Mount Polley mine disaster: 3 years later concerns still remain

Three years afterthe Mount Polley minedisaster, there are still concerns over the adequacy ofregulation and oversight in the mining industry.

In 2014, the mine'stailings dam broke sending 24 million cubic metres of mining waste into nearby lakes and rivers. Anindependentengineering panelidentified overlookedglacial layers beneath the dam resulting in an unstable foundation, as the reason forthe failure.

B.C. Auditor General Carol Bellringerled a two-year investigation into the MountPolleymining operation and the role of the Ministry ofEnvironmentand the MinistryofEnergyand Mines.

Her 2016 report pointed out several failures in compliance and found enforcement of mining regulations were "inadequate to protect the province from significant environmental risks."

Key recommendation not fully implemented

Bellringer says the report's key recommendation was to create separation between the people responsible for promoting the mining industry and the people tasked with ensuring compliance and enforcement activities.

"The design of the Ministry of Energy and Mines was that they both promoted the industry encouraging companies to set up in B.C. but they were also responsible for regulations,"Bellringersaid.

In response, the ministry set up a committeewith deputy ministers from within the government.

"It's not a bad solution, but it's not as independent as we would have liked,"Bellringersaid. "We would expect something like an independent Crown corporation to make sure policies were being followed."

Bellringer says creatingseparation is not an uncommon practice in other jurisdictions, and it ensures that the focus of regulationis on environmental protection.

She saysregulation enforcement would have made for a faster and much better funded cleanup. Thegeneral rule is the polluter shouldpayfor damage, but she says MountPolleydid not haveadequate funds.

"They were short about a billion in terms of estimated liabilities at the major mines," saidBellringer.

Her findingsled to the adoption of 26 recommendationsto improve mining codes and the eventual reopening of the mine.

Fear from residents impacted

JacindaMack, the co-ordinator of First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM), was living close to the mine when the dam brokeand has visitedthe sitemultipletimes since then. She believes that the disaster indicates alack of knowledge about mining risks.

"I think Mount Polley proved that the level of risk was beyond anything that anyone could understand," said Mack. "There was a complete catastrophic failure which everyone said would not happen."

She says there needs to be a more thorough,publicly available risk assessment when building new mines.

"In mining, there has to be a worst case scenario put forward, because, when a mine is proposed, all wehear about arethe benefits," she said.

In September of 2016, Mack visited Hazeltine Creek, which suffered the most direct damage from the disaster. She says while some cleanup has been done, shebelieves thedamage to the environment has been immeasurable.

"They started planting along the creek and recovering it with willow. But in alot of it, nothing is growing."

Others say accidents inevitable

However, other residents say that Mount Polley has attracted much-needed businesses to the areaand aren'ttoo concerned about its continued operation.

Randy Kadonaga owns Likely Lodgeon the edge of Quesnel Lake, which opened the same year the disaster happened. He says he isn't worried.

"As long as they learn their lesson, mining isn't an issue with me. It provides economy to the area," Kadonagasaid.

He says he hasn't noticed big changes to the wildlife or environment, at least on his end of the lake.

"There's no three-eyed fish.There's no dead fish in the waters.There's no dead animals or anything like that."

Constant monitoring required

Bellringerstill can't say if the improvements that have been made to the provincial mining code have beensatisfactory, since she has yet tocompleteanother audit.

But shestresses that operating a minerequires constant inspectionand oversight,which always has amarginofhumanerror.

"These [mines] are going to require lifetime water treatment and monitoring. We will not be taking our eyes away from it."