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

http://www.fnfisheriescouncil.ca/downloads/august-2014-communique-final.pdf
First Nations Fisheries Council Communiqué
AUGUST 2014 ISSUE
Special Edition: MOUNT POLLEY TAILINGS POND BREACH

This is a special edition of the FNFC Communiqué to provide an update on the tailings pond breach at the Mount Polley open pit gold and copper mine near Likely, BC.

As First Nations in BC are aware, the dam of the tailings pond at the Mount Polley mine (owned and operated by Imperial Metals) was breached on August 4, 2014. At 1:10am, approximately 10 million cubic meters of water and 4.5 million cubic meters of fine sand were released into Polley Lake, and travelled down Hazeltine Creek and into Quesnel Lake. Hazeltine Creek was originally 1.2 meters wide, but since the breach, its width has increased to up to 150 meters.

The provincial government has stated that the cause of the breach is unknown, but some media reports have indicated that the company was warned by the engineering firm that designed the tailings pond that the volume of water being contained was becoming too large. While the flow of tailings has decreased dramatically since the original breach, it has not completely stopped. Imperial Metals is also constructing a dike just inside of the tailings pond breach in order to contain the tailings material within the pond.

Sediment and debris have created an unstable ‘plug’ at the outlet of Polley Lake. With the outlet of Polley Lake clogged by debris, water levels in Polley lake have been rising, which could in turn force the blockage to give way, releasing more of the sediment and debris into Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake. In order to reduce the pressure at the outlet of Polley Lake, water is being pumped from the lake both down Hazeltine Creek into Quesnel Lake, and back into two open pits on the mine.

The Mount Polley mine is located within the northern part of the Secwepemc te Quelmucw traditional territory and is within the traditional territories of T’exelc Williams Lake Band and the Xat’sull Soda Creek First Nation. The Cariboo Regional District, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and other provincial agencies, Health Canada and other federal agencies, the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), Northern Shuswap Tribal Council (NSTC), Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFFCA), University of Northern BC (UNBC), Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and Quesnel River Research Centre have all been involved in assessment, sampling, monitoring, and other follow-*‐up work since the spill.

Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett announced on August 18 that two separate reviews will be conducted. The first review by three independent experts will investigate the breach at the Mount Polley mine. The second will require all mines in BC that have tailings dams to have independent experts conduct reviews of their facilities.

Salmon Impacts

The timing of the Mount Polley spill is especially disastrous, as it coincides with a record breaking sockeye return to the upper Fraser watershed. First Nations in the upper Fraser have been conserving their weakened salmon stocks for decades, and have voluntarily abstained from food fishing during most years in recent history to allow all returning fish to spawn. First Nations also have major concerns about longer-*‐term impacts of the sediment that has settled in spawning areas, which may result in lower productivity due to lower egg and aelvin survival, and bioaccumulation in the ecosystem.

Thomas Alexis, FNFC delegate for the Upper Fraser region, has major concerns about the destruction of Hazeltine Creek, which is home to spawning interior Fraser coho. “The initial spill wiped out the spawning and rearing grounds of the Interior Fraser Coho destined for that system”, he said. “Interior Fraser Coho are COSEWIC listed, and part of their critical habitat has now been destroyed. Also the sediment sample results released by the province indicate that it’s harmful to aquatic life, which means it affects the food chain for aquatic species and could impact salmon populations for many years to come.”

MOE and the FNHA have been conducting tests on water quality, sediment and fish tissues, and have determined that in the short-*‐term, areas outside of the main impact zone are producing safe drinking water and fish that are safe for human consumption. However, the sediment that has settled in this important fish habitat contains toxins and heavy metals, and there are major concerns among First Nations about the long-*‐term effects of the spill on salmon stocks.

Hugh Braker, FNFC Vice President and delegate for the West Coast Vancouver Island region said: “We call upon the government to provide more thorough independent testing of water and sediment. The government’s position keeps changing, there are mixed messages about what’s happening. Just a week ago a government Minister said it was not a health emergency, and now the Minister of the Environment is saying that it ‘may be’ a disaster. We need to know, given the importance of salmon.”

Metals and Fish Uptake – FAQ with the FNHA

On August 18, the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) released a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ document on their website regarding the safety of consuming salmon harvested in the Fraser River following the Mount Polley spill. They are testing salmon tissue samples and surface water samples from the Fraser River for parameters indicating potential harm to human health. Recent samples are being tested against baseline samples from 2013.

Toxins and heavy metals were released into waterways in the Mount Polley spill. Metal can accumulate in fish when fish eat other organisms that contain metals. This long time accumulation of metals is called bioaccumulation, and can often take several months to years depending on the metal and the fish species. Salmon spend the majority of their life in the marine environment *and don’t feed during their migration up the river; according to the FNHA, it is unlikely that the migratory time period will be enough for metals to accumulate in salmon. Previous studies have shown very low levels of metals in salmon tissue, and metals found in adult migrating salmon are said to be an indication of exposure in the marine environment.

The FAQ from the FNHA is available here: http://www.fnha.ca/about/news

for more information on the Mount Polley spill:

Cariboo Regional District: http://www.cariboord.bc.ca/news/whats-new-3

First Nations Health Authority: http://www.fnha.ca/about/news-and-events/news/mount-polley-mine-communiques-and-press-releases

BC Ministry of Environment: http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/08/mt-polley-mine-incident.html

The media has also been a good source of information:
Mount Polley news articles from Huffington Post Canada: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/mount-polley/

Mount Polley articles from the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/search/?q="mount+polley"
Mount Polley articles from the Vancouver Sun: http://www.vancouversun.com/search/search.html?q="mount+polley"

Mount Polley articles from CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/gsa/?q="mount+polley"
 
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http://www.vancouversun.com/health/...+that+stings+Quesnel+Lake/10135370/story.html

Province takes samples of blue film that ‘stings’ on Quesnel Lake (with video)

Substance observed following collapse of Imperial Metal’s Mount Polley mine tailings dam

BY GORDON HOEKSTRA, VANCOUVER SUN AUGUST 21, 2014 9:47 AM


A Youtube video shows a blue film floating on Quesnel Lake. Area residents are concerned.
The province is investigating reports of a blue film that stings to the touch on the surface of Quesnel Lake following the collapse of Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine tailings dam.

Biologist Alexandra Morton, with the Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society, notified the Interior Health Authority about the blue film. She took photos, video and samples of the film that will be tested in a Lower Mainland lab.

Following reports of the blue film, Interior Health contacted the Ministry of Environment, which has collected samples, Sue Pollack, a medical health officer with Interior Health, said Wednesday.

The results of the analysis will be released when they are available, she said.

“In the meantime, we are making the general recommendation that any residents or visitors to that area that have any concerns about potential health effects related to the tailings pond breach, contact their health care provider as well as notify Interior Health directly so we can investigate,” said Pollack.

The Ministry of Environment did not respond Wednesday to a request for information on their sampling of the bluish-green film.

Morton, a vocal critic of salmon farming on B.C.’s coast, visited the Mount Polley mine site area in central B.C., 75 kilometres northeast of Williams Lake, this week.

She was there to collect water and sediment samples for analysis, but also collected samples of the blue film when she learned about it from residents.

When she accidentally touched the film, it stung “like a jelly fish,” she said Wednesday.

Morton said the substance could be seen near the mouth of what was Hazeltine Creek and among the debris on Quesnel Lake, as well as in Quesnel River.

The substance did not behave like oil; instead, it broke into pieces when she tried to take a sample of it in a jar, she said. Tiny juvenile fish were seen nibbling at the edge of the blue film, said Morton.

In an email to Morton, Roger Parsonage, regional director of health protection for Interior Health, asked for Morton’s assistance in getting people who have “suffered health effects from exposure to this substance” to see their health care provider.

A water-use ban was lifted last week in all but the immediate area of Hazeltine Creek. But local residents, First Nations and environmental groups have said they are concerned about the immediate and long-term environmental effects of the spill.

The dam collapse released 10 million cubic metres of water used in the mine mill, and 4.5 million cubic metres of tailings made up of finely ground rock containing potentially toxic metals. The water and tailings poured into Hazeltine Creek, Polley Lake and Quesnel Lake.

Likely resident Skeed Burkowski, who owns Northern Lights Lodge, said he is not drinking the water from Quesnel Lake or Quesnel River, despite provincial testing that shows the water meets drinking standards. “I think it’s just common sense,” he said.

The Mount Polley tailings dam collapse has generated significant scrutiny on the B.C. mining sector, with the provincial government, the mining industry and Imperial Metals all acknowledging they must regain public trust.

The Vancouver Sun reported Tuesday there were 46 “dangerous or unusual occurrences” at tailings ponds at mines across B.C. between 2000 and 2012.

The reports provide a yearly breakdown of the numbers but no details of what occurred at the tailings ponds, used to store mine waste.

The B.C. mines ministry, which had refused to release details of the occurrences, said they will now release information but it will take more time.

ghoekstra@vancouversun.com
 
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http://wcel.org/resources/environme...ation-better-pound-cure?utm_source=LEB#survey
Environmental regulation: better than a pound of cure
13 August, 2014

‘Streamlining environmental regulatory review’ and ‘reducing the regulatory burden on industry’ are among the hottest buzzwords from the federal and BC provincial governments.

As the Mt. Polley Mine tailings lake breach that occurred on Monday, August 4 demonstrates, however, deregulation of industrial activities that impact the environment is a gamble that can have devastating outcomes for local communities and the environment.

The magnitude of the impacts of the Mt. Polley breach are still being assessed and it could be years before they are fully understood. What is immediately certain is that there will be profound and long-lasting effects on local, regional and provincial economies, on livelihoods and communities, on fish, wildlife and ecosystems, and on British Columbians’ trust in regulators.

British Columbia has an economy, not to mention hundreds of communities, that depend on a healthy environment. It is rich in natural resources like fish, water and forests, which provide billions of dollars in direct and indirect economic benefits to its citizens.

Project proposals abound in BC, including for LNG facilities, pipelines, fish farms and mines. Concerned citizens, local governments, environmental groups and First Nations who wish to have a say in these projects face increasing pressure to juggle multiple proposals amid constraints on their ability to participate. Last week the proposed KSM copper and gold mine received a green light from provincial regulators and now awaits federal approval. KSM would store 63 million cubic meters of tailings water, over a dozen times more than the slurry that spewed out from Mt. Polley.

Risk is inherent in activities that impact the environment. From the threat of a dam breach, to an inevitable oil tanker spill, to cumulative contamination of wild salmon by fish farm pesticides, the environmental and economic costs of these impacts are ultimately borne by citizens, and in particular by the people who live and work in nearby communities.

To optimize the benefits of projects and minimize their risks, governments need strong environmental laws, combined with robust information and sufficient monitoring and staffing to ensure compliance. Canadians have a legitimate expectation that when government agencies approve projects like mines, dams, pipelines and fish farms, they will safeguard key environmental, economic, social, heritage, cultural and health values, and ensure adverse impacts are avoided or mitigated.

Despite this obligation, however, the federal government has been steadily divesting itself of responsibility for reducing the risks of those projects to Canadians.

In 2012, it enacted two omnibus budget bills that repealed and amended several of Canada’s oldest and strongest environmental laws. It watered down the Fisheries Act, significantly weakening protection of fish habitat and outright eliminating protection for some fish, including species at risk.

It also replaced Canada’s environmental assessment law with a new, weaker law that resulted in the cancellation of nearly 3,000 environmental reviews across the country. Projects that no longer require federal review include two open pit coal mines near Elkford and Sparwood, BC, an LNG facility near Kitimat, a mine extension in New Brunswick, and, somewhat ominously in the present context, a tailings pond and treatment facility, and expansions of two uranium tailings ponds at McLean Lake and Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan.

The rollbacks continue. Changes to the federal Navigable Waters Protection Act that were brought into force this year removed protection for over 99% of Canada’s lakes and rivers. Expected sometime this month are regulations that will make life easier for the aquaculture industry, but not for wild fish, by relaxing the regulation of the dumping of aquatic drugs and pesticides into wild fish habitat.

Touted as benefitting Canada’s economy, the federal environmental law rollbacks simply shift the load onto citizens, whose tax dollars will pay for emergency responses, cleanup costs, long-term impacts on water and fish, and related litigation and settlements. For local residents whose drinking water, recreation and livelihoods are lost or damaged, the cost is even greater.

Perhaps the most outrageous aspect of the Mt. Polley Mine tailings breach disaster is its preventability. Read our Checklist for Strong Environmental Laws for more information on what core elements a strong environmental assessment law should contain, and visit our General Resources page for publications on the need for strong federal environmental legislation. As Mt. Polley reminds us, Canada needs strong federal environmental laws to protect our communities, the environment and our economy from the risk of harm.
 
Deewar25 said:
mortons latest blog....sad - clearly looks like pollutants are or have been entering the Fraser system contrary to all those saying the lake is so big it would dilute etc before it got close. If its in the Quesnel, it will be in the Fraser

http://alexandramorton.typepad.com/alexandra_morton/
Click to expand...
All one has to do is to look back on this thread to see the quantities and types of contaminants in the tailings ponds and muds to see what should be expected. Yes - the WQ "guidelines" were not exceeded as far as total allowable amounts in the current fluvial water column. The problem is - those WQ guidelines are misleading - which is why the government and industry quote them.

For quite a number of contaminants (esp. mercury and other heavy metals) - those contaminants bio-accumulate up the food chain as they leach out of the tailings muds indefinitely - whether or not they exceed the water quality guidelines or not. Water (with contaminants) flow downhill into the Fraser drainage. Those released tailings muds are unrecoverable. From that perspective - it is a very long-term disaster.

"Success with Safety" indeed.
 

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http://www.sitnews.us/0814News/082114/082114_ksm.html

High-Ranking Alaskans Call on U.S. State Department to Intervene with Canada over BC Mine Threats

Kerry Asked to Invoke the Boundary Waters Treaty

By PAULA DOBBYN


August 21, 2014
Thursday


(SitNews) Juneau, Alaska - A broad coalition of Alaskans, including the state’s bipartisan congressional delegation and some of its largest commercial fishing organizations, urges U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to intervene with Canada as large-scale mine developments in British Columbia near Alaska’s southeast border rapidly advance.

jpg High-Ranking Alaskans Call on U.S. State Department to Intervene with Canada over BC Mine Threats
The request comes in the wake of the Mt. Polley mine disaster in B.C. and with the Canadian province’s approval of a large-scale mine called KSM (Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell) near Alaska. KSM is one of several Canadian mine projects, located near international rivers flowing from B.C. into Southeast Alaska, that threaten Alaska’s multi-billion-dollar seafood and visitor industries and pose unacceptable risks to the environment.

This month’s catastrophic accident at the Mt. Polley mine underscores the risk Southeast Alaska faces from large-scale B.C. mine development, including five acid-generating projects located in the Unuk, Stikine and Taku River watersheds, some of Southeast Alaska’s most productive and lucrative salmon-bearing rivers. The five mines are part of a larger mineral development push by B.C. Premier Christy Clark who has pledged to create eight new mines and expand nine more by next year.

The newly constructed Red Chris mine, located in the Stikine River watershed, upstream from the Alaska communities of Wrangell and Petersburg, is set to start operations soon. Red Chris is owned by Imperial Metals, the same company that operates Mt. Polley, and is currently being blockaded by citizens of the Tahltan First Nation.

The tailings dam breach at Mt. Polley unleashed an estimated 2.6 billion gallons of mine wastewater and 6 million cubic yards of sand, contaminated with tons of copper, nickel, arsenic and lead, into waterways leading to the Fraser River, one of Canada’s biggest salmon producers. The massive Aug. 4 spill coincided with the annual return of an estimated 1.5 million salmon to the Fraser River.

“This failure may affect salmon stocks managed under the Pacific Salmon Treaty. A similar failure at mines proposed near the Unuk, Stikine and Taku Rivers would directly affect fishery stocks upon which commercial and recreational fishermen depend, as well as the subsistence and cultural needs of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of my state,” wrote Sen. Mark Begich in a letter to Sec. Kerry this month.

Alaska fishing and tribal leaders agree and are also calling on Sec. Kerry to act with urgency.

“Our culture, food security and livelihoods depend on wild salmon. Although the mines are in Canada, the fish rely on transboundary waters as part of their life cycle and these waters know no borders. The State Department needs to ensure that these fish and the rights of our tribal citizens are respected,” said John Morris, Jr., co-chair of the United Tribal Transboundary Mining Work Group, an organization representing a broad section of Southeast Alaska’s federally recognized tribes.

Dale Kelley, executive director of Alaska Trollers Association, also urges State Department action.

“My organization represents over one thousand fishing families in Alaska who rely on the pristine waters of Southeast Alaska for their income. There are thousands more residents with an interest in the fish and wildlife of this region. Any threat to these waters from Canadian mines is a threat to the U.S. economy and a matter that we hope Secretary Kerry will take seriously. I realize he’s busy on a variety of diplomatic fronts, but this is an international problem on the U.S. border and we need his focus on this,” said Kelley.

The Mt. Polley disaster “has renewed the specter of environmental impacts from large-scale mineral developments in Canada that are located near transboundary rivers,” wrote Sen. Lisa Murkowski to Kerry on Aug. 8. “This incident should compel the State Department to evaluate additional steps that may be warranted to safeguard U.S. interests.”

Congressman Don Young also called for Kerry’s help, specifically on the proposed KSM mine near Ketchikan. KSM is a massive gold and copper open-pit mine project about 19 miles north of Alaska’s border that has already received B.C. provincial approval. The Canadian federal government is currently evaluating the project and is expected to make a decision this fall.

Alaskans, including three state commissioners and several Alaska legislators, and the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association, have called on the Canadian federal government to elevate the environmental review of KSM to the highest possible level, a process called a Panel Review.

“Alaskans will face only downstream risk associated with KSM but will gain no direct employment or other economic benefits from this project. While there are no absolute guarantees that a Panel Review would prevent a catastrophe like what just happened at Mt. Polley, that level of scrutiny is the only thing that gives us any assurance that a similar catastrophe won’t happen again, this time polluting Alaska’s rich fishing grounds,” said Brian Lynch, executive director of the Petersburg organization, which represents over 100 commercial fishermen and businesses operating primarily in Southeast Alaska.

Since last fall when the KSM mine underwent provincial review, more than 1,000 Alaskans have weighed in with public comments, asking for more scrutiny of KSM, as well as the other transboundary mineral developments, and for State Department intervention. Many have cited the Boundary Waters Treaty between the U.S. and Canada as a tool Kerry could use to address the threats to Alaska imposed by the B.C. mines. The treaty states “that the waters herein defined as boundary waters and waters flowing across the boundary shall not be polluted on either side to the injury of health or property on the other side.”

“Using the Boundary Waters Treaty might get the Canadians’ attention. At least it would start the conversation,” said Lynch.


Source of News:

Salmon Beyond Borders
www.salmonbeyondborders.org

Alaska Trollers Association

Petersburg Vessel Owners Association

United Tribal Transboundary Mining Work Group
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ing-finds-elevated-selenium-in-fish-1.2744343
Mount Polley spill: Testing finds elevated selenium in fish

Higher levels are likely naturally occurring, not a threat to human health, province says

CBC News Posted: Aug 22, 2014 1:18 PM PT| Last Updated: Aug 23, 2014 5:47 AM PT


External Links

■B.C. government updates: Mount Polley tailings pond breach
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/eemp/incidents/2014/mount-polley.htm
(Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)


Fish from Quesnel Lake and Polley Lake, downstream from the Mount Polley mine spill, have elevated levels of selenium, arsenic and copper among other elements, but there is no threat to human health, according to the B.C. government.

The fish tissue analyzed shows an elevated level of selenium in the livers and gonads that exceed guidelines for human consumption. But the province says the elevated levels are similar to those found in the lakes before the spill.

"These results are to be expected for fish from Quesnel and Polley lakes," says a release from the Ministry of Environment. "When these results were compared to a 2013 report of fish flesh, gonad and liver data, similar levels of selenium in excess of the guideline for human consumption were found.

"The sampled fish also show slightly higher levels of arsenic, copper, manganese and zinc when compared to fish sampled from 54 other lakes throughout the province, but are still within human consumption guidelines."

The ministry says the elevated levels likely have more to do with the local geology than the recent breach at the Mount Polley tailings pond.

"The local geology where mines are located often have elevated levels of metals, meaning naturally occurring metal concentrations in local water bodies could be much greater in this region than elsewhere in the province," the release says.

Safer to remove livers, gonads

Interior Health and the Ministry of Environment reiterate the fish are safe to eat, and anyone who wants to take extra precautions can remove the liver or gonads of the fish.

Mount Polley mine tailings pond
An aerial view of the Mount Polley mine tailings pond shows the area where the earthen wall gave way early on the morning of August 4. (Ministry of the Environment)


"A person would need to consume about one cup of lake trout and rainbow trout livers and gonads in one day in order to exceed the high-consumption threshold," said a statement released by the ministries on Friday morning.

"By comparison, consumption of one cup of lake trout or rainbow trout flesh (not including livers and gonads) per day does not exceed the guideline."

Previous bans on water use in the region have already been lifted.

The tailings pond breach on Aug. 4 near the town of Likely, B.C., released 10 billion litres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of metals-laden sand, contaminating lakes, creeks and rivers in the region.

Activist remains concerned

But not everyone agrees with the government's findings. Earlier this week wild salmon advocate Alexander Morton said she found a strange blue film on the surface of the lake that needs to be investigated.

"People need to know what this blue film is because it's oil based. It looks like a wax that has dried on the lake. It cracks when you touch it," said Morton earlier this week.

"People in town are wearing masks. They're very, very nervous. So, I think a lot more information needs to come out and I think this needs to be cleaned up."

Morton says that when she touched the blue film it burned her hand, and she's written to Interior Health about the situation.

Dr. Sue Pollock, medical health officer with Interior Health, says the authority has been working with the Ministry of Environment to determine what is causing the sheen.

"If decaying debris is the reason, we would not expect this to impact water quality or pose a health hazard," Pollock said. "We have asked for additional testing to be done from the Ministry of Environment so we can make a full public assessment."

Environment Ministry manager Jennifer McGuire said ministry tests on one sample had so far shown the blue sheen was likely caused by decaying debris.

"Based upon our physical observations as well as the one lab result, and the experience of the staff that have seen vegetation that has been decomposing, we believe it to be of an organic matter, which is related to the vegetation and the trees that did come down during the tailings breach," McGuire said.



On Friday Morton said she remains concerned about contamination in the lakes.

"The B.C. government's first response was that all the grey slurry pouring out of the mine was just sand, no different than an avalanche and that we got 'lucky' — the water is safe to drink," said a statement released by Morton.

"That is not at all what the situation looks like and the people in the area and downstream have virtually no confidence in the B.C. government's assessment. The federal government is completely missing in action — a stunning silence."
 
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http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/mount-polley-area-residents-weigh-in-on-mine-spill-1.1327303

Mount Polley-area residents weigh in on mine spill
GLENDA LUYMES / THE PROVINCE
AUGUST 25, 2014 06:18 AM

There’s a terrible irony to the timing of the Mount Polley tailings pond spill.

On Aug. 4, a holiday meant to celebrate beautiful B.C., the province experienced what will undoubtedly be among its biggest environmental crises of modern times.

The breach of an earthen dam, at one end of a four-kilometre-wide tailings pond at the Mount Polley open-pit copper and gold mine, led to the release of 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of fine sand — the equivalent of 2,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools — into Polley Lake near Likely.

The slurry carried felled trees, mud, debris and possibly toxic elements and minerals, scouring the banks of Hazeltine Creek before washing into Quesnel Lake.

In the days since, investigation and cleanup have commenced, along with a good measure of political bickering and finger pointing.

On Friday, government water and fish tests revealed that while metal levels are within the guidelines for human consumption in most areas, acute copper and iron guidelines for aquatic life were “significantly exceeded” at some depths of Quesnel Lake, while fish tissue showed elevated levels of selenium — above guidelines for human consumption — in the liver and gonads.

A “Do Not Use” order for water in the impact zone involving Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek and a small part of Quesnel Lake remains in place, while fish consumption is considered safe, according to Interior Health, which vowed to continue long-term monitoring.

As the new reality of life near the Mount Polley Mine set in, The Province set out to talk to those most impacted by the spill — the ordinary people who call the area home. We plan to check back with them over the course of the year to see how their perspective changes as the situation unfolds.

DARLENE BIGGS

A 5 a.m. phone call brought the bad news to Darlene Biggs.

Stepping outside, she could hear the roar caused by millions of cubic metres of water and waste rushing from the tailings pond at the Mount Polley copper and gold mine.

Biggs spent the morning concerned about her family.

“My brother works at the mine,” she said.

As logs and debris rushed from the site of the breach, she also worried that the Likely Bridge would wash out, putting her sister’s home at risk. “It was very tense.”

Three weeks later, many of Biggs’ immediate fears have subsided — no one was injured by the tailings pond breach and the bridge still stands — but she now has new concerns.

Twenty-five years ago, Biggs and her husband built the High Country Inn overlooking Quesnel Lake. The inn’s 12 units are often filled with work crews employed in the area’s resource industries.

For now, the workers continue to come, but Biggs doesn’t know what the future will hold. If the mine closes, she’ll take a huge financial hit.

“I’d really love to see (the mine) reopen,” she said. “The community needs the employment.”

But exactly how the situation will unfold over the next few months is anyone’s guess.

And everyone is guessing.

“The rumours are running wild,” said Biggs. “At this point, no one really knows who to trust and what’s going on.”

Biggs would like to see people focus on the cleanup — “let’s get that stuff out of the lake,” she said — while working to reopen the mine.

“It’s too late to be negative,” she said. “We all wish it hadn’t happened … Now let’s get to work.”

E. SCOTT BORNEMAN

The Mount Polley Mine is a strange place these days.

Scott Borneman usually works in the mine’s assay lab, testing the copper and gold content of various samples. Now, with many of the mine’s mill operators laid off, he finds himself filling in here and there, manning security checkpoints and telephones.

On his days off, he’s taken another job: Setting the record straight.

“There are so many misconceptions out there, I almost can’t help myself,” he said.

Through social media, he takes issue with those who say not enough is being done to clean up the spill, arguing that it is a long and complicated process fraught with safety concerns.

He also believes the government has been transparent by releasing water test results done by independent companies.

“I’m not trying to downplay what happened,” he said, “but the idea that there is some kind of coverup happening is crazy. The people who work here also live here. We have no evil plans to poison the environment.”

Like many mine employees, Borneman works 12-hour shifts, seven days in a row. (He then has seven days off.)

On work days, he gets up at 4 a.m. to catch a bus from Williams Lake to the mine. He gets home again at 8:15 p.m.

He worries the general public doesn’t understand the big picture.

“I’m most worried about the black eye this has given the mining industry,” he said.

Much of B.C.’s prosperity is based on its successful resource sector, he explained. It’s one thing to protest mining, but it’s quite another to give up the cars, computers and cellphones that exist as a result of resource extraction.

“If there wasn’t a demand, there would be no need for the mine,” said Borneman. “Looking for someone to blame is natural. We’d be better served by pointing the finger in the mirror.”

RICHARD HOLMES

Now and then, fisheries biologist and longtime Likely resident Richard Holmes likes to do a little fishing.

“Just catch and release, of course,” he said.

His fishing days came to an end on Aug. 4. “The fish are under enough stress now.”

A few days after the tailings pond breach at the Mount Polley Mine, Holmes had a chance to view the situation from the sky.

On Thursday, he toured the mine site.

“It’s shocking to be up there,” he said. “The cleanup ahead is daunting.”

The biologist is just one of many people with different interests observing the Mount Polley situation.

“This is a national issue,” said Holmes. “Canada has been developing mines everywhere. People around the globe are watching what we do when this happens in our own backyard.”

The one-time Fisheries and Oceans Canada biologist runs his own consulting firm called Cariboo Envirotech. He is currently advising the Soda Creek Indian Band.

“First Nations want this mess cleaned up,” said Holmes. “I agree. I don’t think any other approach is acceptable.”

Holmes remains concerned about the future impact of heavy metals that may have been released from the tailings pond. While fish stocks may not immediately suffer, the metals can accumulate in small fish over time, working their way up the food chain.

“We don’t know the full implications of this yet.”

SKEED AND SHARON BORKOWSKI

On August 3, Skeed and Sharon Borkowski were contemplating retirement. By the next morning, everything had changed.

After 18 years operating Northern Lights Lodge, the couple was in the middle of what they thought would be their last summer at the fly-fishing resort on Quesnel Lake’s pristine shores.

They’d sent an email to loyal customers, advertising their final season. They had 42 bookings in nine days.

They’d also listed their property — a beautiful 2,500-square-foot lodge and several cabins spaced along 2,000 feet of waterfront — and their realtor was having success marketing it to his European clientele.

“Then this happened,” said Skeed Borkowski, referring to the tailings pond breach at the Mount Polley Mine. “And life changed.”

The disaster has eliminated the Borkowskis’ fly-fishing business and driven down the value of their property. The couple worries that Quesnel Lake, the world’s deepest freshwater fiord lake, will long be associated with the spill, driving fly fishers to other waters.

At first they were angry, and like many, looked for someone to blame. But that’s since given way to sadness.

Borkowski feels bad for the Mount Polley employees, many with young families and mortgages to pay. He realizes financial uncertainty will be hard on relationships. He’s worried divisions will arise in his community.

“Mount Polley has been open for discussion on how they can help to remedy this — but I’m not quite sure what that means,” he said.

He hopes the right people will be held accountable, and he’s sure that if the mine reopens it will be the safest in the world — “it should never be considered too safe.”

But he’s not sure where that leaves him.

“This is our life. This is everything we worked for over 45 years … It’s all our marbles in one basket.”

“Let’s talk in four years.”

MICHAEL LEBOURDAIS

Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band Chief Michael LeBourdais believes it will take time to realize the full impact of the Mount Polley tailings pond spill.

“I don’t trust the cleanup,” he said. “The mine’s first interest is the economy, not the environment, and certainly not First Nations people.”

A few days after the spill, LeBourdais made headlines for tweeting a picture of a salmon with its skin peeling off. The fish was caught by his nephew on the Fraser River.

“We’ve been fishing our whole lives and never seen anything like that before,” he said. “It’s a hell of a coincidence to find it now.”

Two First Nations communities close to the mine have advised their members not to catch or eat fish from the lake until independent water studies have been conducted.

Last week, the government signed a letter of understanding with Soda Creek and William Lake bands to work together to oversee the cleanup.

But LeBourdais accused the government of being “dismissive” of environmental concerns and vowed to continue to monitor the situation.

“We’re not going to forget this.”


© Copyright Times Colonist

- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b...-on-mine-spill-1.1327303#sthash.UhNa3rbb.dpuf
 
http://peninsulaclarion.com/news/2014-08-24/canadian-company-eyes-new-mine-in-alaska

Canadian company eyes new mine in Alaska
Posted: August 24, 2014 - 8:24pm
KETCHIKAN (AP) — A Canadian company is moving forward with plans for a new rare-earth metals mine at the end of Kendrick Bay on Prince of Wales Island, sending a team to drill and spending millions sampling rock and studying the area.

The goal of Ucore’s team is to answer questions from investors and government officials, including concerns about the mine’s environmental impact in light of the collapse of a dam holding toxic mining waste in British Columbia this past month. The breach at the Mt. Polley Mine spilled millions of gallons of waste into pristine forest and waters.

Ucore director of environment Randy MacGillivray said he remains optimistic the company will be able to obtain permits, despite the recent breach of the dam holding tailings — the leftovers of the rock extracted and milled at a mine.

The incident was a huge disappointment, he said, but he was quick to point out that Ucore’s own tailings, if the mine moves forward, would be pumped back underground as it was being extracted.

“That’s one thing about this project,” MacGillivray said. “With an underground mine, no tailings dam and backfilling a third of the rock again back underground, we’re going to have a very small footprint here.”

Should the project get going, Ucore would pull 3,300 tons per day from the mine. The ore would be milled at the site, and the leftover rock and tailings wouldn’t be above ground for more than a few days, MacGillivray said.

However, Ucore has yet to complete much of the state and federal environmental permitting process. Along with environmental considerations, there’s another question left to answer: Will the mine make money?

Ucore is spending millions of dollars this summer to find out. The company has supplied the staff for a 26-person barge in Kendrick Bay to run drills, sample rock and study ground water to satisfy both economic and environmental studies of their claim. The land proposed to host the mine stretches 160 feet wide for just more than a mile from the bay-side face of Bokan Mountain down Dotson Ridge.

Ucore knows there are millions of tons of rare earth ore buried in the ridge. It knows the market price for the metals used in magnets, batteries and green technology. The work being done this summer is to determine whether it all adds up to a net gain for investors.

Ucore is most interested in the rare earth metals of dysprosium, europium and terbium.

“They’re our suite (of products) that when you look at the price charts are worth exponentially more, and those are the ones that are obviously important to the economic model,” MacGillivray said.

Ucore needs $221 million before a single rock is mined from the site, Ucore Chief Operations Officer Ken Collison said. The company is currently projecting that the current value of the resource is $577 million and estimates a running mine would employ 190 people.
 
http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/08/25/A...eadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=250814
Mount Polley Fish, Water Samples Show High Metal Concentrations
'Some concerns' remain for aquatic life, officials say.
By Maura Forrest, 23 Aug 2014, TheTyee.ca

The latest results from fish and water samples in Quesnel and Polley lakes show elevated levels of several contaminants, though government officials continue to assure residents that the fish and water are safe to eat and drink.

Some of the fish sampled had selenium in their liver and gonads in excess of guidelines for human consumption. Selenium concentrations in the fish muscle, however, were much lower.

In a press conference on Friday, Environment Minister Mary Polak said people would have to eat one cup of fish liver and gonads every day to be affected by the selenium, which can increase the risk of heart problems and skin cancer at high doses.

The fish tissue also had elevated concentrations of arsenic, copper, manganese, and zinc when compared to fish from 54 other lakes in British Columbia, though levels did not exceed consumption guidelines.

Polak stressed that the results are not surprising, based on the geology of the area. She said that mines are located in areas with high metal content, so higher than average metal concentrations in the environment are common.

"These results are to be expected for fish from Quesnel and Polley lakes," she said. "The flesh of the fish remains safe to eat."



The selenium levels are comparable to those found in fish collected in 2013 and 2014 as part of Mount Polley's selenium monitoring program. According to a Ministry of Environment memo, the contamination is likely "representative of pre-breach conditions as accumulation of metals occurs over a longer period of time."

'Some concerns' for aquatic health

Imperial Metals received approval to begin discharging 1.4 million cubic metres of treated effluent annually from the tailings pond into Hazeltine Creek in 2012. No comparison was made to fish samples collected before 2013, if such samples exist.

Polak also listed a number of elevated metal concentrations in the most recent water samples. Those include deep samples collected from Quesnel Lake near the mouth of Hazeltine Creek, where water and sediment poured into the lake during the Aug. 4 tailings pond breach.

At the mouth of Hazeltine Creek, drinking water guidelines were exceeded for aluminum, phosphorus, iron, and manganese at depths at or below 30 metres.

Aquatic life guidelines were exceeded for copper, phosphorus, aluminum, cobalt, chromium, silver, vanadium, and zinc. Copper and aluminum were also found in high concentrations at other sampling sites.

Jennifer McGuire with the Environment Ministry said there is "some concern with regards to aquatic health."

Some of the results, including copper, chromium, iron, and vanadium concentrations, exceed acute guidelines, which means even short-term exposure could be harmful to fish.

The other metals only surpassed the lower chronic guidelines, and would likely only cause damage if they remain in the water over the long term.

Water ban still in place

Still, it's possible these metals won't pose a threat to humans or wildlife. Ministry memos that accompanied the sampling results pointed out that many of the high levels are for total metals, rather than dissolved metals. That means the contaminants may be contained in the suspended sediment, and may not be leaching into the water in a form that could harm fish.

Sue Pollock with the Interior Health Authority said that most of the metals are deep enough in the lake that they pose no threat to drinking water.

"No water intakes have been exposed to any significant levels of contaminants," she said.

A water ban remains in place for the so-called "impact zone," an area that includes Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek, and a small area of Quesnel Lake at the mouth of Hazeltine Creek.

In spite of the reassurances, several of the metal concentrations found in Quesnel Lake are substantially higher than anything recorded in a 1989-2014 water quality database for Polley Lake released by the Ministry of Environment on Aug. 11.

Recorded concentrations of aluminum, cobalt, copper, iron, silver, and vanadium don't come close to the recent results from the mouth of Hazeltine Creek. As a caveat, Polley Lake was never sampled below 34 metres, while many of the exceedances from Quesnel Lake occurred at 45 metres or below.

Amy Crook, with B.C.'s Fair Mining Collaborative, said local residents are far from reassured about the safety of the water or the fish.

She said many people in the area depend on fish for sustenance, but they're nervous about eating it, in spite of the government's claims.

"I've heard community members say they're seriously worried about going hungry this year."
 
http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/08/25/A...eadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=250814

After Mount Polley, a Recipe for Better Mines
Yes, we can create a more responsible, even sustainable industry.
By Maura Forrest, Today, TheTyee.ca

While tougher regulations would be best, some experts hope that the Mount Polley disaster will spur mining companies to take voluntary steps to improve their environmental records. Photo: Cariboo Regional District.

It's a difficult question to answer, with an independent investigation of the tailings dam breach just getting underway.

Certainly, concerns about the engineering of the tailings dam and the recent decline in mine inspections suggest the incident was not entirely unpredictable.

But if we change the question -- if we look ahead and ask how similar accidents can be avoided -- answers are easier to come by. And they indicate it's not only tailings ponds that need to be changed; it's our whole approach to mining.

Anna Johnston works at Vancouver-based West Coast Environmental Law to advance law reform proposals. She believes the philosophy of the mining industry needs a fundamental rethinking.

"We need to have sustainability as the goal, not just minimizing harm," she said.



First, fix legislation

Johnston said B.C.'s mining policy needs "a pretty serious overhaul," starting at the very beginning of the process, when companies stake their claims to mineral rights.

She criticized British Columbia's free-entry system, which allows prospectors to explore for minerals on Crown, private, and First Nations land without consulting landowners.

"Anyone with a computer and a credit card could stake a claim," she said. "And a mineral tenure takes precedence over private property and land-use claims. It's absurd."

Johnston said we need laws that create "no-go zones" -- areas that are off-limits to mines, including sites near critical fish-bearing rivers.

A precedent for this exists. In New Zealand, she pointed out, areas of particular importance to indigenous people are not included in mining permits. In Canada, recent changes to mining laws now require that companies in Ontario and Yukon consult with First Nations before exploring for minerals.

Johnston also believes changes to B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Act, implemented by the BC Liberal government in 2002, may have played a role in the Mount Polley spill.

She said Imperial Metals may not have had to submit environmental assessments for its mine expansions that caused more tailings to be discharged to the tailings pond.

A 2010 report by the University of Victoria's Environmental Law Centre found that the 2002 Act only requires environmental assessments for mineral mines producing more than 75,000 tonnes per year, up from 25,000 tonnes in the original 1994 Act. Only expansions of more than 50 per cent of the original mine site would require a new assessment, up from a minimum of 35 per cent in the 1994 Act.

Johnston said those thresholds need to be lowered, and the public needs a stronger voice in the environmental assessment process.

Give power to the people

B.C.'s Fair Mining Collaborative, a non-profit that advocates on behalf of communities and the environment, has recently put together a 400-page mining code that outlines changes needed at every stage of a mine's life, from consultation to compliance to closure.

Amy Crook, the collaborative's executive director, said better enforcement of environmental standards could help prevent incidents like the Mount Polley spill.

Reversing the decline in mine inspections would help, she said. But there are other things that can be done, too.

"One of the things I think is lacking is a provision that would allow the public to request investigation for alleged infractions," she said.

Such provisions are already in place in Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

Crook would also like to see B.C. courts given the power to cancel a mining lease if the facility doesn't comply with environmental regulations, something that already exists in New Brunswick.

Still, Crook recognizes that not everyone will be able to work through a 400-page volume. To that end, the collaborative has also published a shorter guide, to help people decide what questions to ask and what impacts to consider when a mine is proposed near their community.

She hopes the documents will empower people by helping them understand what the best practices in the industry are, and what change they can demand from mining companies and their government.

Building better dams

Of course, the Mount Polley spill has many focusing on how tailings ponds are built, and whether we need them at all.

According to David Chambers, a geophysicist and president of the Center for Science in Public Participation, there are alternatives.

Paste technology is used in a number of underground mines in Canada. The process works by adding thickeners to tailings to produce a paste, rather than the conventional mixture of water and solids. The paste can be stored in piles rather than in ponds that have the potential to leak.

Various oilsands companies are also experimenting with drying tailings by vacuuming out the water or adding a flocculent, and then storing them in stacks.

The technologies are substantially more expensive than conventional tailings storage, according to Chambers. He estimates that paste technology costs 50 per cent more than building a tailings pond, while drying the tailings costs two to three times more.

"I don't think we can get rid of tailings dams," he said.

But he does believe we can build them better. Right now, Chambers explained, tailings dams are built in a piecemeal fashion, because they're typically built from waste mine rock as it becomes available.

That means different people may be in charge of dam construction at different times, with no continuity through the life of the dam.

"This segmented construction lends itself to mistakes in quality assurance," said Chambers. "There's more opportunity for error."

He said companies need to do better at ensuring that people who understand the dam construction continue to be involved throughout the project.

Chambers also pointed out that there are three major types of tailings dams currently being used: upstream, downstream and centreline. Upstream dams use less material, but are more prone to collapse. Downstream dams use much more material, and are therefore more stable. Centreline dams, including the Mount Polley dam, are a compromise between the two.

Chambers said upstream dams should be banned outright, and downstream dams should be favoured.

'LEED' mines

Many of these recommendations involve policy changes that further regulate the mining industry. Meanwhile, most of B.C.'s recent changes to mining law have moved in the opposite direction.

But some people hope that incidents like Mount Polley will spur mining companies to take voluntary steps to improve their environmental records.

Aimee Boulanger, a co-ordinator at the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), is working to create a responsible mining certification that would be the equivalent of LEED or Forest Stewardship Council certification for the mining industry.

"There aren't a lot of incentives to go beyond existing regulation right now other than goodwill," she said. She hopes the IRMA certification will make consumers demand products that are mined in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.

IRMA has released a draft of its Standard for Responsible Mining, and is now looking for feedback from the public and the mining industry before publishing a final version. The organization hopes to begin certifying interested companies in late 2015 or 2016.

Boulanger said the standards "go beyond existing law," but include practices that are currently being used by industry leaders.

'Look at this as an opportunity'

Not everyone is convinced by the certification idea. Johnston believes voluntary initiatives play "an important role," but said more is needed to ensure that mining practices improve.

"The most valuable means of ensuring responsible development is strong laws," she said. "The laws that we have are the message we tell ourselves about what our standards and expectations are. Just crossing our fingers and hoping that industry will do it right isn't enough."

So is there hope for a better regulated mining industry?

Crook isn't sure. She worked on the Exxon Valdez oil spill years ago before moving to B.C. She said that disaster galvanized much-needed policy change in the petroleum industry.

"I guess we're at that place now with the mining industry," she said. "I've seen more responsiveness from the government in the last two weeks than I have in the last five to 10 years. I'd like to look at this as an opportunity, but it makes me really sad that we've gotten to this point." [Tyee]

Read more: BC Politics, Environment

Science-focused journalist Maura Forrest is pursuing a master's degree at the UBC Graduate School of Journalism and is completing a practicum at The Tyee.
 
Interested in tracking sockeye salmon movement through Quesnel Lake?

Anyone with a boat, a sounder or fish finder and a little spare time can help track sockeye salmon movement through Quesnel Lake and into Horsefly Bay. We are specifically interested at which depth sockeye are migrating through Quesnel Lake to determine if they are migrating through the plume associated with the Mt. Polley tailings pond breach. Heavy metals in the water column can impact a salmon's ability to navigate to their spawning streams.

If you are interested in this effort please collect the following information and email it to Sam Albers (Samuel.Albers@unbc.ca; phone: (250)-790-2031) at the Quesnel River Research Centre:

• Location where you are tracking the fish: Lat long coordinates
• Maximum and minimum depth at which you do or don't see fish
• Time of day you are collecting this information
• Name of the person collecting the information
• A picture of the fish finder if possible

Remember that to accurately see fish, boats must be drifting or trolling at slow speeds. Sockeye will be scared off if you approach them too quickly. As the sockeye are migrating right now, this is critical information to collect. Fish migrating up the lake are likely to hug the shoreline (within a hundred meters or so), most likely the south shore, as they move up the west basin, so that is the first place to look for them. Anyone who is able to help or who has any questions is encouraged to contact Sam.
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/b...als-addresses-first-nation-concerns-1.2747567

Blockade ends after Imperial Metals addresses First Nation concerns
B.C. company behind Mount Polley mine spill agrees to let First Nations oversee review of tailing ponds
The Canadian Press Posted: Aug 26, 2014 5:09 PM ET Last Updated: Aug 26, 2014 5:09 PM ET

A B.C. company behind a tailings spill earlier this month has signed an agreement with a First Nation to review the tailings facility in a separate project.

Imperial Metals expects to open its Red Chris gold and copper mine, located in northwestern B.C., later this year.

But the company has faced increased scrutiny after a tailings dam at its Mount Polley mine in central B.C. failed, releasing millions of cubic metres of waste water and silt into several lakes and rivers.

Klabona Keepers blockade - Red Chris mine access road
The Klabona Keepers began blockading the road to Imperial Metals' Red Chris mine site south of Iskut, B.C. on Aug. 8. (Klabona Keepers/Facebook)

Imperial Metals says it has signed an agreement with the Tahltan Central Council that will see the company pay for an outside engineering firm, chosen by the band, to review the Red Chris tailings facility.
The company says it has agreed to respond to any issues identified by the review.

A group of Tahltan members known as the Klabona Keepers had started a blockade of the Red Chris site in response to the Mount Polley spill, but a spokeswoman for the group says the blockade has ended with the new agreement

© The Canadian Press, 2014
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ne-tourism-operators-plead-for-help-1.2746651

Mount Polley mine: tourism operators plead for help
Local operators facing financial disaster
By Jason Proctor, CBC News Posted: Aug 26, 2014 12:03 PM PT Last Updated: Aug 26, 2014 12:03 PM PT

Tourism operators in the town of Likely, B.C. say the Mount Polley mine spill has dealt the area’s reputation a crushing blow.


Business owners say reservations have dropped drastically in the wake of the tailings pond breach. And many of the miners who stay in local hotels and eat in local pubs have disappeared.

"As far as we’re concerned, it’s a disaster that nobody’s doing anything about," says Gary Zorn, owner of Ecotours-BC.

"We have spent our life building this business up and in 20 minutes it goes down the tube and nobody’s doing anything about it? That’s absolute ********."

Economic fallout huge

The tailings pond breach on Aug. 4 released 10 billion litres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of metals-laden sand, contaminating lakes, creeks and rivers in the region.

Zorn says the spill also cut access to areas he depends on for his wilderness adventures. He thinks the province should provide assistance.

Likely, B.C., community hall water distribution
Despite official assurance that the water is safe to drink, doubts around water safety is affecting businesses in Likely, B.C. (Kirk Williams/CBC)

Likely Lodge owner Claudine Kadonaga says all their reservations for the past two weeks were cancelled. She also runs a restaurant and pub.

Many hotels in the area cater to both tourists and miners. The union representing Mount Polley mine workers claims nearly four dozen people lost their jobs in the weeks after the spill. Kadonaga says they are missed.

"Economically, we’re feeling it because a lot of the miners are gone," she says.

"Those that are still here are working on limited hours or no hours, and they’re very apprehensive about what sort of income they’re going to have. And so they’re not spending."

Water quality confusion

Interior Health says residents should still take care with drinking water and avoid water that’s cloudy or odorous.

But the Ministry of Environment says water samples taken from Quesnel Lake this week meet federal and provincial guidelines for drinking.

Regardless, business owners say they fear international attention to the mine spill will keep tourists away for a long time to come.

"The fear is that the mass public is getting the wrong impression about the water quality and what the situation is really like in Likely and in the surrounding area," says Jason Ryll, president of the Williams Lake Chamber of Commerce.

"Our main problem is trying to make sure that people understand that Likely is still open for business."
 
http://www.vancouversun.com/busines...ing+sediment+Quesnel+Lake/10155100/story.html

Residents concerned by shifting sediment on Quesnel Lake from Mount Polley spill

Plume appears as ‘funny’ green colour; environment ministry sampling, testing water

BY GORDON HOEKSTRA, VANCOUVER SUN AUGUST 27, 2014


Residents concerned by shifting sediment on Quesnel Lake from Mount Polley spill

A boat corrals logs and a tangle of debris together on Quesnel Lake on Aug. 6, 2014 following the collapse of the Mount Polley mine tailings dam. Water concerns have re-emerged as a plume of sediment moves around the lake. Gordon Hoekstra/Vancouver Sun
A plume of sediment deposited in Quesnel Lake by the collapse of Imperial Metals’ Mount Polley mine tailings dam is changing water quality as it shifts, according to the Interior Health Authority.

The shifting sediment has reinforced water-quality concerns among Likely-area residents.

Although test results have shown water from Quesnel Lake is safe to drink, Interior Health told residents who notice increased sediment or cloudiness in their water they “may wish to consider alternate sources for their water.”

Likely resident Judy Siemens said the plume — a “funny” green colour similar to that of a glacial lake — comes and goes, sometimes over significant areas of the lake.

“We are not drinking the water yet,” she said. “Most people on the lake aren’t drinking their water yet.”

Likely resident Peggy Zorn, who lives beside the Quesnel River, said it has been murky since last weekend, which is very unusual as the river normally runs crystal clear.

As for the notice to consider alternate sources of water for residents who find their water running cloudy, she described it as stupid. “What other water sources?” quipped Zorn, who with husband Gary owns Ecotours-B.C.

Despite a Likely community meeting hosted by provincial officials Tuesday evening on the status of water quality, Zorn said residents are getting frustrated and described a lack of clear-cut answers as “bizarre.”

B.C. Ministry of Environment spokesman David Crebo said in a written statement officials were out on Quesnel Lake Tuesday taking samples at various depths and locations to help define the location of the sediment plume.

“These samples are arriving at the lab for analysis (Wednesday),” said Crebo.

The latest water quality results released publicly by the environment ministry are from Aug. 13, showing samples from half a metre below surface and eight metres met drinking water guidelines.

Samples were also collected within a suspended sediment plume at 40, 60, and 90 metres of depth in the west arm of the lake. Tests showed the water quality at 40 metres depth and below exceeded some drinking water guidelines and several aquatic life guidelines. Interior Health medical health officer Dr. Trevor Corneil said that earlier testing of water in the sediment plume has shown slightly high copper and iron levels, not surprising since Mount Polley was a copper mine and iron is a very commonly found element in the area.

He said he understands residents’ heightened concerns because of the cloudy water, but stressed the water is safe.

“Any concerning levels of elements in the water, or some of the sediments, are not at concentrations in areas that we have measured, at levels where people draw water from, that are a hazard to people’s health,” said Corneil. “The same for the fish: the fish are not a hazard to people’s health.”

Corneil said residents should never be drinking cloudy water, nor should they drink surface water unless it’s disinfected.

Those are normal precautions that should be taken always, but some residents that have taken their water from Quesnel Lake have not taken these steps in the past, he noted.

He said he would not be surprised to see residents who draw their water from the lake experience cloudy water for the next few months.

An approximately one kilometre-by-500 metre plume of sediment that was initially located at the outlet to Hazeltine Creek on Quesnel Lake has since dispersed and is appearing in smaller pockets of the west arm of the lake, said Corneil.

The sediment has been found as deep as 60 metres in the lake, below where residents draw their water, he said.

The sediments from the tailings dam spill will be mixed with sediments that would naturally be part of Quesnel Lake, added Corneil.

Likely residents have also expressed concerns about lack of cleanup of the spilled tailings.

Zorn wants the sludge in Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake should be cleaned up before winter. If not, she is worried that more tailings will be deposited in Quesnel Lake with the spring melt.

The collapse of a 300-metre section of the Mount Polley tailings dam on Aug. 4 released 10 million cubic metres of water and tailings comprised of finely ground rock containing potentially toxic metals.

Following the collapse of the tailing dam, Imperial Metals CEO Brian Kynoch was asked if he would drink the water, to which he replied: “I would drink the water once the solids come out.”

ghoekstra@vancouversun.com

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http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2014/09/0...eadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=010914

Mine Disaster: Who Will Investigate Gov't Failings?
Mount Polley panel picked to be expert in engineering, not legal, technicalities.
By Rafe Mair, Yesterday, TheTyee.ca
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Clark airplane
Above responsibility? Premier Christy Clark flies over Mount Polley tailings pond catastrophe. Source: Facebook.

Related
After Mount Polley, a Recipe for Better Mines
Yes, we can create a more responsible, even sustainable industry.
Government under investigation over alleged Mount Polley secrecy
Minister Polak's False Statement on Mine Inspections
And more of the Tyee's coverage (so far) attempting to separate fact from spin on the Mount Polley disaster.
Read more: Energy, BC Politics, Environment,
The blue ribbon panel team set up by the provincial government to investigate the Mount Polley mine disaster will find out what caused the tailings pond dam to collapse.

The second and critically important question, however, is what, if any, role the government of British Columbia played or should have played. In fact, this is the most important aspect, because B.C. had a longstanding legal, not to mention moral, duty which it appears from all the evidence was not fulfilled -- and which, if fulfilled, may well have stopped the catastrophe from happening in the first place.

In the probe the government has set up, there is mandated virtually no investigation of the role of the mining or environment ministries. There are 14 terms of reference, 13 of which deal strictly with the collapse itself, one of which may be interpreted as giving the panel members the right to look at the government's role if they feel so inclined.

It does not take brain surgery to recognize that this panel is unsuited to look at any regulatory role the government should have played. That's not their bag. They are picked for their skills at investigating mining methods, not regulation enforcement.

To look at a government role and the law and regulations requires a specific sort of person, and it's difficult to think of anyone suited other than a highly experienced lawyer or judge. To even begin to know the right questions requires a training that a scientist doesn't, by nature, have. He or she may be highly skilled and trained, but not for this purpose.

In short, what we have here is a whitewash in advance by Premier Clark of the government that she and her mentor Gordon Campbell have run since 2001.



Crime against democracy

There is considerable evidence that the regulations were not properly enforced. This does not come from any suspicion that public servants have not done their job. Rather, it is been clear since 2001 that the new "laissez-faire" government was not very fond of red tape. It hated rules and regulations and has by nature deregulated. It brought, as promised, a new deal for big business.

It's not much of a secret as to why that should be so. The government's election campaigns have been heavily funded by the mining industry, and one of the larger players has been Imperial Metals, the owner of the Mount Polley mine.

This has all the earmarks of an enormous scandal. All of the elements are there -- money, influence, a laissez-faire government that abhors regulations, and a strong line of evidence indicating that regulations simply were not properly enforced.

Premier Christy Clark, while much interested in seeing Polley Lake made "pretty" again, shows no interest in having her government and its policies investigated.

This is a monstrous crime against the democratic process.

International fallout

The ramifications of the Mount Polley disaster extend beyond B.C. borders in ways that will come back to harm us, as Stephen Hume explained last week in the Vancouver Sun.

''If B.C.'s environmental assessment process is tarnished as untrustworthy and the province lacks credibility in enforcement, big problems loom.''

Why? Hume explains:

''The venerable 1909 treaty, signed just four years after international negotiations settled the acrimonious B.C.-Alaska boundary dispute, requires each country not to pollute waters that flow across borders.''

A number of the mines that the B.C. government hopes to see built in the northwest corner of the province are close enough to the Alaska border to have now become, as Hume writes, ''political footballs'' in the U.S.

Politicians of every stripe and standing in neighbouring Alaska are voicing outraged skepticism about B.C.'s ability to do mining properly, as are their First Nations. At a time when he is occupied with a great number of critical issues, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is involved. The International Salmon Commission, the International Joint Commission and on it goes, all involved.

We tend to forget that salmon are at once a lucrative industry and icons for powerful conservation organizations in the U.S. And that fish affected by environmental disasters in B.C. are not just our fish, but also belong to the U.S. in the same way that many fish in American rivers belong to Canada.

The federal government of Canada can no longer avoid getting into the thick of this. As if this were not bad enough, the mid-term U.S. elections approach.

As we try to sort this out, our province's leader deals with all of these serious matters with touchy-feely answers and photo-ops. The minister responsible is hopeless.

The only firm decision made has been that responsibility of Clark government for failing to prevent the Mount Polley disaster won't be examined to any serious degree.

Over her head

The whole matter has been treated casually, almost dreamily, by the Clark government. Minister Bennett and his government press releases have made it out that the main, perhaps only concern is the quality of the water after the disaster. While no one would deny that this is important, the other huge issues has raised by Hume and others have been ignored.

One has to ask if the minister has as yet decided whether a dam actually burst or not. Throughout the musings by the Liberals, I've been unable to avoid the feeling of living in the midst of Alice's Wonderland.

As long as our political leaders take charge and show leadership, we usually will forgive them when we disagree with them -- in which case we then vote in a new lot.

This all changes when the natural dislike of politicians turns to contempt and shame.

Premier Clark, Minister Bennett and by inference the rest of the B.C. cabinet have brought us shame. We not only look like fools, we are. We are yokels.

If it was only a matter of looking bad, that would be one thing. Much worse, thanks to Clark and her government, we have abdicated our responsibility to look after our own affairs. A great part of having authority is showing it. We have demonstrated to the world that we are incapable of handling the basic tasks of government.

The buck stops with Premier Clark. She has an obligation to lead, not yap nice sounds.

But governments cannot be properly led by picnics and airplane rides complete with photographers.

She is utterly incompetent, in way over her head.

She has to go.
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...-spill-78-larger-than-1st-estimates-1.2755974

Mount Polley mine spill 78% larger than 1st estimates
Imperial Metals now estimates the spill included 25 million cubic metres of water and waste
CBC News Posted: Sep 04, 2014 12:57 PM PT Last Updated: Sep 04, 2014 1:02 PM PT

An aerial view of the Mount Polley mine tailings pond shows the area where the earthen wall gave way early on the morning of August 4. (Ministry of the Environment)

Mount Polley mine spill, 1 month later 6:48

One month after the tailings pond breached at the Mount Polley mine near Likely, B.C., the mine's operator now says the amount of contaminated water and waste that spilled into the ecosystem was nearly twice as much as originally estimated.

After the dam burst on Aug. 4, the initial estimates were that 10 million cubic metres of wastewater plus more than four million cubic metres of sediment spilled into Polley Lake, eventually washing down Hazeltine Creek into nearby Quesnel Lake.

Imperial Metals now says nearly 25 million cubic metres of contaminated water and mine waste spilled into surrounding waterways, about 78 per cent more than the first estimates. That total includes:

10 million cubic metres of water.
13.8 million cubic metres of tailings slurry.
0.6 million cubic metres of construction waste from the dam.
But the company's vice-president of corporate affairs, Steve Robertson, said repeated testing has proven the water in the area is safe to drink, and he's been drinking it while living in nearby Likely.

Robertson said cleanup and restoration efforts in Quesnel Lake and Polley Lake are ongoing, but engineers need to sign off on the safety of the Hazeltine Creek area before the company can begin work there.

BEFORE/AFTER: Slide your cursor to see the image change
 
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http://thetyee.ca/News/2014/09/08/M...eadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=080914
Mt. Polley Debacle: BC Miles behind US on Mine Danger Info
Public here barred from records freely available in US to help avert disasters.
By Sean Holman, Today, TheTyee.ca
Mount Polley tailings dam spill
Breached tailings pond at Imperial Metals' Mount Polley mine: if public had access to problem reports as in U.S., could catastrophe have been avoided? Source: Cariboo Regional District.

Related
Government under investigation over alleged Mount Polley secrecy
Minister Polak's False Statement on Mine Inspections
And more of the Tyee's coverage (so far) attempting to separate fact from spin on the Mount Polley disaster.
Blue-Ribbon Panel to Lead Mount Polley Probe
Engineering experts tasked with uncovering what, or who, caused the spill.
Read more: BC Politics, Environment
British Columbia is one of the country's biggest mineral producers. But compared to Americans, British Columbians have very little information about the safety and regulation of that activity.

And that means journalists, activists and citizens have very little power to stop mining problems before they become mining disasters.

Just such a disaster happened last month when the tailing dam at Imperial Metals Corp.'s Mount Polley Mine collapsed, resulting in a flood of concern and questions about safety at similar operations in the province.

In response to a request from Vancouver Sun reporter Gordon Hoekstra, the government released details on the 49 "dangerous or unusual occurrences" that were recorded as happening at tailing ponds in British Columbia between 2000 and 2012.

Earlier, it also released a summary of inspections at the Mount Polley mine. But a spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy and Mines confirmed the government "does not generally publicly post mine inspection reports or related information, including the dates on which they were conducted."

The reason: such reports, which can be obtained via the province's sometimes-lengthy and often frustrating freedom of information request process, "need to be reviewed for any personal and financial information before they can be released."



Holes in Canadian databases

The government also hasn't released details on the "dangerous or unusual occurrences" that were recorded as happening at mining locations other than tailing ponds between 2001 and 2012. Those occurrences, according to aggregate statistics released as part of the chief inspector of mines' annual report, include 1,173 incidents at pits, 287 incidents at plants or mills, 178 incidents at maintenance shops, etc.

When asked whether the province discloses any other information about health, safety and environmental violations at mines in British Columbia, a ministry spokesperson stated the government does post overviews of significant spills of oil or hazardous material. "From time to time, and as appropriate" it may post hazard alerts about incidents at mines "when relevant on a broader scale."

The federal governments also maintain databases listing some of their environmental offenders. But both have major limitations. For example, the provincial database doesn't include those who have violated British Columbia's Mines Act. And the federal database, which has just 78 entries, only includes convictions of corporations obtained via court proceedings. It doesn't include tickets, warning letters or compliance orders issued to them.*

US approach far more transparent

By comparison, the haul of information about mines in the United States is considerably richer.

The federal Mine Safety and Health Administration has a database that includes statistics and reports about past and present health and safety accidents, inspections and violations at individual mines. And the Environmental Protection Agency has a similar database detailing environmental inspections and violations at those operations.

That means Americans, with just a few keystrokes, can find out there were four injuries at Imperial Metals' Sterling Mining in Nevada between 2012 and 2014, including a "serious abrasion to thumb," a "tibia fracture" and a head laceration.

They also can find out there have been six health and safety inspections at that mine so far this year, during which 13 violations of the Mine Act were cited with penalties and proposed penalties totaling $4,764.

And they can find out the last Resource Conservation and Recovery Act inspection of Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp.'s Goldstrike Mine, which is also located in Nevada, took place on May 14 and that the operation is currently listed as being in "significant violation" of that legislation.

BC needs to catch up

There is absolutely no reason why British Columbians shouldn't be similarly informed about our own mines -- except for our willingness to elect governments on both the left and right that exploit our political complacency and infantilism.

After all, how many citizens do you think will put information rights as their top issue the next time they go to the polls? And how many even care about those rights between elections?

But without such information it's impossible for British Columbians to know how safe our mines are -- and whether officials are doing enough to keep those operations safe.

Journalists and activists just don't know what we don't know.

Instead, we have to trust that our Father Knows Best government will take care of its citizen-children at the expense of the powerful who are its friends and financiers.

And that's exactly the way most politicians, once they get into power, seem to like it.

* = Imperial Metals doesn't show up in either database.
 
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/me...nce+facts+fear+takes+hold/10185984/story.html

Mount Polley mine breach: In the absence of facts, fear takes hold


BY DENE MOORE, THE CANADIAN PRESS SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

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Mount Polley mine breach: In the absence of facts, fear takes hold

Waste material and water from the Mount Polley mine tailings pond spills from Hazeltine Creek into Quesnel Lake on Aug. 5.
Photograph by: JONATHAN HAYWARD , THE CANADIAN PRESS
Some residents of the small British Columbia community of Likely, downstream from a mine breach say they don't trust that the provincial government is dealing with the disaster.

More than a month after the failure of the tailings pond at the Mount Polley mine northeast of Williams Lake cottage owner Carla Zanotto said area residents aren't getting any answers.

"I choose not to believe the government because I don't think that Imperial (Metals) is doing any cleanup. They're doing nothing," Zanotto said Monday.

The breach released 17 million cubic metres of water and more than seven million cubic metres of slurry — much more than the original estimate when the spill occurred Aug. 4.

She said the clean up so far seems to involve pumping the slurry — the ground rock particle left over after metals are removed — from Polley Lake near the mine downstream into much larger Quesnel Lake.

She has a three-year-old and six-year-old and they draw their drinking water at the cottage from Quesnel Lake. The potentially toxic slurry should be removed from the watershed altogether, she said.

She's emailed the federal minister, B.C. Mines Minister Bill Bennett and to her local Cariboo North MLA looking for more information.

"All of the emails I receive back in response are basically just to pacify me, and to tell me that they're monitoring," Zanotto said. "Monitoring is not enough."

Company officials were not immediately available to comment.

Test results last week showed levels of copper, iron, manganese, arsenic, silver, selenium and vanadium in excess of provincial standards near the spill site but the ministry said similar testing last spring also found concentrations above guidelines.

Testing continues but in the absence of information, fear has flourished.

Zanotto was at a news conference in Vancouver held by opponents of the mine, who demanded an immediate moratorium on mining.

They released a report containing allegations about everything from health effects to the company's economic activities.

"The specific long-term outcomes of this disaster are not known as it is the largest tailings storage facility dam break this world has seen," it said. "We do know though, that a spike in cancer rates is guaranteed."

A volunteer "legal advisor" said a class-action lawsuit is in the works.

There were no representatives from the two area First Nations bands, but Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs said if First Nations cannot rely on the federal and provincial governments, they will set up their own indigenous laws and institutions "to protect the integrity of the environment."

"It will mean industry will not be welcome in our territories with respect to large resource development projects and for good reason. Governments have completely sold out the environmental values of this province to industry," Phillip said.

Environment Minister Mary Polak declined an interview request.

In an emailed statement, she said her ministry wants the company to commence restoration as soon as possible.

"We will continue to share all test results as well as restoration plans with the public on our dedicated Mount Polley website, but I must caution that full clean-up will likely be measured in years not months," it said.

"We recognize that this event has impacted communities and First Nations in a very dramatic way, and everyone is trying to do their best to provide to the community what will help them get through this."


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