Latest news with #Wildsight
CTV News
06-08-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Revised Elk Valley coal mine expansion still raises water pollution concerns in southeast B.C.
In the midst of an international inquiry into transboundary water pollution from southeast B.C. coal mines, Elk Valley Resources has submitted a revised proposal for new mining in the region. The company's proposal revises one that was first submitted by Teck Resources, the previous owner of the Elk Valley coal mines. In 2023, the provincial government directed Teck Resources to revise its proposal following a dispute resolution process initiated by the Ktunaxa Nation Council, which opposed the project over the risk of what it called 'extraordinary adverse effects.' Elk Valley Resource's revised project description for the Fording River Extension Project, which it submitted to B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office last month, proposes a two-phase approach to developing a smaller mine, with a shorter lifespan, with plans to restore mined areas incrementally throughout operations rather than waiting until mine operations have ended. It also limits the risks from waste rock dumps to a creek that has so far been largely unaffected by coal mine pollution and incorporates additional water quality measures. Simon Wiebe, mining policy and impacts researcher with the Kootenay-based conservation group Wildsight, said the changes to the Fording River extension proposal are largely positive. 'But at the end of the day, the mine hasn't changed sufficiently for us to not oppose it at all,' he said. 'They're still knocking down an entire mountain.' Ktunaxa Nation Council and Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it, one of the four Ktunaxa First Nations in B.C., were involved in revisions to the mine proposal, Chris Stannell, Elk Valley Resources communication manager, said. While Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it Nasuʔkin (Chief) Heidi Gravelle said the best-case scenario would be for the mine expansion to be taken off the table, she supports moving the proposal into the next phase of the environmental assessment process. Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it will continue to be actively involved throughout the environmental assessment process, she said. 'These are our lands and we're here to protect them, we're here to guide them.' New mining would risk additional water pollution If approved as currently proposed, the Fording River extension would see new mountaintop-removal coal mining on Castle Mountain, just south of Elk Valley Resources' existing Fording River Operations. The company says the expansion is necessary to maintain mine operations and sustain more than 1,500 jobs beyond the early 2030s to the early 2060s. Under the revised proposal, the extension project would have a total footprint of 4,326 hectares. About 2,295 hectares are within already permitted areas and include existing waste rock storage areas, a coal processing plant and a tailings storage facility. The new mining area at Castle Mountain, which is not yet permitted, is just over 2,000 hectares. In another shift from the original proposal, Elk Valley Resources is now pitching a staged approach to the project. Phase one would involve construction from 2028 to 2031 with mine operations until 2053. Construction for phase two would begin in 2044, when phase one operations are set to decline, with phase two mining planned for 2046 to 2065. A spokesperson for the Environmental Assessment Office said the next opportunity for public comment will be after the agency decides whether the project is ready to proceed through the environmental assessment process. Wiebe has urged the government to hold a second public comment period before that decision is made, noting the project has changed since consultations in 2023. The Elk Valley has been heavily impacted by historic coal mining dating back 130 years, as well as logging, a highway and rail corridor and residential development. The Fording River extension would add to existing impacts. It would mean losing more high-elevation grasslands in the area, which offer important wintering grounds for bighorn sheep and forage for elk and deer, for instance. 'This is irreplaceable habitat,' Wiebe said. The massive piles of waste rock left over from the mining process have been a source of water pollution for as long as coal has been mined from the Rocky Mountains of the Elk Valley. When the waste rock is exposed to rain and snow, naturally occurring minerals like selenium, which can cause deformities and reproductive issues in fish, seep into the water, eventually flowing into nearby creeks and rivers at levels well beyond what the B.C. government considers safe for aquatic life. Glencore, Elk Valley Resources' Swiss parent company, committed to ramping up treatment capacity when it took the mines over. Treatment facilities currently have the capacity to treat 77.5 million litres of water per day. According to the company, water treatment facilities are removing between 95 and 99 per cent of selenium from treated water, but not all water that flows downstream is treated. '[Elk Valley Resources] has made significant progress implementing the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan,' Stannell said in an emailed statement. 'Selenium concentrations have stabilized and are now reducing downstream of treatment.' Three more water treatment projects now under construction are expected to increase water treatment capacity by another 50 million litres per day by 2027, according to the company's website. Selenium levels downstream of the Elk Valley coal mines remain well above B.C.'s guideline of two parts per billion. The B.C. government set selenium targets for the Fording River at 57 parts per billion closer to the mines and 40 parts per billion farther downstream. In the Elk River, the province set a target of 19 parts per billion. 'As a British Columbian, it's kind of embarrassing, to be honest, that we're entertaining this discussion,' Wiebe said. 'We have an international water pollution issue going on and we're talking about actively making it worse.' Gravelle said the risks of added water pollution and lost grasslands are major concerns for Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi'it. She also worries about what happens if the company were to walk away. 'Who's going to pay for that mess that is up there?' she asked. Late last month, the province released an updated Elk Valley Water Quality Plan, which aims for progressive improvements to water quality downstream of the mines. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment and Parks said 'the updated plan strengthens B.C.'s regulatory role and provides a clear framework for how decisions are made that affect water quality, ensuring the Ktunaxa First Nations are included.' The plan did not strengthen selenium targets. 'But it better prepares us to make these decisions going forward by providing guidance on the process for target review and amendment,' the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, a long-awaited international inquiry into Elk Valley coal mine pollution is underway. Water pollution from the mines flows from the Elk River into Lake Koocanusa, a vast reservoir spanning the Canada-U.S. border, before coursing through Montana and Idaho in the Kootenai River. In both states there are long-standing concerns about the impact of the pollution on vulnerable fish species. After more than a decade of pressure from the transboundary Ktunaxa Nation, which includes four First Nations in Canada, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in Montana and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, the federal governments in the U.S. and Canada agreed to involve the International Joint Commission. Its interim report is due in September. This story by Ainslie Cruickshank, The Narwhal, is available for use by Canadian Press clients through an agreement with The Narwhal. It was originally published in The Narwhal, a non-profit online magazine that publishes in-depth journalism about the natural world in Canada. Sign up for weekly updates at
The Province
19-07-2025
- General
- The Province
Coal mining operation seeks green light to expand as investigation into polluted water continues
Here's all the latest local and international news concerning climate change for the week of July 14 to 20, 2025. Tiffany Crawford Published Jul 19, 2025 • 10 minute read Photos from Wildsight show the Fording River coal mine. Photo by Siobhan Williams / Wildsight. Here's the latest news concerning climate change and biodiversity loss in B.C. and around the world, from the steps leaders are taking to address the problems, to all the up-to-date science. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Check back every Saturday for more climate and environmental news or sign up for our Climate Connected newsletter HERE. • B.C. facing more adverse drought conditions this year as warm, dry weather expected • B.C. coal mining operation seeks green light to expand as investigation into polluted water continues • Last month was the third warmest June on record Human activities like burning fossil fuels and farming livestock are the main drivers of climate change, according to the UN's intergovernmental panel on climate change. This causes heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth's atmosphere, increasing the planet's surface temperature. The panel, which is made up of scientists from around the world, including researchers from B.C., has warned for decades that wildfires and severe weather, such as the province's deadly heat dome and catastrophic flooding in 2021, would become more frequent and intense because of the climate emergency. It has issued a code red for humanity and warns the window to limit warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial times is closing. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. According to NASA climate scientists, human activities have raised the atmosphere's carbon dioxide content by 50 per cent in less than 200 years, and 'there is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate.' As of July 14, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 429.61 ppm, slightly down from 430.51 ppm last month, according to NOAA data measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory, a global atmosphere monitoring lab in Hawaii. The NOAA notes there has been a steady rise in CO2 from under 320 ppm in 1960. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere warms the planet, causing climate change. Human activities have raised the atmosphere's carbon dioxide content by 50% in less than 200 years, according to NASA. Climate change quick facts: • The Earth is now about 1.3 C warmer than it was in the 1800s. • 2024 was hottest year on record globally, beating the record in 2023. • The global average temperature in 2023 reached 1.48 C higher than the pre-industrial average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. In 2024, it breached the 1.5 C threshold at 1.55 C. • The past 10 years (2015-2024) are the 10 warmest on record. • Human activities have raised atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by nearly 49 per cent above pre-industrial levels starting in 1850. • The world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement target to keep global temperature from exceeding 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, the upper limit to avoid the worst fallout from climate change including sea level rise, and more intense drought, heat waves and wildfires. • On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, the temperature could increase by as much 3.6 C this century, according to the IPCC. • In June 2025, global concentrations of carbon dioxide exceeded 430 parts per million, a record high. • Emissions must drop 7.6 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 to keep temperatures from exceeding 1.5 C and 2.7 per cent per year to stay below 2 C. • There is global scientific consensus that the climate is warming and that humans are the cause. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. (Sources: United Nations IPCC, World Meteorological Organization, UNEP, NASA, Latest News File photo of drought conditions in B.C. Photo: Nick Procaylo/PNG. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / 00101727A B.C. facing more adverse drought conditions this year as warm, dry weather expected B.C.'s minister in charge of water is asking residents to do everything they can to conserve the resource in the coming weeks, as the province faces elevated drought conditions in the southern Interior. Randene Neill, minister of water, land and resource stewardship, says they want people to think about saving water wherever possible, such as watering lawns less frequently and fixing leaky faucets, as up to 70 per cent of water is used in residences in some regions. The conservation drive comes as this year's drought season is expected to be more severe than last, despite the recent rainfall that temporarily alleviated parched conditions in some areas in the northeast. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. David Campbell of the B.C. River Forecast Centre says the province had only 79 per cent of its normal snowpack level by April, and the snow season ended a few weeks earlier than usual. He says the situation this year has been made worse by a warmer spring compared with last year, where a more gradual snowmelt helped to alleviate drought conditions later in the year. Read the full story here. —The Canadian Press Casey Brennan, conservation director for Wildsight, overlooks the Fording River coal mine in the Elk Valley in southeastern B.C. Photo by Siobhan Williams / Wildsight. B.C. coal mining operation seeks green light to expand as investigation into polluted water continues A coal mine in southeastern B.C. is seeking to expand operations as an investigation is underway into cross-border water pollution from mining in the area. Glencore-owned Elk Valley Resources, which operates four steelmaking coal mines in the Elk Valley, has renewed a proposal to extend Fording River operations for another 35 years. The company is also proposing to expand operations by mining in a new area south of the existing mine. The coal mine is about 15 kilometres northeast from Elkford. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Although the coal is for making steel — not burned for energy — critics argue the process still releases a large amount of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change, and that toxic levels of minerals continue to contaminate rivers. Last year, B.C. agreed to the International Joint Commission investigation into water pollution in the Elk-Kootenay watershed. The agreement involves both federal governments, along with B.C., the states of Montana and Idaho, and six Indigenous communities. Last year, B.C. agreed to the International Joint Commission investigation into water pollution in the Elk-Kootenay watershed. The agreement involves both federal governments, along with B.C., the states of Montana and Idaho, and six Indigenous communities. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The pollution, which was confirmed by the U.S. geological survey last year, comes from metallurgical coal mines in B.C.'s Elk Valley, where waste rock is causing selenium and other pollutants such as nitrates, nickel and calcite to leach into rivers. While rarely harmful to humans, selenium and calcite can damage fish populations by lowering reproductive success. Read the full story here. —Tiffany Crawford Last month was the third warmest June on record Last month was the third warmest June on record, with global average temperatures reaching more than 1.31 C above the 1850–1900 baseline, Berkeley Earth said Thursday in a temperature update. This places it behind June 2023 and June 2024. Berkeley Earth said June marks the second consecutive month below the 1.5 C threshold, following nearly two years of persistent record warmth. The continued cooling suggests a return to a more typical warming trajectory after the extreme anomalies of 2023 and 2024. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Approximately 3.3 per cent of the Earth's surface experienced their warmest June on record, including 1.8 per cent of land areas and four per cent of ocean surfaces, according to the update. Nine countries—including Spain, Japan, Nigeria, and Ethiopia—set new national records. —Tiffany Crawford Wildfires show why CBC needs public safety mandate: researcher The wildfires flaring up across Canada again are one reason why public safety should be added to CBC/Radio-Canada's mandate, a new report from a research centre at McGill University argues. The report says other public media around the world are incorporating national emergency preparedness and crisis response into their role, and recommends that aspect of the CBC's mandate be formalized and strengthened. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'For us in Canada, wildfires and floods have sort of crept up on us in the last five years as part of an everyday reality,' Jessica Johnson, a senior fellow at McGill University's Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, said. 'They were always a reality if you were living in heavily forested areas. But now, the smoke from some parts is affecting the whole country and even our neighbours.' This week, wildfire smoke prompted special air-quality statements to be issued across the country, with the government warning residents to consider limiting time outdoors. Thousands of people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta have been forced out of their homes this spring and summer due to the fires. Read the full story here. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. —The Canadian Press U.S. threatens to abandon IEA over green-leaning energy forecasts The U.S. may depart the International Energy Agency without changes to forecasting that republicans have criticized as unrealistically green, President Donald Trump's energy chief said. 'We will do one of two things: we will reform the way the IEA operates or we will withdraw,' energy secretary Chris Wright said during an interview Tuesday. 'My strong preference is to reform it.' The Paris-based IEA, established in response to the 1970s oil crisis to enhance energy security, stirred controversy in recent years as long-term forecasts began to factor in more active government policies to shift away from fossil fuels. The agency has predicted that global oil demand will plateau this decade as electric-vehicle fleets expand and other measures are adopted to reduce emissions and combat climate change. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'That's just total nonsense,' Wright said on the sidelines of the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He added he's been in a dialog with the Fatih Birol, the IEA's executive director. The IEA didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, it has defended its forecasting and said in a March 2024 statement that its scenarios 'are built on different underlying assumptions about how the energy system might evolve over time.' Read the full story here. —Bloomberg News The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 7, 2025. Photo by Ethan Swope / AP LA fires charred homes into piles of metal and concrete. By recycling them, they're given new life Candace Frazee recently walked through the burnt remains of The Bunny Museum, searching for anything that could be salvaged before workers cleared the land. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Eaton Fire in Southern California in January scorched more than 60,000 bunny objects and memorabilia, leaving behind mounds of ash, steel and concrete littered across the landscape. Giant bunny statues that once greeted guests were left just wiry, hollow skeletons. Her home in the back was also gone. Yet amid the debris, there are valuable materials being redeemed: Metal, concrete and some trees are being recycled and given new life. 'It's fantastic. It's absolutely fantastic,' said Frazee of recycling the materials, who co-founded the museum with her husband. 'That's the right thing to do.' After the Palisades and Eaton fires scorched entire neighborhoods, the Army Corps of Engineers set up operations to recycle concrete and metal from mostly fire-damaged homes. Metal is compacted and concrete is crushed, then trucked to recycling facilities before re-entering the supply chain for future uses. And some trees and shrubs are processed and sold. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Read the full story here. —The Associated Press Democrats' path to power is 'climate populism', U.S. representative says Populist messages on climate change, including the potential for cleaner energy to lower electricity bills, are crucial as the Democrats seek to win back control of Congress in next year's midterm election, according to Representative Yassamin Ansari. 'This climate populism message is one that we really need to lean into,' the Arizona Democrat said at the Bloomberg Green Seattle conference on Tuesday. 'When it comes to the cost of living, there is a clear connection between your utility prices and your energy costs and, in Arizona, your AC bills being higher than ever.' Republicans 'are entirely focusing our energy portfolio on oil and gas,' explained Ansari, warning that getting rid of renewables 'is a mistake when you're talking about energy costs.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Before entering Congress this year, Ansari spent her career working on climate both internationally and locally. Now, she's spending much of her time calling out President Donald Trump's administration and the Republican-controlled Congress for cutting climate funding and rolling back climate policies. 'Some of the legislation in recent weeks, especially the Trump budget bill – it represents some of the worst environmental rollbacks we've ever seen,' she said at the conference. Read the full story here. —Bloomberg FILE: Birds fly above Eagle Bluffs on Cypress Mountain as smoke from wildfires fill the skies over Vancouver. Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG Smoky skies expected in some parts of B.C. this weekend British Columbians may be in for a hazy weekend, as wildfire smoke settles over some areas of the province. Environment and Climate Change Canada posted an alert early Saturday, saying poor air quality from wildfire smoke is expected over 24 to 48 hours in the Fort Nelson and Similkameen regions. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As smoke levels increase, health risks increase, the federal weather agency warned. Residents of these areas are asked to limit time outdoors and consider reducing or rescheduling outdoor sports, activities and events. Symptoms can be mild, such as eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches or a mild cough. However, there can be more serious problems, such as wheezing, chest pains or severe cough. Anyone with these symptoms is urged to seek immediate medical assistance. Residents are asked to keep their windows and doors closed, and, if possible, to use air conditioners and air filters. B.C. Hydro is currently offering rebates on Energy Star portable AC units and air filters. —Tiffany Crawford Read More Vancouver Canucks Celebrity News News News
Vancouver Sun
05-07-2025
- Science
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. plans to allow logging in endangered southern mountain caribou habitat: report
B.C. plans to log old-growth forest, threatening endangered southern mountain caribou habitat, despite commitments to conserve these forests, warns a new report. The report , from three B.C. conservation groups — Wildsight, and the Wilderness Committee — uses provincial satellite data to show that 57 square kilometres of old-growth forests are either approved or pending approval for logging in the ranges of three endangered caribou herds: the Columbia North, Groundhog and Wells Gray South herds. 'How are we still doing this in this day and age? We understand the science. We understand that these forests are some of the most carbon-rich temperate rainforests in the world, and we understand how important they are to caribou,' said Eddie Petryshen, a conservation specialist at Wildsight, who has worked on B.C. caribou conservation for more than a decade. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. He recently spent four days in the Kootenay-Boundary region, in core caribou habitat, where he witnessed clear-cut logging of cedar trees that are hundreds of years old. B.C. divides caribou ranges into core habitat — where caribou migrate, eat, breed, and calve — and matrix habitat, the surrounding areas that impact caribou activity. 'For me, you get up close and personal with the caribou, and you get to know these herds, and you get to know these forests and, and you learn about them, and seeing that loss is tough.' For the report, the researchers used Forest Eye alerts — remote sensing systems developed two years ago that detect an unseasonal drop in forest cover using satellite monitoring. This showed old growth logging across the endangered herds as recently as May. Researchers then calculated the risk to their habitat by looking at the area open to resource extraction like logging. The report found that 58 per cent of the three herds' core habitat is at risk of being logged. The Columbia North herd faces the highest degree of risk to its core habitat, at 76 per cent. Where they once numbered in the thousands just a few decades ago, now the Columbia North herd number around 209, said Petryshen. Seven herds further south have now either become extinct or on the brink of extinction, he said, adding the three herds studied are considered to have the best chance of recovery. 'As industrial disturbance increases, the risk of extinction increases…as the province impacts this ecosystem more and more, basically, these caribou herds wink out.' With so much of their habit destroyed, caribou are much more vulnerable to prey such as wolves, said Petryshen. In an emailed statement Friday, Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said the government is performing a balancing act between conservation and forestry. 'We are focused on practical solutions, not one-sided views, that include both protecting critical species like caribou and supporting good, sustainable forestry jobs that communities, and the province as a whole, rely on,' said Parmar. He said decisions related to harvesting and road building are informed by experts, including professional foresters, hydrologists, biologists, and geotechnical engineers 'whose knowledge and expertise ensures we strike the right balance.' The minister did not say why B.C. is allowing logging in more than 5,000 acres of old-growth forest With seven herds further south now either extinct or on the brink of extinction, these three herds are considered to have the best chance of recovery of B.C.'s remaining southernmost caribou, said Petryshen. In deep snow caribou use these old-growth forest ecosystems to to avoid predators and find food, and they use the snow pack as a kind of elevator to access tree lichens, he explained. These forests are carbon dense so a loss of caribou also means a loss of important carbon sinks needed in the fight against climate change. Also, extinction would mean biodiversity loss at a time when B.C. is trying to reach 30 per cent conservation targets by 2030. 'There's only about 12,150 of these deep snow-dwelling caribou left in the world, and and they are all right here in B.C.,' said Petryshen, adding they are also culturally significant and a food source for Indigenous people. In 2019, the NDP government convened an independent panel to travel the province and gather input on old-growth forests and a year later the old-growth strategic review provided 14 recommendations. The B.C government has made a few strides, such as including talks with First Nations and stepping up logging deferrals. But the problem is there's no transparency when it comes to which areas are being protected, said Petryshen, adding discussions with First Nations on deferrals have not been been made public. He said it's a failure of the B.C. government that ancient and irreplaceable trees are still being logged. 'We're five years into the old growth strategic review and these trees are still falling,' he said. 'There just hasn't been the transparency and accountability that that was promised by the province under that old growth strategic review. The conservation groups are urging the province to stop approved logging and withhold pending permits for new logging in the ranges of these three herds, and protect the southern mountain caribou habitat. 'This is a federally-protected endangered species — its protection isn't optional, it's an obligation,' said Lucero Gonzalez, a conservation and policy campaigner at Wilderness Committee. However federal protection only occurs in federally-protected areas like parks and so to stop B.C. from logging in caribou habitat the feds would have to negotiate with B.C. or enact an emergency order under the Species at Risk Act. This has only been invoked twice in Canada and the former environment minister called for an emergency order to protect B.C.'s critically endangered northern spotted owl but it wasn't passed by government. 'Withholding pending logging permits in critical caribou habitat is the bare minimum…if that level of destruction is deemed unacceptable under federal law, it shouldn't be considered acceptable on the ground either,' added Gonzalez. ticrawford@
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
International inquiry details plan to investigate severe, long-standing water pollution: 'We're really in a historic time right now'
Coal mines in southeastern British Columbia have been polluting waterways in the U.S. and Canada for decades, but a new international inquiry is investigating the issue and seeking solutions, The Narwhal reported. Contaminants from these mining operations, such as selenium, have seeped into local waterways, moving downstream into the Elk and Kootenay rivers, the publication explained. These rivers flow through Ktunaxa Nation territory in British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho. According to the new proposed plan from the International Joint Commission, a regulatory group established under the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty, an expert panel will compile existing data on water quality and impacts to human and ecosystem health and look at potential solutions to reduce the flow of pollution from the mines. The commission has already established a study board and is looking to create four technical working groups focusing on water quality, human health, ecosystem, and mitigation. "Historically, we've allowed industry to set the tone on what should be done and how quickly it should be done," Simon Wiebe, a mining policy and impacts researcher for the Kootenay-based conservation group Wildsight, told The Narwhal. "So, we're really in a historic time right now where we're getting a third-party, independent review of these issues." The Narwhal reported that while all living things need small amounts of selenium, too much of this element can be toxic. For instance, small amounts of selenium in fish have been tied to deformities and reproductive failure. The publication pointed out that this is of particular concern for at-risk fish species living downstream from the mine such as the westslope cutthroat trout, burbot, and white sturgeon. Meanwhile, mining contamination is just one of many threats to our waterways. For instance, one study found that tiny microplastics are more common in our seas than what was once believed. Plus, oil and gas spills are a threat to many water bodies such as the Peruvian Amazon. One important way to reduce the impacts of coal mining is to reduce our dependence on this planet-heating fuel in favor of more modern technology that is safer for both humans and animals. For instance, towns in rural Virginia are adding over 1 million new jobs by focusing on solar energy instead of coal. And a West Virginia town that has historically relied on coal is transitioning to clean energy. How often do you worry about the quality of your drinking water? Never Sometimes Often Always Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. You can help out by taking actions like enrolling in community solar or installing rooftop panels. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
