BC Liberals AWOL on Mining Industry Oversight & Compliance

[BeingHuman]

*Edited to exclude the subject of Mount Polley Mine* I believe governments need to have effective regulations, oversight, and compliance enforcement measures enacted, for the Mining Industry in BC. There is an important election approaching and
I believe a reminder / refresher of the basic issues on this subject would be of benefit to the voting public.

I just think a general review of the positives and negatives about the mining industry in BC is timely to insure voters are up-to-date on those issues and are are better informed when they vote. Surely you pro-Liberals would not have an issue with that, would you?

[BeingHuman]

Does anyone think the Mount Polley environmental disaster was just a one off incident in BC? Think again, when you have a government that shirks its mining inspection and monitoring responsibilities, all kinds of environmental damages can happen from mining operations.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/brit ... -1.3719194

The interesting thing about this case is the offending company; Banks Island Gold Ltd., has been charged with 18 offences for allegedly violating the province's Environmental Management Act, including failure to report a spill of a polluting substance and repeatedly failing to comply with environmental permits.

Yet Imperial Metals Inc.’s Mount Polley Mine causes the largest environmental disaster in Canadian history and “not one single charge” is laid? Maybe someone should have given Banks Island Gold Ltd. the heads up that in BC you pay to play?

[Merry]

This topic was discussed at great length in the following thread:
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=58131&hilit=Mount+Polley

[BeingHuman]

I think the Banks Island Gold operation of the Yellow Giant Gold Ltd. mine on Banks Island is an important project to concentrate on, because it is an example of the near non-existent government monitoring of mining operations in BC. According to James Witzke, assessment manager of the Gitxaala Environmental Monitoring Office, the government didn't inspect the mine site in the 15 months after Banks Island Gold received its permits. "To be honest what's just as frustrating to me is the Ministry of Energy and Mines handling of the whole situation, and Ministry of Environment," Witzke said. "If there were any compliance visits out there, they would have noticed these things long before."

So without any onsite monitoring, how did the government find out about Banks Island Gold's allegedly releasing of mine waste material into the surrounding woods, wetland, and water on Banks Island, you might ask? According to North Coast NDP MLA Jennifer Rice. (B.C. NDP), an inspection only happened after a frustrated employee of Banks Island alerted the NDP and the Ministry of Energy and Mines to problems at the site. Wow... so it took a pissed-off employee, mad at the company, to get it reported. I hope this BC Liberal government has other means of monitoring mining company environmental compliance in BC, other than waiting for pissed-off company employees to report them?

[maryjane48]

our mining industry needs to be under strict provincial regulations ,not the free for all under clark . talk about no backbone . and imo should be reason enough to boot the libs out .

[BeingHuman]

Agreed MJ, and did you know “MiningWatch Canada has published a new analysis showing that British Columbia (BC) has the worst unsecured environmental liability for mine site clean-up costs in Canada.” Not a record to be proud of, if you are a BC Liberal, its time to make the change over to a more responsible government!

http://www.marketwired.com/press-releas ... 129404.htm

[BeingHuman]

What does it say about the way we regulate mine operations in British Columbia, when Alaska asks their Secretary of State; John Kerry, to raise concerns with Canada about pollution from BC mines?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/bri ... e30028708/

Come on folks, talk about a "big red flag" of warning when another country gets concerned about the way BC operates and regulates it's mining industry! We can do better, think about this when you vote on May 9th.

[BeingHuman]

Just when you think this BC Liberal Government could not be more of an embarrassment, along comes a news story that completely exposes the wild, wild, west mentality for resource extraction in BC! Anyone want to stake a mining claim?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.3952584

Now that's funny!!!

[The Green Barbarian]

What does it say about the way we regulate mine operations in British Columbia, when Alaska asks their Secretary of State; John Kerry, to raise concerns with Canada about pollution from BC mines?

Who is John Kerry? That fat-head that ran for president back in 2004?

[Merry]

Although I do have concerns about what led up to the Mt. Polley incident, the Americans really should be careful about what they have to say about mining in Canada. Because "people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones". The Americans have a whole list of issues they need to address when it comes to mining.

But back to Canada. It isn't true that the mining industry is not regulated when it comes to environmental issues; because they're actually MORE regulated than either saw mill or pulp mills. But regulations are useless if not enforced and, in the Polley incident, even though the Ministry staff was aware there was a problem with water levels long before the dam broke, they dithered in making a decision which, while not the cause of the breach, was definitely a contributing factor (one the Government conveniently likes to overlook).

Part of the problem is that all too often staff in local Ministry offices are straight out of university (qualified but inexperienced), and another factor is that some of the decision making surrounding temporary mine closure was removed from the professionals and passed up to the political level. Hence the failure to make a timely decision about water release when necessary.

But since Polley a lot of what was lacking then has been improved upon (not as much as it should have been, but mining regulation and enforcement is still far stricter than in the forestry sector). However, failure to hold anyone accountable for the Polley debacle makes it easy for those opposed to mining to use the incident to give the entire industry a black eye. Which is EXACTLY the reason I am so angry the Government didn't do what it should have following the Polley incident.

Mining in this country is a huge provider to our tax base, and creates thousands of jobs through both the mines themselves and all the various spinoff industries. But it is incumbent on the Government to weed out and punish all those who don't play by the rules. However, that applies to ALL industries, not just mining.

[BeingHuman]

Merry states; "Although I do have concerns about what led up to the Mt. Polley incident, the Americans really should be careful about what they have to say about mining in Canada. Because "people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones". The Americans have a whole list of issues they need to address when it comes to mining."

You do realize it is "Alaska" that is voicing concerns over BC mining operations, don't you? Some of their border valleys, and rivers are "down-stream" from BC mining operations... why shouldn't this be a cause of concern for them?

[BeingHuman]

How badly has the BC Liberal Government mismanaged the mining industry in British Columbia? Just read the following and be SHOCKED!!!:

http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columni ... ing-messes

[maryjane48]

the bclibs under clark are going to allow mt polly to dump toxic water in to a perfectly good lake . disgusting and is criminal . anyone saying diffrent has to drink that water for rest of their lives . if they refuse then i guess im right

[Merry]

Merry states; "Although I do have concerns about what led up to the Mt. Polley incident, the Americans really should be careful about what they have to say about mining in Canada. Because "people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones". The Americans have a whole list of issues they need to address when it comes to mining."

You do realize it is "Alaska" that is voicing concerns over BC mining operations, don't you? Some of their border valleys, and rivers are "down-stream" from BC mining operations... why shouldn't this be a cause of concern for them?

Last I heard Alaska was still part of the United States of America; so my statement still stands.