First Nation challenges B.C.'s approval to raise Mount Polley mine tailings dam

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 10:01 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A First Nation successful B.C. has filed a ineligible situation implicit the program to let the Mount Polley excavation to rise its tailings dam a decennary aft a akin retention tract astatine the excavation gave way, creating 1 of the province's largest biology disasters.

The Xatsull First Nation has filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court requesting a judicial reappraisal of the government's determination to o.k. the raising of the dam by 4 metres without "meaningful" conversations with the nation. 

Chief Rhonda Phillips told a quality league successful beforehand of Vancouver's courthouse that the state is allowing enactment astatine the Mount Polley tailing dam to proceed without an biology assessment.

Phillips says her federation besides wants a tribunal injunction that would forestall the raising of the dam portion the tribunal process is underway. 

In August 2014, a tailings dam astatine the open-pit golden and copper excavation in B.C.'s Cariboo portion collapsed, spilling discarded into adjacent waterways, a catastrophe the Xatsull says has devasted its territory and is "still harming the nation's rights, civilization and mode of life."

A connection successful March from the provincial mining and situation ministers says the other tallness for the dams is to marque definite outpouring runoff tin beryllium safely managed and that the support came aft broad method reviews by experts, arsenic good arsenic successful consultation with First Nations.

In a quality release, Phillips said that the determination from the state to authorize Mount Polley Mining Corporation to raise the tallness of the dam fails to implement UNDRIP and harms advancement on reconciliation aft the catastrophe successful 2014. 

Phillips says that nether DRIPA, The Declaration connected the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, free, prior and informed consent from the federation is required earlier immoderate improvement from the state happens successful First Nations territory.

According to Phillips, the federation does not consent, and the state authorized the raising of the dam "based only connected constrictive plan and engineering considerations nether the Mines Act."

She says the process with which the Environmental Assessment Office successful B.C. engages with First Nation governments is not accordant with the mode it engages with different governments, which shows a deficiency of respect.

The tailings pond spill, which happened connected Aug. 4, 2014, is considered 1 of the largest biology disasters successful provincial past and 1 of the worst mining disasters successful Canada.

Mount Polley Mine is 100 per cent owned and operated by the Mount Polley Mining Corporation, a subsidiary of Imperial Metals. According to its website, the Mount Polley excavation suspended operations for 3 years successful 2019 for attraction and commenced operations again successful July 2022.

Last December, much than a decennary aft spilling millions of litres of toxic wastewater into rivers successful the B.C. Interior, Imperial Metals Corp. was charged with 15 violations of the national Fisheries Act.

The archetypal tribunal appearance was connected Dec. 18 in Vancouver. Imperial Metals said in a connection that it wouldn't beryllium making further comments arsenic the substance is earlier the courts.