With deadline looming, charges recommended in Mount Polley mines disaster – by Justine Hunter (Globe and Mail – June 28, 2019)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

A years-long investigation by multiple agencies into the largest mine-waste disaster in Canadian history has led to a recommendation for charges under the federal Fisheries Act.

With the five-year deadline for charges just weeks away, The Globe and Mail has learned joint task force on the 2014 tailings-pond breach at the Mount Polley mine in central British Columbia sent its recommendations to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada in early April. It is now up to the Crown to decide whether to approve the charges.

“The investigation of the Mount Polley pollution incident has been lengthy and complex. As the matter is now under charge assessment, there will be no further comment at this time,” Veronica Petro, a spokesperson for Environment Canada, said in a statement.

In August, 2014, Mount Polley’s massive tailings dam breached at the copper and gold mine in B.C.’s Cariboo Region near Quesnel Lake, sending about 24 million cubic metres of waste and mine water into nearby waterways.

An expert panel concluded the failure of the dam was a preventable accident due to a flawed dam design. The regulatory body that oversees British Columbia’s engineers and geoscientists said last year three of its members would face a disciplinary hearing to respond to allegations of negligence and unprofessional conduct over the dam collapse. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.

For the rest of this article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-mount-polley-disaster-five-years-later-no-charges-no-jobs-no-trust/