Telegraph Journal AUG 11 Prevent events like Mt. Polley Given the recent catastrophic failure of a tailings pond dam at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia, the N.B. Salmon Council has renewed concerns about the potential for similar environmental damage to the Nashwaak River drainage from the development of the proposed Sisson tungsten mine near Stanley. Our calculations determined that a pond failure at Sisson could result in a spill twice the size of that at Mount Polley. We have been attempting to pressure regulators to require adequate mitigation of the effects of the Sisson development. Among our many concerns were: We have asked that the calculation of required bonding be made public. The Nashwaak Watershed Association’s calculations far exceed those calculated by the Sisson Mine’s potential developer. Inadequate bonding has contributed to there being 10,000 abandoned mines in Canada. Northcliff Resources has refused to model the consequences of a dam failure at Sis-son saying that such an event is very unlikely. The events at Mt. Polley prove that such a study for Sis-son is worthwhile. Sisson’s proponent was asked to produce an example of a mine that has operated in an environmentally sustainable manner and then closed while paying its full environmental costs. They have not done so. We have highlighted the existence since the 1960s of toxic discharges from the tailings of the abandoned Caribou Mine here in New Brunswick, discharges that continue to render Forty Mile Brook in the Nepisiguit drainage uninhabitable by fish. As demonstrated by Mt. Polley (as well as here at Caribou), mines can have devastating effects on fish and their habitat. Unacceptable risks from mining (and other industries) should not be tolerated. We need to rely on regulators to prevent events like Mt. Polley from happening. John Bagnall Past-president, New Brunswick Salmon Council
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 22:22:14 +0000
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