Tamo Campos wrote: Want to do something and learn more about Imperial Metals impunity to consequences after Mt. Polley? Come rally at the Imperial Metals office today! https://facebook/events/585899988176740/ Cant make the rally but want to do something today; Take a couple minutes and call the real culprits to the Mt. Polley disaster; the BC Government. Theyve allowed this company to take short cuts, delay their clean up and continue their reckless work. Here are some numbers; Minister of the Environment Mary Polak (responsible for final discharge permits for Imperial Metals Red Chris mine) phone: (legislature)250 387-1187/(constituency office)604 514-8206 Premier Christie Clark phone: (legistlature) 250 387-1715/ (constituency office)250 768-8426 Need some talking points; Take from (canadians.org/…/protect-sacred-headwaters-stop-imper…) The BC government cannot send the message that a polluter can be responsible for the worst environmental disaster on record in this province and then be rewarded with a permit to simply move on to greener pastures to increase its profits and make another killing. To date, Imperial Metals has not been able to clean up its Mount Polley Mine disaster which happened on Aug 4th, 2014, and has yet to even submit a clean up plan to the government. If the BC government approves Imperial Metals Red Chris tailings discharge permit, it will be setting a dangerous and destructive precedent for all forms of extractive companies in BC - No clean up, no consequences! Stand in solidarity with the Kablona Keepers, Secwepemc womens warrior society and the Tla-o-qui-ot tribal parks initiative! The Sacred Headwaters must be protected! Frontline communities across BC are pushing back against Imperial Metals destructive mining projects - will you join them? The tailings pond for Red Chris is far larger than that of the Mount Polley Mine. It has a similar design to the Mount Polley tailings pond , now famous for its catastrophic dam breach that unleashed around 25 million cubic meters of toxic heavy metals and chemical laden tailings water and sludge into Polley Lake, down Hazeltine Creek, into Quesnel Lake and onto the Quesnel River which directly connects to the Fraser River Watershed. The Red Chris tailings storage facility as planned straddles the headwaters of three local watersheds, and is downstream of both the Klappan River and a chain of large lakes draining into the Iskut River. The estimated 300 million tonnes of tailings generated by the mine (over its projected 28 year lifespan) would include crushed rock, water, heavy metals and chemicals from the mines mill. The mine will release untreated mine water into a creek that eventually flows into the salmon-bearing Stikine River. An independent review of Imperial Metals Red Chris Mine revealed a host of problems with their tailings pond design, including the risk of seepage and leakage from the storage facility. It made 22 recommendations, among those being for a liner to prevent seepage and that Imperial Metals had not done enough work to even predict how bad he seepage would be. The review also raised the concern to further study the risks associate with the Kluea landslide, whose crest is about 300 metres from the eventual pit rim. The landslide could potentially let loose and hit the mine site, resulting in an uncontrolled release of acidic and process water. Click here to read the full review of the Red Chris Tailings Impoundment Design by Klohn Crippen Berger. The review identified a number of items that were lacking for the Red Chris Tailings facility: emergency response plans; an operating, maintenance and surveillance manual for the tailings facility; and studies to detail what would happen if there is a collapse of the dams. The tailings at Red Chris are considered to be much more acidic than those at Mount Polley. Should a failure occur at Red Chris similar to what happened at Mount Polley, the consequences could well be far more devastating due to the increased acidity of the tailings. The independent review noted that “any failure of the Red Chris impoundment will likely have a much more significant environmental impact than the Mount Polley failure. By pushing the Red Chris Mine ahead, Imperial Metals and the BC government are ignoring the Kablona Keepers blockades and discontent with the project. The mine will lead to the contamination and destruction of the lands and waters that theyve hunted, fished and lived off for thousands of years. It could also affect their home community of Iskut, which is only 18 kms from the mine site. The Red Chris Mine would allow Imperial Metals to finance further destruction in other pristine watersheds, putting wild salmon and communities at risk through other controversial mining projects. These proposed mines include two mines in Clayquot Sound (a copper mine at Catface Mountain in Ahousaht territory and the Fandora gold mine on Tla-o-qui-aht territory), and the Ruddock Creek lead and zinc mine - which threatens some of the most important watersheds and salmon runs in Secwepemc territory, including the Adams River run, the worlds largest remaining sockeye salmon. Imperial Metals has a proven history of putting profits before safety, cutting corners, and neglecting the multiple warnings about a tailings dam breach from its own workers, independent consultants, and government officials. Do we really want another Mount Polley mine disaster in the Sacred Headwaters with the Red Chris Mine? Billionaire Murray Edwards is Imperial Metals largest shareholder and he is also the chairman of tarsands giant CNRL, a company now infamous for its ongoing tarsands spill in Alberta that it has been unable to clean up since 2013. Edwards is also one of the biggest donors to the BC Liberals, having thrown fundraisers and made major campaign contributions to both Premier Christy Clark and Bill Bennet, the Minister of Mines and Energy. And you get what you pay for. The BC government has a dismal record of rubber stamping and fast tracking mining approvals, not holding companies accountable and enforcing regulations, and failing to invest in the necessary monitoring of these mining projects. With all these combined, its a recipe for disaster in the Sacred Headwaters that will put communities and watersheds at risk. See you there Tamo - thank you!
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 15:51:01 +0000
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