. should fix leakage from the Tulsequah Chief Mine, that, through a tributary, flows into the Taku River.

Decades of failed promises to fix the leakage have been a thorn in the side of many Alaskans, even though it is not known whether the mine drainage is hurting fish.

After touring the Taku River by helicopter Monday, Bennett told reporters it should be fixed.

''I think B.C is going to have to find a way to rectify it sooner than later and I think it is a most legitimate criticism of us by those folks in Alaska who don't like it,'' he said.

The Tulsequah Chief, now owned by Chieftain Metals Corp, was closed by Cominco in 1957 without acid mine drainage cleanup or site reclamation, and despite numerous B.C orders, subsequent owners failed to clean up the mess. The mine was bought by Chieftain in 2010 when the company accepted the environmental liabilities and installed an interim water treatment plant.

''It's clearly a black eye for Canada,'' Zimmer said.

Solutions now, if Chieftain does not reopen the mine and get a grip on the drainage problems, are for B.C. to close down the mine properly -- something likely to cost many millions of dollars -- or to spend $4-million a year to treat the waste in perpetuity, Zimmer said.

''We are looking for very specific action to back these words up.'' [Tyee]


Read more: Energy, BC Politics, Environment


Judith Lavoie is an award-winning journalist based in Victoria, British Columbia. Lavoie covered environment and First Nations stories for the Victoria Times Colonist for more than 20 years and is now working as a freelancer. She previously worked on newspapers in New Brunswick, Cyprus, England and the Middle East. Lavoie has won four Webster Awards and has been nominated for a National Newspaper Award and a Michener Award.
 

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http://juneauempire.com/opinion/2015-09-15/my-turn-can-bc-protect-southeast

My Turn: Can B.C. protect Southeast?
Posted: September 15, 2015 - 12:01am


By DALE KELLEY and CYNTHIA WALLESZ

FOR THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

We were among a group of fishing, environmental and tribal representatives who recently met with Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, B.C. Mining Minister Bill Bennett and other officials on transboundary mining issues. Bennett’s visit was largely the result of Alaskans’ resistance to B.C.’s aggressive mining agenda and the risks it poses to our region.

Our organizations represent thousands of Southeast fishing families and businesses who fear development near the border could threaten water quality, habitat and the fish we rely upon. Last year’s tailings breach at Mount Polley Mine and plans to open several massive acidic mines near our rivers heighten those concerns. While the meeting was a good first step to starting a discussion with Canada, it did not alleviate our concerns.

Bennett told us the status quo cannot continue and that he understands no amount of money or jobs is worth sacrificing our resource values. We absolutely agree. The minister promised more meetings and information about B.C.’s mine review process; he also mentioned his desire to build trust. To start gaining our trust, Bennett can work with Alaskans and our federal government to secure a binding, enforceable agreement between the U.S. and Canada that protects shared watersheds and secures our long-term financial interests in the event of mishaps. And, he can clean up Tulsequah Chief Mine.

Tulsequah Chief Mine has leached toxic mine waste into the Taku River watershed for decades, yet B.C. has failed to do anything beyond issuing citations. Bennett expressed surprise to see the mine just 18 miles from our capitol and said, “B.C. is going to have to find a way to rectify it sooner rather than later.” Solving that problem very soon would certainly show commitment by the minister and help build trust.

The Mount Polley disaster and leakage at Tulsequah Chief Mine make Alaska fishermen skeptical that B.C. has the capacity to protect and rehabilitate the environment or restore the economy of our region. When asked how B.C. would compensate fishermen for their losses in the event of an accident, it was chilling to hear Bennett say, “I don’t know.”

A senior project director for B.C.’s Ministry of Environment said their current bonding structure doesn’t cover individual businesses that may be harmed. Up-front financial assurances must include compensation for third-party losses, including those incurred by Alaska’s fishing and processing sectors. It is also essential that bonds sufficiently cover such things as clean-up and perpetual monitoring and enforcement. Otherwise, we’re saddling future generations with this problem — forever.

Alaska and the U.S. must demand from Canada enforceable measures and substantial bonding to help Alaskans when accidents happen — and they will happen. The expert panel on Mount Polley estimated that, barring significant change, two Canadian tailings dams could fail every 10 years. Mount Polley’s clean up could top $100 million. Red Chris and KSM mines also sit in the headwaters of Southeast rivers and will be far bigger, with more tailings, untested technology and more risk. What will be the cumulative impact of these mines and future ones? Money cannot replace a lost way of life or quickly restore priceless salmon habitat, but a strong agreement between nations could at least help ensure that Alaskans and their communities recapture lost income.

Bennett wants a Memorandum of Understanding between Alaska and B.C. MOU’s are valuable for some cooperative efforts but are usually non-binding. The state must carefully craft such an MOU and reject anything that limits Alaska’s ability to seek full restitution from Canada for mining disasters. Bennett acknowledged that transboundary waters are an international concern. Hopefully that’s a sign that he will support a binding agreement between the U.S. and Canada. Such agreements and cooperative project reviews could potentially be facilitated under the existing Boundary Waters Treaty.

For Minister Bennett to earn our trust we need to see a strong, well-developed agreement between our nations and a cleaned-up Tulsequah Chief mine. With trust comes responsibility, and it will take responsible action and commitment between our state and neighboring province, as well as between the U.S. and Canada, to gain ours.

• Dale Kelley is the executive director for the Alaska Trollers Association. Cynthia Wallesz is the executive director of United Southeast Alaska Gillnetters.
 
http://www.alaskapublic.org/2015/09..._campaign=Feed:+aprn-news+(APRN:+Alaska+News)

Can B.C. stop Tulsequah Chief Mine pollution?

By Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska - Juneau | September 15, 2015

Can British Columbia stop polluted water from leaking out of a long-closed mine upstream from Juneau? The issue came up last month when the Canadian province’s top mining official traveled to the Capital City.

The Tulsequah mine sits above the Tulsequah River which flows into the Taku River.

The Tulsequah Chief hasn’t been open for more than 50 years. But, like many old mines, it’s leaking pollution.

For decades, rusty, acidic water has drained from an old tunnel into a nearby river.

“I was there. I took pictures of it and you can see it,” says British Columbia Minister of Mines Bill Bennett, who saw the Tulsequah Chief during his August visit to Southeast Alaska.

It’s on the Tulsequah River, a tributary of the Taku River. That salmon-rich waterway empties into an ocean inlet about 25 miles northeast of Juneau.

“It’s something that B.C. is responsible for and I think if … I was from here I’d be asking all kinds of questions about the Tulsequah Chief Mine situation as well,” he says.

Bennett promised to do something about it, but didn’t offer specifics.

Toronto-based Chieftain Metals, which owns and plans to develop the mine, did not respond to an interview request. But the company’s been in touch with the mines ministry.

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott accompanied Bennett during much of his Alaska tour.

“While he was here, he informed me that he had contacted the CEO of the company and had talked to him about the continuing discharge and the need for water treatment or some mitigation,” he says.

Mallott says he hasn’t yet heard any details, and will follow up. British Columbia’s Mines Ministry offered no further information.

While Bennett promised to do something about the mine drainage, he downplayed its threat to the environment.

“You’ve got a tremendous amount of data that shows that there isn’t any impact on water from what’s happening at Tulsequah Chief. There isn’t any impact on the Tulsequah River and certainly no impact that has been noted in all the testing that’s done in the Taku River,” he says.

“To say this is not harmful, you cannot say that,” says Chris Zimmer, Alaska campaign director for Rivers without Borders, which is highly critical of transboundary mine development.

He says the studies Bennett cites were not at all comprehensive.

“It didn’t look at juvenile salmon. It didn’t look at the sediment. It didn’t answer the question, where is the material that’s coming out of the mine ending up?” he says.

That rusty, acidic outflow is caused when water runs past tunnel walls and floors and waste rock leftover from mining. The Tulsequah Chief has no tailings dam.

Chieftain Metals addressed the problem in a promotional video it posted on YouTube in May of 2013.

“We’re building a water-treatment plant that will treat that acidic water and turn it into very clean water that will be released into the river,” Chief Operating Officer Keith Boyle says.
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The plant went into operation, but only for awhile.

Chieftain said it cost too much to run without revenue from full-scale mining. But the company doesn’t have all the permits and investments needed to do that.

“So relying on the mining company to operate the mine and the clean it up seems like a nonstarter,” says Rivers without Borders’ Chris Zimmer.

He says the province could step in and fill the mine tunnels generating most of the polluted water.

“So the question comes down to, are you going to run that plant forever at $4 million a year? Or are you going to spend a lot of money right now and go shut down and reclaim the site?” he says.
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Reclamation is not a step British Columbia is likely to take.

Chieftain has an environmental permit needed to build the mine. Bennett says recent plans to barge ore, rather than ship it via a new British Columbia road, mean the permit needs to be amended.

That will require consultation with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation. The mine is in their traditional territory and they’ve filed a lawsuit to block development.
 
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