10) MOUNT POLLEY TOXIC SPILL: LOOKING BACK ONE YEAR

PV Vancouver Bureau

            Environmentalists and indigenous rights activists gathered outside the Vancouver head office of Imperial Metals on August 4, to draw attention to the first anniversary of one of the largest toxic spills in world history.

            On that date in 2014, the Mount Polley Mining Corporation (MPMC, owned by Imperial) disaster began in the Cariboo region of central British Columbia, with a breach of MPMC's copper and gold mine tailings pond. The breach released 10 million cubic metres of water and 4.5 million cubic metres of mining slurry waste. The spill raised Polley Lake 1.5 metres, and transformed Hazeltine Creek from a 2-metre-wide stream to a 50-metre-across "wasteland". From there, the water and mud continued into Quesnel Lake, the cleanest deep water lake in the world. By August 8, the four square kilometres sized tailings pond was empty. Water tests showed elevated levels of selenium, arsenic and other metals compared to historical tests.

            A berm to prevent further spread of tailings was nearing completion by September 2014, and the company and some of its 300 employees began seeking to reopen the mine.

            Meanwhile, it was revealed that the company had a history of operating the pond beyond capacity since at least 2011. An official investigation led to a final report on January 31, 2015, covering many factors including whether piezometers (devices to measure water pressure on the dam walls) had been located correctly. The investigating panel blamed the dam collapse on its construction on underlying earth containing a layer of glacial till that had been unaccounted for by the company's original engineering plan.

            But area residents who depend on tourism for their livelihoods still fear that the negative impact on this aspect of the local economy could be devastating. First Nations in the Cariboo area and along the entire Fraser River area stress the potential for long-term effects on the crucial salmon runs and other fisheries. Experts warn that the extent of the damage may remain unknown for years or even decades, as toxicants accumulate in the environment from grass to moose, or from fish, and then to people who depend on these sources for much of their food consumption.

            Some former employees accused Imperial Metals of insufficient attention to safety concerns. In 2010, MPMC's engineering firm found a 10 metre crack in the earthen dam while working to raise it. The firm also found that piezometers were broken, which MPMC later fixed. But questions over the devices still remain, and some workers say the company found it simpler to keep raising the height of the tailings pond beyond safe limits, enormously increasing water pressure levels.

            There are also issues around provincial inspection and monitoring of tailings ponds and other mining operations. Former BC premier Gordon Campbell had cut funding for seven ministries responsible for resource management, which were reorganized into a “single team” approach. Inspections across the province decreased from 22 in 2009 to 3 in 2010, two in 2011, and none in 2012. Mount Polley was inspected in 2013, but not 2011 or 2012. Yet Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines, said "there is no evidence that the government’s missed inspections were related to the failure of the dam this year".

            Since the spill, Alaskan mine opponents including environmentalists, aboriginal peoples, and the fishing industry have raised alarms over several proposed B.C. mining projects involving major salmon-producing river systems that run downstream into Southeast Alaska. The large Red Chris gold and copper mine, owned by Imperial Metals, is nearing completion in the headwaters of the Iskut River, a major tributary of the Stikine River. The KSM project owned by Seabridge Gold Inc. has been approved by B.C. and awaits federal approval; this project is located near the Unuk River system which flows into Alaska and supports a large Chinook salmon population, although its tailings facility would be located in B.C.’s Nass River watershed emptying into the Pacific. A third mine is slated to reopen and expand in the Taku River near Juneau.

            And there are serious questions about connections between the company and the provincial Liberals. The controlling shareholder of Imperial Metals is billionaire N. Murray Edwards, who has donated half a million dollars to the B.C. Liberal party since 2005. Edwards helped organize a $1-million fundraiser for Premier Christy Clark’s re-election campaign in 2013. Has the relaxation of provincial mining inspections simply been a coincidence? Many find this hard to believe.

            This disaster has lessons for the entire province, not just for First Nations in the Cariboo region who have kept the issue in the news. The Mount Polley breach made it clear that the BC Liberals have no interest in effective environmental protection regulation or inspections. Nor will Premier Clark's Liberals enact meaningful restrictions to stop the influence of corporate money in provincial or civic elections. For all the Premier's pretensions to speak for working people, Mount Polley showed again that she is simply a puppet for corporations in the resource sector.

            (Adapted from an earlier article in Radical Desi magazine.)

(The above article is from the September 1-15, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading socialist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)