Questions Abound About Mine’s Safety
Prince George, B.C. – A multitude of questions have surfaced in the wake of the tailings pond breach at the Mount Polley mine last Monday.
One of the issues in question regards the numerous statements from employees and former employees at Mount Polley that they had raised concerns with the company about the tailings pond. Environment Minister Mary Polak says “we are very concerned about what we’re hearing anecdotally from people in the community, employees, former employees, First Nations. We’re asking them to please come forward to talk to our inspectors. We want to remind them that our inspectors are independent, that they do not answer through a minister, through cabinet, it is just like talking to a police officer.”
Polak says “we want to hear if there is anything that we need to know, we want to understand what they’re saying. We do not have any of that on record. We released today records of compliance and enforcement activities. There is nothing that we see in there in terms of having fewer inspections than should have occurred, the annual geotechnical inspection occurred when it should have. So there is nothing that stands out to us. That does not cause us to rest any easier and if anything it makes us more interested in getting to the bottom of this.”
Another question surrounds a plan by Imperial Metals for a huge zinc mine just east of Kamloops. Polak was asked whether the disaster at Mt. Polley might cause greater vigilance on the part of the government regarding that development. “The top priority that we have is taking care of the situation here in Likely and the immediate area, ensuring that we have action taken by the company to stop the current flow and that we have plans in place to protect in terms of what future activity has to take place. That’s top priority.”
The minister adds “we will, as our investigation proceeds and as we take a more careful look at the way in which we operate, then we will start making decisions as to how we will treat other applications, if there is additional diligence warranted. But we want the answers and want to apply them to any and all projects where that may be suitable.”
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The minister adds we will, as our investigation proceeds and as we take a more careful look at the way in which we operate, then we will start making decisions as to how we will treat other applications, if there is additional diligence warranted. But we want the answers and want to apply them to any and all projects where that may be suitable.
Somebody should tell Polak that HEY…there was a massive failure here and the current diligence was apparently very insufficient. There is NO “if there is additional diligence warranted” about it. They will take a careful look at it alright, probably to see what they can get away with not
doing yet make every body think they are doing something.
It is called deregulation. That is how it works. Don’t like it? Then as Horgan why his party brought it in to the mining sector.
I thought this was interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_PHXCGAjjA
Especially when you consider it in light of this:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mount-polley-mine-ex-engineers-warned-tailings-pond-getting-large-1.2732314
I dunno Slinky, why don’t you ask the Liberals why they continued the deregulation practice for 13 years, and failed to shut-down the mine after several warnings. I suppose there’s no regulatory teeth when it’s a buddy committing the offence. That’s the Liberal way.
And quit living in the past, or do I have to bring up all the BS the Socreds pulled (aka Liberals) before the NDP took over?
Good link NMG. Interesting interview.
Speaking of deregulation Slinky….
In 2001, the year the Liberals took office, there were 2,025 mine inspections conducted by government regulators. By 2012, the number had been slashed by more than half, to just 875 inspections.
In that same time span, 3 more mines were added to full operation from 15 to 18.
More extraction, less oversight.
FRONT page VANCOUVER SUN IMPERIAL METALS huge supporter/contributer to LYING LIBERAL CAMPAIGN FUND! REALLY how far do you honestly think that this bozo of a leader will want to take this? NOT TO FAR I will say,time erases memories, this is what they will plan,delay, hoping time is on their side.IF a penalty if any is handed out it will be such CHICKENSHAT that IMPERIAL METALS will laugh right in our faces! OH I can hear the naysayers ringing off my keyboard right now mines build hospitals, granted they help, but at the rate we are continuing to let stuff like this happen, companies like IMPERIAL METALS will be filling up the hospitals quicker than we can build them.
Hey ice, why aren’t you posting under your old moniker of mattyc anymore?
OMG JB, I thought ice’s rants seemed vaguely familiar, haha!!!
Yeah, I think he tried to hide it at first, but then the old mattyc started coming out.
I’m thinking it’s because he humiliated himself so badly under his old moniker, he felt like he needed to change it, similar to Peep’s story.
Dont tell matty but Imperial Metals has also given $43,000 to the NDP over the past few years. I guess that doesnt make good headline though.
JOHNNY@HART WHAT DO YOU TWOBIMBOS SIT TOGETHER AND TYPE EACH OTHERS NOTES? TELL YOU WHAT THERE ISNT A SANE PERSON WITH A LICK OF COMMONSENSE THAT THINKS, HEY THIS IS ALRIGHT, NO MUSS NO FUSS, JUST SWEEP IT UNDER THE CARPET LIKE YOUR PALS IN Victoria do. OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WILL BE WALLOING INA CESSPOOL OF CRAP SOON IF NO ONE STANDS UP TO THESE CORPORATIONS. IT CANNOT CONTINUE AND I FOR ONE WILL VOICE MY CONCERNS. CHANGE IS A COMIN WETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.
Well, if there was any doubt I would say that settles it. Good call JB.
Not many comments from etwitt aka HumanBeing aka weaksauce since I called him out on his use of multiple accounts and monikers.
He must be just another “Pierre Poutine” Conservative.
@ ice, please get your computer checked. It looks like your Capital Lock key is sticking or is flat out stuck, and this is making you look like an Idiot!
Or maybe you are just an ………………………………………………………………………………………… unaware novice computer user who isn’t completely familiar with your keyboard??!!
Bet you didn’t think that was what I was going to say, ha ha??!!
Howdy Peeps, Lady Peeps, People#1, #2?, 3?? or BeingHuman! Still going by BeingHuman eh??
Your comment, kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, eh?? ;-)
Signed, your adoring fan, Hart Guy, Fart Guy, Hart Gay, Shart Guy or whatever you want to call me tonight, haha!!
Pylot there were 1,163 ‘inspections’ in 2012, MMS didn’t differentiate between visits and inspections until 2006 when they changed the format so we will never really know how many of the 2,021 visits in the 2001 calendar year were actual ‘inspections’
In 2001 they ‘inspected’ 950 gravel,pits and 147 quarries. In 2012 they ‘inspected’ 343 gravel,pits and 88 quarries. There are 650 of the ‘less inspections’
Oh, and Pylot, you don’t shut down a business if they comply with your order. You advocating for a Gestapo inspection force? They shut down pieces of equipment on the spot, but the business has a length of time to comply with an order, that length of time is written on the order and the mine did comply. Has nothing to do with ‘buddies’ – you think the inspector knew or cared who the shareholders of the mind are or were at the time they wrote the order?
Check out that grassy knoll, the illuminati may be hiding behind the tree….
Mine…not mind…poor lighting and I hate the keyboard on this ipad (plus news 250 cleared my comment twice)
It was a sad day, Tony Stewart drove over a fellow driver who ran out on the track after being spun out into the wall in his sprint car.
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