Alaskans to Commemorate Anniversary of Mount Polley Mine Disaster as Similar Accidents Predicted to Increase

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One year after 24 million cubic metres of mine sludge and water swept into rivers and lakes below Imperial Metalโ€™s Mount Polley mine in B.C., Southeast Alaskans will gather to commemorate the tailings pond breach and bless the Stikineย River.

Those at the Aug. 2 gathering in Wrangell, where the salmon-rich Stikine runs into the ocean, will also be looking for ways to ensure there is no Mount Polley-style disaster in the B.C. headwaters of the Iskut River, a major tributary of the Stikine, where Imperial Metals has opened the Red Chrisย mine.

The ceremony will be hosted by Wrangell Cooperative Association, and tribal administrator Aaron Angerman said he hopes other Southeast Alaskan communities will follow suit and hold their ownย ceremonies.

โ€œI am frightened to think that what happened at Mount Polley could happen here in our backyard now that the Red Chris mine is operational โ€” that the fish weโ€™ve relied on traditionally for thousands of years could be contaminated or disappear, that the local commercial fishing industry could be decimated and that we could see the local businesses that rely on the industry close doors,โ€ heย said.

Red Chris โ€” one of about 10 B.C. mines planned for the transboundary area โ€” ย opened for business two days after the first report into the Mount Polley disaster wasย released.

Despite a recommendation in that report that companies should consider dry stack tailings storage Red Chris is using a tailings dam similar to Mountย Polley.

Imperial Metals plans to store tailings in Black Lake, behind a dam. It is estimated that, over the life of the mine, there will be more than 300 million tonnes of mine waste, some of it acidic, that will require water treatment inย perpetuity.

Raw footage from the Mount Polley mine spill. Credit: Cariboo Regionalย District

Lax B.C. Mining Rules Causeย Concern

Anxiety about perceived lax mining regulations in B.C and lack of Alaskan input into mine approvals close to salmon-bearing rivers, escalated after the Mount Polley breach. Many Alaskan groups and local politicians are now pushing for the matter to be referred to the International Joint Commission for a ruling under the Boundary Waters Treaty, which says water flowing across the boundary should not beย polluted.

The Wrangell ceremony will kick off with a procession through downtown Wrangell followed by a blessing of the waters in front of the Tribalย House.

Tribal leaders, government officials, conservation groups and community members will then hold strategyย sessions.

โ€œI hope the Aug. 2 ceremony highlights how concerned people are on both sides of the border about major risks to the Stikine River and other transboundary rivers from large-scale and risky mine developments in B.C.,โ€ said Oscar Dennis, Iskut First Nationย spokesman.

Speakers will include Jacinda Mack, Northern Shuswap Tribal Council mining team coordinator, who lives and works in the area affected by the Mount Polley breach.

Mount Polley Spill Impacts Linger as Mineย Reopens

On Wednesday the province released its first phase progress report on Mount Polley remediation, but Mack said in a news release that First Nations concerns were not fully addressed before the government allowed a partial re-start at Mount Polley and many are losing faith in theย process.

โ€œIt appears that it is simply business as usual. There have been no fines, no criminal charges, no approved long-term water treatment and management plan and the company still gets permitted to operate. Itโ€™s a disgrace,โ€ sheย said.

It is too soon to know the long-term impacts, but life around Mount Polley will never return to the way it was, Mackย said.

โ€œIt was described as a feeling of death in our community when the disaster happened,โ€ sheย said.

The province has given Imperial Metals a conditional permit to reopen Mount Polley with restrictions. The company must give the provincial government a long-term water treatment and discharge plan by nextย June.

Mining Accidents Worsening, Findsย Report

In another acknowledgement of the Mount Polley anniversary, Washington D.C.-based Earthworks Action has released a report by David Chambers, a mining specialist with the Center for Science in Public Participation and Lindsay Bowker of Bowker Associations Science and Research in the Public Interest, which finds that catastrophic mining spills are increasing in frequency, severity and cost.

The report shows that the Mount Polley failure is part of a global trend of industry and regulators failing to implement best practices to minimize environmental and financialย risks.

The analysis finds that half of the serious tailings dam failures in the last 70 years occurred between 1990 and 2009 and says the increasing rate of tailings dam failures is directly related to the growing number of tailings storage facilities larger than five-million cubicย metres.

The report predicts 11 catastrophic failures between 2010 and 2019, costing a total of $6 billion, or $543 million perย spill.

โ€œMore mining waste disasters like Mount Polley are inevitable,โ€ Chambers said, adding that, as most mining companies cannot afford or cannot secure insurance to cover catastrophic failures, damage is often not repaired or taxpayers dollars pay forย remediation.

โ€œAs a result of the Mount Polley investigation, mining companies and regulators know they have to change mine waste disposal practices to minimize the risk of future disasters,โ€ Chambersย said.

โ€œUnfortunately, as evidenced by the recent approval for mines in the Alaska/British Columbia transboundary area, they are failing to doย so.โ€

Image Credit: Cariboo Regionalย Districtย 

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