Teck Coal Limited was Jan. 31 found to be in contravention of a B.C. government permit and fined $15.5 million. It was also fined a further $1,080,000 for a series of selenium and nitrate exceedances at other Elk Valley mines.

A $15.5 million fine followed a determination by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy Compliance and Environmental Enforcement Branch that Teck failed to have the Fording River South Active Water Treatment Facility ready by the required date in the permit to limit emissions of selenium and nitrate from its Fording River Operations near Elkford.

Additionally, a $864,000 fine resulted from nitrate exceedances in treated wastewater at Line Creek Operations between January 2019 and February 2021. And a fine of $216,000 was issued for nine selenium exceedances in effluent wastewater at Line Creek, Fording River and Greenhills (Elkford).

Regional conservation organization Wildsight said it strongly supports the administrative penalties issued, noting “increasing selenium concentrations, along with other contaminants, have caused significant harm to the environment in the Elk and transboundary Kootenay watershed, to Ktunaxa rights and cultural practices, and poses a potential risk to human health,” in a media release.

“Selenium concentrations have been steadily rising in the Elk Valley since its initial discovery in 1995. For over a decade, the transboundary Ktunaxa Nation has been urging the Canadian and US governments to take action. In November of 2022, a joint letter was sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Biden. While the US has joined the call for a reference to the International Joint Commission, the Canadian government continues to fail at meaningfully responding or consulting with the Ktunaxa Nation,” Wildsight outlined.

“Exceedances of limits set within the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan are commonplace in the Elk Valley and have led to transboundary downstream impacts,” said Wildsight’s Mining Policy and Impacts Researcher Wyatt Petryshen.

He also noted the 2016 Auditor General’s Report on Compliance and Enforcement of the Mining Sector in British Columbia, which highlights how the lack of sufficient and effective regulatory oversight and action has allowed for the degradation of water quality in the Elk River.

“The continued exceedances highlight the importance of having effective compliance and enforcement but also highlights how the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan has failed to resolve the selenium and nitrate problem that has been known for over two decades,” said Petryshen.

Wildsight concluded it “welcomes the increased enforcement action within the Elk Valley and the BC Ministry of Environment’s recognition of the Ktunaxa as the stewards of ʔamakʔis Ktunaxa. The International Joint Commission is the best path forward to address the ongoing water quality issues in the Elk and Kootenay Rivers.”

Teck Coal was fined $60 million for violations under the Fisheries Act in 2021.

The company has yet to issue a statement about the determination.

Teck can appeal the penalties within 30 days.

Lead image: Fording River Operations. e-KNOW file photo

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