‘Long-term monitoring plan’ needed for Mount Polley spill area

Posted on August 29, 2014 in City, Environment // 5 Comments

NEWS/ MOUNT POLLEY — A long-term monitoring plan is needed for sediment and water quality around the site of the Mount Polley Mine tailings-pond spill, the B.C. Environment Ministry said Friday.

The ministry released results from the latest testing, including sampling both inside the tailings impoundment and outside, showing some samples exceed B.C. standards and guidelines.

Copper, iron, manganese, arsenic, silver, selenium and vanadium levels were outside the guidelines.

“These results from within the immediate impact area suggest low but potentially significant arsenic and selenium concentrations in sediments,” the ministry said.

“The results reinforce the need for a long-term monitoring plan.”

The release said the Interior Health Authority continues to advise residents not to drink cloudy water.

Despite the findings, the ministry said areas around mines often have elevated levels of metals. It said the samples were for total metals bound to sediment and not dissolved metals in the water.

Mount Polley

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5 Comments on ‘Long-term monitoring plan’ needed for Mount Polley spill area

Paula Pick // August 31, 2014 at 12:55 PM // Reply

I would like to know whether the tailings/sediment/waste that flowed down Hazeltine Creek is being contained and blocked from entering Quesnel Lake. Or is the plan to allow the toxic material to continuously enter the lake and hope it disperses and is diluted.
Beautiful Quesnel Lake will never be pristine again. “Monitoring” is simply not good enough. What about demanding a complete cleanup and removal?

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Cara // August 30, 2014 at 9:51 AM // Reply

I don’t really understand how a commitment to “monitor” is supposed to be reassuring. Prevention/remediation would be better than regular reporting on how much pollution and environmental degradation is present. Reporting is important – and should always be done – but it accomplishes nothing. Whenever the government mentions monitoring I think of it as code for allowing environmental degradation to occur. It seems to reassure the masses, but I am not sure why.

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Kim // August 30, 2014 at 9:11 AM // Reply

Hi Mel,
whatever happened with the elevated selenium issues in the Elk River due to area mining? My understanding is they were leaving it up to Teck to come up with a plan to ‘mitigate the issue’. Any idea what may be happening there now? The media never seemed to follow up.

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Lyman Duff // August 29, 2014 at 9:15 PM // Reply

Have I missed an apostrophe somewhere in the previous post?
I apologize for such gross misuse of the written language’s rules.

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Lyman Duff // August 29, 2014 at 9:13 PM // Reply

As long as the bill for the monitoring comes out of the local minister of free enterprise salary.

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