U.S. senators to Horgan: clean up B.C.’s mining mess – by Sarah Cox (The Narwhal – June 13, 2019)

The Narwhal

Eight American senators have written to B.C. Premier John Horgan urging him to address downstream contamination from the province’s metal and coal mines.

The letter — an unprecedented joint undertaking from all senators from the four states bordering the province, including both Republicans and Democrats — outlines concerns about potential environmental and economic impacts from B.C. mines that pollute rivers flowing into the U.S.

“As you know, Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Montana have tremendous natural resources that need to be protected against impacts from B.C. hard rock and coal-mining activities near the headwaters of shared rivers, many of which support environmentally and economically significant salmon populations,” the senators wrote in the two-page letter, released Thursday.

They noted that Indigenous peoples — “whose lands are affected by past, present and proposed mines near transboundary rivers” — have also voiced concerns and have asked governments on both sides of the border to undertake cumulative assessments of the impacts B.C. mines have on communities as well as on cultural and natural resources.

“These transboundary watersheds support critical water supply, recreation opportunities and wildlife habitat that support many livelihoods in local communities,” the senators wrote to Horgan, saying they are concerned about the lack of oversight of Canadian mining projects near multiple transboundary rivers that originate in B.C.

For the rest of this article: https://thenarwhal.ca/u-s-senators-to-horgan-clean-up-b-c-s-mining-mess/