Victoria, B.C. – “An unprecedented environmental disaster” that’s how   Minister of Environment Mary Polak  describes the  Mt. Polley  tailings pond breach. 

Polak was making the comments  in the wake of the release of an update on remediation work  ( see previous story).  She says there has been a great deal of work completed, but  says there is still a great deal of work  yet to do.

Polak says remediation and restoration of the area is “going to take years” but says  a significant amount of work has been done over the past year.

The Province has spent about $6 million dollars  on the  incident,  and will seek to recover  some of those costs from the  mining company, but  some  initial investigation costs  are not recoverable as they fall within the mandate of the  Ministry.  She says the company has spent  about $67 million dollars so far.

Polak says  looking ahead, there  needs to be  remediation  work to stop  erosion and to establish  fish habitat in the upper reaches of Hazeltine Creek.  But she says it will take decades before  there is full remediation on Hazeltine Creek and it is ‘back to the way it was before”.

There also continues to be water quality testing to ensure it meets Provincial  standards  “It (the water) continues to be safe for  drinking, for fishing and for recreational use.”

Fish sampling continues,  and results show the impact on  fish has been negligible and the fish  are safe  to eat.

Polak says there is still a long way to go before life returns to normal in the  Likely area. “These are people who are used to accessing areas of Hazeltine Creek etcetera, that they currently can’t access in the same way, so life has  changed there for the people who are residents, but   they would want  me to ensure that we emphasize for people  that Quesnel Lake is looking very good, that there are recreational activities that people can enjoy.  They’ve got resorts  and all sorts of  recreational  activities that are open for  business, so for those who have visited that area in the past, or who have wanted to visit,  this is something that they really should do,  it’s a community that’s   absolutely just beautiful to visit.”

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