Article content
A report by an independent consultant says the cost of removing a contaminant toxic to fish after decades of coal mining in British Columbia’s Elk Valley is more than three times what the company has set aside for the work.
Calgary-based Burgess Environmental says in the report that it will cost $6.4 billion to reverse rising selenium concentrations in Canadian and U.S. waters.
Article content
That’s the estimated cost of implementing Teck Resource’s current plan to build water treatment plants and operate them for 60 years.
The report says the amount of reclamation security the company must set aside is $1.9 billion.
The environmental group Wildsight, which commissioned the report, says that could leave taxpayers on the hook for the massive job.
Selenium from the mines has long been a problem in the watershed and is the subject of joint investigation by U.S. and Canadian officials, as well as First Nations on both sides of the border.
Levels of selenium in the watershed regularly exceed guidelines for the protection of aquatic life.
Teck is now in the process of selling the large mines to Swiss-based multinational Glencore.
Recommended from Editorial
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.
Share this article in your social network
