FILE PHOTO
Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
December 31, 2022 - 6:00 PM
A coal mine near Elk Valley in the Kootenays spilled thousands of litres of process water, slurry and tailings over two years, likely leading to steep fines.
Teck Coal's Elkview mine near Sparwood was fined $198,000 in May for 12 spills in 2020. Just months later, the province is considering another fine for the 29 newer discharges.
Of the thousands of litres spilled within the mine area into the ground, some is thought to have spilled into nearby creeks, including tailings and coal slurry.
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It's not clear how much a fine from the Ministry of Environment will cost the company for the 29 spills, but the fine reached $16,500 per spill when the province sent its May 2022 penalty.
The nearly $200,000 penalty stemmed from an environmental inspection two years earlier.
The Elkview mine is one of five Teck operates near Elk Valley. It ships millions of tonnes of coal overseas to steel processing plants every year.
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The five mines are near the Elk River, including the Fording River operation which was fined $60 million last March for leaching selenium into waterways. Selenium is dangerous for both humans and wildlife.
Teck has since been increasing its water treatment capacity in the region, which can remove 95% of selenium from water discharges, according to a 2021 report.
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