Residents worry about waterways 10 years after Mount Polley spill
'We're still picking up levels of metals like copper flowing down Quesnel River,' researcher says
The local fire department was on the line when Doug Watt reached for his phone the morning of Aug. 4, 2014.
"The lady at fire and rescue said that there's been an accident at the mine, the dam is broken, it's pouring into the lake, nobody knows what's happening so get your boat out of the water, don't drink the water and be prepared to evacuate because you don't know whether the lake is going to flood or not," he recalled.
After he got off the phone with the fire department, Watt stepped outside and heard the roar of the dam breach about seven kilometres away from his home in Likely, B.C.
"It was quite disconcerting," he said.
The tailings dam at the Mount Polley mine, about 231 kilometres north of Kamloops, B.C., failed that day, sending toxic mine waste into nearby lakes and streams. It is widely regarded as one of the worst — if not the worst — mine disasters in Canadian history.
Mount Polley mine records filed with Environment Canada reported that hundreds of tonnes of arsenic, lead, copper and nickel flowed out in the sludge.
On the 10-year anniversary of the spill, residents worry not enough has been done to remediate the site and prevent future disasters.
10 years later
Researcher Phil Owens 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, he said.
And most of that is still sitting at the bottom of the lake, researchers have found.
"This was an instantaneous catastrophic failure ... and yet still 10 years later, we're still picking up levels of metals like copper flowing down Quesnel River and getting into the water column of the lake," he said. "That is quite surprising."
Copper, he added, has been detected in zooplankton, a key food source for salmon and trout in the river.
"I would be concerned about eating the fish, particularly those fish that live in the system for a long time because it's now been 10 years," Owens said.
Watt, who used to work in mining, said that while he still supports the industry, he believes the environment needs to be the top priority.
"It's certainly opened my eyes to the immediate effect that a mine can have locally," he said.
In 2014, B.C.'s environment ministry said it had repeatedly warned mining company Imperial Metals about the level of wastewater in the tailings pond at its Mount Polley mine prior to the breach, and then-NDP leader John Horgan said a previous report on Mount Polley's tailings pond noted a tension crack in the earthen dam.
A scathing auditor general report was released in May 2016, calling for an independent compliance and enforcement unit for the mining industry that would protect the environment from future disasters.
Changes
Likely resident and biologist Richard Holmes said that shortly after the spill, he had high hopes for remediation and change in B.C.'s mining industry. But 10 years later, he said there's been little action.
According to Imperial Metals, it has spent $70 million to clean up the Mount Polley spill site, which has gone toward removal of tailings and rebuilding the Hazeltine and lower Edney creeks, and building a new fish spawning and rearing habitat in Hazeltine Creek.
The company also says it repaired the Quesnel Lake shoreline, planted native trees and shrubs in the area and built an on-site rainbow trout hatchery to raise more trout for Polley Lake.
In 2021, two engineers were disciplined for actions that led to the breach. Engineers and Geoscientists B.C., the regulatory body that oversees engineers in the province, found that both had demonstrated unprofessional conduct.
Last week, Minister of Energy, Mines and Low-Carbon Innovation Josie Osborne released a statement explaining what the province has done following the Mount Polley breach.
Osborne said the province has created a chief auditor role, Mines Audit Unit and a Mines Investigation Unit. It has also established financial penalties for companies and, Osborne said, the province has reformed B.C.'s mining regulations.
"For many people, that day 10 years ago is hard to forget," Osborne said in her statement, adding that the NDP government will continue to strengthen mining regulations and oversight.
But residents of the central B.C. community of about 350 people have watched Quesnel Lake continue to deteriorate in the years since the spill, Watt said.
"People that have been here for 25 or 50 years can see that and lots of concern and very much frustration with the fact that the [province] is not listening to what we see out here."
Holmes said he would like the province to give legal standing to rivers and streams in B.C., similar to Magpie River in Quebec, which was granted legal personhood in 2021 for protection.
Holmes also thinks provincial funding should be made available for independent research.
"Very little has changed as a result of this disaster and certainly not enough has changed, that's for sure."
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With files from Jessica Wallace