Mining company charged 10 years after spilling toxic waste into B.C. waters
Collapse of Mount Polley tailings dam considered one of the worst environmental disasters in Canadian history
More than a decade after spilling millions of litres of toxic wastewater into rivers in the B.C. Interior, Imperial Metals Corp. has been charged with 15 violations of the federal Fisheries Act.
The charges were announced Tuesday by the B.C. Conservation Officer Service, which said it worked with the Department of Fisheries and Environment and Climate Change Canada to build the case for taking the company to court.
The service said all three agencies had been working together as the Mount Polley Integration Investigation Task Force and that fifteen charges had been approved against Imperial Metals Corporation, its subsidiary, Mount Polley Mining Corporation, and the engineering firm Wood Canada Limited, all of whom are facing the same charges.
The tailings pond spill, which happened on Aug. 4, 2014, is considered one of the largest environmental disasters in provincial history and one of the worst mining disasters in Canada.
It happened following the failure of the Mount Polley tailings dam, which sent hundreds of tonnes of toxic materials into local waterways near Likely, B.C., about 170 kilometres south of Prince George.
Mine records filed with Environment Canada reported that materials including arsenic, lead, copper and nickel flowed out in the sludge.
"It was like standing by Niagara Falls. It was a deep thundering roar," recalled Likely resident Douglas Watt, a retired mine worker, in an interview on Dec. 10. He recounted warnings being given out to avoid the water and the fear residents felt not knowing how they would be affected.
He expressed relief that a decade on, "it looks like they [the companies] will finally be held accountable," noting the environmental impacts of the breach are still being seen by residents who live in the area and are worried about the health of the fish, water and environment.
Companies face fines of up to $6M
The charges against the companies are outlined in an indictment filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Dec. 6.
Signed by director of public prosecutions George Dolhai in Ottawa, the indictment alleges the companies allowed a "deleterious substance" from the mine's tailings pond into several bodies of water "frequented by fish," including Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek, Bootjack Creek, Edney Creek and Quesnel Lake.
The indictment alleges the companies' work at the mine near Likely, B.C., "resulted in serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery … namely the death of fish or any permanent alteration to, or destruction of, fish habitat."
The offences under the Fisheries Act listed in the indictment carry fines between $500,000 and $6 million.
Individuals guilty of an offence under the act can be imprisoned for up to three years if convicted for a second time. However, only companies face charges in connection to the dam's collapse.
All three companies are set to make their first court appearance in Vancouver on Dec. 18, the Conservation Officer Service said.
Imperial Metals said in a statement the company received the indictment this week, and as the matter is before the courts, it won't be making further comments.
Energy and Climate Solutions Minister Adrian Dix said during an unrelated news conference on Tuesday morning that he had not yet seen the charges and was unable to comment.
A three-year deadline for provincial charges in the case passed in 2017.
Dam design caused failure: report
Previous investigations into the tailings pond breach have blamed poor design for the failure of the tailing pond dam.
A report from an independent expert panel released in 2015 said the engineers didn't take into account the complexity of the geological environment in relation to the dam embankment foundation.
It says engineers failed to recognize that the dam was "susceptible to undrained failure" when subject to the stresses associated with the embankment.
In 2022, Engineers and Geoscientists B.C., the provincial regulatory and licensing body, fined two former project engineers a combined $226,500, while a third was temporarily suspended and ordered to complete additional training.
A post from August on the Mount Polley Mine website says more than $70 million has been invested in environmental repair and cleanup efforts, "demonstrating a strong commitment to restoring the affected areas."
In September 2023, the Mount Polley Mining Corp. was awarded the Jake McDonald Reclamation Award for its habitat remediation work in Hazeltine Creek and adjacent areas.
The company said in its post that ongoing environmental monitoring has shown steady recovery, and its efforts will ensure the long-term health of the ecosystem in the area.
Impact still being seen
Researcher Phil Owens of the University of Northern British Columbia said about 25 million cubic metres of tailings material ended up in Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake — the equivalent of 10,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools — and that most of it is still sitting at the bottom of the lake.
"This was an instantaneous catastrophic failure ... and yet still 10 years later, we're still picking up levels of metals like copper flowing down the Quesnel River and getting into the water column of the lake," he said in an interview in August 2024, marking the 10th anniversary of the disaster. "That is quite surprising."
Speaking to CBC News on Dec. 10, Owens said a positive of the charges finally coming to court is it would present an opportunity for all of the research into the impacts of the tailings pond breach to be collected in one place.
He also said he was hopeful it would get both companies and government regulators to "pay closer attention to the environmental impacts of mining operations."
Jamie Kneen, a spokesman with Mining Watch Canada, said he was surprised it had taken so long for anyone involved to face charges, and he remained skeptical about whether justice would be served on a level proportionate to the damage caused.
"I mean, Hazeltine Creek was basically completely wiped out," he said. "For 10 years now, the company hasn't faced any consequences for this, hasn't faced any charges, hasn't paid any fines ... 10 years is a long time to not face any consequences."
Watt expressed similar concerns, saying in the years since Imperial Metals has been allowed to continue mining, he and other locals have felt largely powerless to have any say over how it operates within their community.
"We feel very left out, very concerned," he said. "But hopefully [the charges] will signal that the ministries are somewhat serious about really protecting the environment."
With files from the Hanna Petersen, Courtney Dickson and the Canadian Press