TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The British Columbia provincial government is seeking public input to help ensure that Imperial Metals has a modern long-term remediation and restoration plan for the ill-fated Mount Polley mine in place by early next year, as the government considers allowing a temporary restart of the operation.
The provincial government on Monday reported that it had already received significant public input on the restart application by Mount Polley Mine Corporation and that a decision would be made shortly.
The temporary restart evaluation process was separate and distinct from the longer-term environmental remediation and restoration process.
A ‘post-event environmental-impact assessment’ report was available for public comment. Mount Polley Mining Corporation had been required to compile the report under the May 27 amendment of the August 5, 2014, Pollution Abatement Order.
The report outlined the environmental impact as a result of the August 4, 2014, tailings pond breach. It included physical, chemical and biological impact information collected from the spill, allowing better understanding and planning for long-term mitigation and restoration.
The report had found that about 132 ha of land had been impacted by the spill and that about 181 ha of Quesnel Lake bottom were covered by sediment with a depth of up to 10 m; however, it also determined that turbidity levels in Quesnel Lake had recovered to near or normal levels and that water quality had improved over time.
It was being presented to First Nations, local community members, regional district representatives and the Environmental Working Group. The public would have until September 12 to submit comments to the Ministry.
The province, meanwhile, reported that Mount Polley Mining Corporation had successfully mitigated the impact of spring freshet this past season. The stabilisation of Hazeltine Creek was recently completed, furthering work that had already seen the tailings pond reinforced.
Remediation efforts and ongoing restoration work were expected to continue through the summer of 2016 and beyond.
Independent investigations by the Conservation Officer Service and the chief inspector of mines on the Mount Polley incident were also currently under way.