July 28, 2021
Audit of British Columbia’s Tailings Pond Regulations Casts Shadow on Government’s 'World Class’ Mining Claims
Audit of British Columbia’s Tailings Pond Regulations Casts Shadow on Government’s 'World Class’ Mining Claims
July 28, 2021
In 2014, a collapse of the Mount Polley copper/gold mine tailings pond unleashed 24 million cubic meters of wastewater into British Columbia waterways, becoming one of the worst mining environmental disasters in history. Subsequently, a myriad of new regulations were imposed, but a 2021 audit by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation cites numerous ongoing shortcomings in data, ambiguous regulations, enforcement challenges and outright violations.
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The article below includes water-specific excerpts from the Biden presidential platform, particularly as related to wastewater disposal environmental issues.
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Alaska’s Pebble Mine project was vetoed under section 404(c) of the federal Clean Water Act. Construction of the mine would have cost $4.7 billion.
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A joint report (August 2020) by the United Nations Environment Program and the International Council on Mining and Metals calls for much higher safety standards and regulations for managing mining tailings ponds.
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