Canadian diversified major Teck Resources CEO Don Lindsay on Friday apologised for the discharges of selenium and calcite from its steelmaking coal operations in the Elk Valley of British Columbia, after the company pleaded guilty to violating the Fisheries Act.
The charges relate to 2012 discharges to a mine settling pond in the Fording river from its Fording River and Greenhills coal mines.
The British Columbia Provincial Court has accepted a plea of guilty and a joint sentencing submission by the Crown and Teck Coal in relation to two counts charging offences. As part of the resolution, Teck would pay a penalty of C$30-million in respect of each offence.
In an open letter addressing the resolution of charges, Lindsay detailed Teck’s plan to reverse the trend of selenium, calcite and other constituents while improving the health of the watershed.
Teck had invested about C$1-billion to implement a long-term strategy, approved in 2014, to remove selenium and calcite from local waterways. A further C$655-million would be invested over the next four years to protect the watershed, he said.
“To our knowledge, a water quality plan of this size and complexity has never been done before anywhere in the world. It involves complicated science and world-leading environmental technology. It takes time and perseverance – there are no quick fixes. Along the way we have made progress and made mistakes, and we’ve learned from both, always striving to do better,” Lindsay said.