selenium

A Swiss-based mining company with a sketchy foreign business record that won approval to take over Teck Resources’ B.C. coal mines has MPs from multiple parties and environmental groups up in arms.

The report commissioned by Wildsight, a Kootenay-based environmental organization, highlights a significant gap between the $1.9 billion the province requires Teck to set aside for emergency shutdowns and mine reclamation and the projected cost of the company’s plans to address selenium pollution from coal mining in B.C.’s Elk Valley.

The U.S., Canada and several indigenous groups announced a proposal on Monday to address pollution from coal mining in British Columbia that officials say has been contaminating waterways and harming fisheries on both sides of the border for years.

A new coal mine proposed in B.C.’s Elk River Valley highlights the need for a long-overdue cross-border investigation into water quality and an end to coal mining in the region, some environmental groups argue.

A new American study has confirmed southeastern British Columbia coal mines are contaminating waters shared by Canada and the U.S., adding the miner's attempts to remove selenium from wastewater aren't making much difference to the amount flowing south.

The British Columbia government has fined Teck Coal Limited more than $16 million for exceeding pollution thresholds as well as failing to build an active water treatment facility on time at one of its operations in southeastern B.C.

The Alberta government is refusing to release information on toxic contaminants in snowpacks downwind from mountaintop removal coal mines. 

New Alberta government research has found windblown dust from mountaintop removal coal mines has polluted a pristine alpine lake to the point where its waters are as contaminated as lakes downwind from the oilsands.

First Nations and environmentalists say they are angry the federal and British Columbia governments continue to stonewall American requests for a joint investigation of cross-border contamination from coal mining as meetings of the panel that mediates such issues wrap up.

The United States government, including President Joe Biden's White House, has joined calls for Canada to participate in a probe of cross-border pollution coming from coal mines in southern British Columbia.

"Environment Canada got pushback," said Bill Donahue, an environmental scientific consultant and former head of monitoring for the Alberta government. "It dramatically reduced the proposed standards in terms of their stringency."

Environmental groups and First Nations say they are pleased the federal government is adding another proposed coal mine in Alberta's Rocky Mountains to the list of projects it will review.

Two coal companies planning to develop mines in Alberta's Rocky Mountains say they hope to move forward despite new regulatory and political roadblocks.

In its 680-page report released Thursday, the joint federal-provincial panel questioned the ability of Benga Mining, owned by Riversdale Resources, to control the release of selenium from its proposed Grassy Mountain mine.