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BC Government Approves Tailings Dam Height Increase at Mount Polley
The British Columbia government has sanctioned an elevation of the Mount Polley tailings dam by an additional four metres, a decision made nearly ten years after a catastrophic incident at a similar facility caused extensive environmental damage in the province.
According to a joint statement released by the Ministers of Mining and Environment, the increase in height is intended to facilitate the safe management of spring runoff. Environment Minister Tamara Davidson and Mines Minister Jagrup Brar emphasized that their decision was guided by insights from the Environmental Assessment Office, ensuring that all safety concerns were comprehensively reviewed.
The Mount Polley mine, located in British Columbia’s Cariboo region, experienced a significant failure in August 2014 when its tailings dam collapsed, releasing mine waste into adjacent waterways and leading to severe ecological repercussions.
Regulatory Changes Post-Disaster
Following the 2014 disaster, two major reviews initiated alterations to the regulatory framework governing tailings ponds. The government highlighted that the proposed increase in dam height, moving from 60 to 64 metres, adheres to or surpasses all existing regulatory requirements.
Recognizing the ongoing concerns regarding the mine’s operations, the ministers noted that significant improvements to environmental standards have been implemented since 2016. They assured that the decisions made were the result of thorough technical assessments conducted by experts, including external engineering evaluations, in addition to consultations with Indigenous communities.
In their statement, they stressed the importance of preventing a recurrence of the 2014 incident, asserting that the stringent environmental protections in place are integral and cannot be compromised. “Our strong requirements for protecting the environment are non-negotiable,” the ministers concluded.
Source
globalnews.ca