B.C. gives itself more time to investigate Mount Polley Mine tailings pond breach The Mines Act had previously given the government six months to a year to pursue charges for offences committed under the act The Kemess copper-gold mine was one of the B.C. mines inspected by government geotechnical engineers in 2011. It is now closed. VICTORIA — The B.C. government is changing the law to give itself more time to investigate the breach at the Mount Polley mine. Energy Minister Bill Bennett said legislation introduced Thursday will give an investigation under the Mines Act a deadline of three years to lead to charges or fines, instead of the current one-year limit. By Rob Shaw, VANCOUVER SUN October 23, 2014 The move was made retroactive to early August, in order to encompass an ongoing government investigation into the Aug. 4 tailings pond breach at the Mount Polley gold and copper mine in Likely, B.C., which released millions of cubic meters of water and potential contaminants into nearby Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake. Bennett said the goal is to give investigators the time needed and not put them in a position where a deadline prevents a thorough job. “Certainly the Mount Polley investigation led us to the need for change,” Bennett said in an interview about the changes. “But it’s a change that should be made even if Mount Polley didn’t happen.” Bennett said he hopes the Mount Polley investigations will only take months and not the full three years. “My expectation is it’s not a matter of years, it might be a matter of a couple of months,” he said. “I can’t guarantee that, but that’s what I would hope for.” There are currently three ongoing investigations into the tailings pond breach. The extra time would apply to an investigation by the chief inspector of mines, which Bennett said is focused on the geotechnical aspects of the dam and if the company did everything properly when adding height to the tailings pond. The new deadlines would also impact a government-commissioned expert engineering panel, Bennett said. The panel is supposed to submit a report by Jan. 31, but could make conclusions about potential violations to mining law at the site that would then fall under the new timelines. A separate review by B.C.’s conservation service into potential environmental infractions already has a three-year time limit under environmental law. The new deadlines would also give more time for Crown prosecutors to review investigative findings and determine if any charges could be necessary, as well as for government to levy any fines, said Bennett. The changes could potentially impact the ability for parent company Imperial Metals to re-open the site. “The company can’t restart using the tailings impoundment facility that they have until we are sure that it is safe to do that,” said Bennett. “Obviously they’d have to rebuild it. That would take some considerable time and they can’t start to rebuild it until the investigation is done because we need access to the site.” Imperial Metals may at some point come back to government with temporary solutions to store its tailings in a bid to restart some of the mine, but Bennett said that could also result in additional mining and environmental reviews. The new deadlines may also make it harder for the public to gain access to previous government inspection reports at the mine, which the province have so far refused to release because of legal advice that they might prejudice ongoing investigations. Bennett said he was not sure if those documents would remain secret if an investigation took the full three years. “If charges are laid and penalties are levied there will be people who may well be going to court, they may well not agree with the charges and penalties in place and you may have a situation where their lawyers say you can’t release that documentation because it would prejudice a trial. So we don’t know that yet.” NDP critic Norm Macdonald said the danger with longer investigations is that the public needs to know as quickly as possible about any necessary changes to mine safety that would influence public confidence in the industry. “The hope would be that one could be diligent in investigating without taking three years,” he said. New Democrats will quiz Bennett about the proposed changes as the legislation winds its way through the fall session of the legislature next month, said Macdonald. An official from Imperial Metals was not available for comment Thursday.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 16:56:05 +0000
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