Prince George, B.C.- Mines Minister Bill Bennett has  announced two  separate  probes into the Mt. Polley  tailings pond breach

First of all, there will be an independent  inquiry into the  breach,  which will be conducted by a panel of experts.  They will look at the geotechnical design of the  tailings pond, changes, instruments,  anything  that will give them  insight as to why the pond  breached.

“This investigation is step one of a two step process” says Minister Bill Bennett.  Bennett says the tailings pond breach shook public confidence in the mining industry   “We must do everything we can to restore public confidence.”  He then labeled the Mt. Polley  breach as  “a large, extremely rare incident”, but  admitted it  was “ a disaster.”

First, the independent panel will conduct an investigation and provide recommendations through a final report by Jan. 31, 2015, that will determine why the tailings dam failed.

The panel's recommendations will be received by government and the Soda Creek Indian Band and Williams Lake Indian Band and then shared with the public, and implemented by government as needed and where appropriate to ensure such an incident never happens again.

The panel members have been appointed by government with the support of the Soda Creek and Williams Lake Indian Bands. The panel members are experienced geotechnical experts with expertise in tailings management facilities.

 The members of the panel are:

* Norbert Morgenstern, advisor to consulting engineers

* Steven Vick, geotechnical engineer (Colorado)

* Dirk Van Zyl, professor, University of British Columbia (UBC)

The second piece is called an independent third party dam safety inspection.  The Chief Inspector of Mines  has  ordered  every mine in  the province  to  conduct an independent inspection, and to have the inspection report submitted to an independent geotechnical engineering  firm to   review  the report and then submit

The dam inspections have to be completed by December 1st of this year.

The Ministry will also review “consequence classification” which is based on the potential impact to population, the environment, cultural values and infrastructure should it fail. Under the order, mines with high, very high or extreme consequence classifications will be required to have their Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans reviewed by an independent third-party.

There are 98 permitted tailings impoundments at 60 operating and closed metal and coal mines in B.C.