We’ve known that coal mining has been causing increasingly severe water pollution in the Elk Valley since the early 90s, but action has only really been taken in the last decade or so. In 2014 the BC government approved the industry-created Elk Valley Area Based Management Plan (ABMP), a document used to guide long-term planning and regulation on how to handle this pollution.
The province is currently in the process of amending this plan and claiming it as their own — and it’s looking for feedback from the public.
Currently permitted selenium limits too high to protect aquatic life
Among other things, the Elk Valley ABMP sets targets for allowable levels of different pollutants in local waterways, including selenium, as measured at seven monitoring sites downstream of the mines.
Selenium is a known coal mining contaminant that leaches into waterways from the enormous waste rock piles produced by Elk Valley Resources’ open pit, mountaintop-removal coal mines.
Provincial guidelines suggest that selenium levels should be limited to 2.0 micrograms per litre (ug/l) in order to protect aquatic life. However, the Elk Valley ABMP allows for concentrations as high as 57 ug/l at the monitoring site closest to the worst polluting mines, and 19-50 ug/l elsewhere along the Fording and Elk rivers. The only target in line with provincial guidelines is that set for Lake Koocanusa, 100 km downstream.
Pressure from the public and from Indigenous Nations, such as the Transboundary Ktunaxa Nation, to reduce the amount of pollution flowing from these mines has seen some success; selenium concentration trends in waterways near the mines have begun to drop in recent years, indicating that Elk Valley Resources’ massive water treatment facilities have been working. But much more still needs to be done; last winter, selenium levels in the Elk River, near Sparwood, B.C., peaked at 9.3 ug/l — more than 4.5 times higher than B.C.’s aquatic life safety standard.
Fish population collapses and ecosystem changes
Selenium accumulates in the tissues of fish and insects living in affected rivers and streams. If levels are high enough, it can cause chronic issues and reduce their ability to reproduce.
It also changes the ecosystem itself: by suppressing populations of selenium-sensitive insects such as mayflies, it opens the door for more resistant insects such as blackflies to prosper.
Sensitive species such as westslope cutthroat trout, brown trout, mayflies and dragonflies struggle to reproduce under these conditions. We have seen population collapses in excess of 93% in the past as fish experience chronic selenium poisoning. In short, permitted selenium levels do not protect fish and insects living near the mines, or anywhere downstream in the Elk River.
A rare opportunity for change
With the province asking for comments on the ammended Elk Valley ABMP, now is an important moment to speak up about the importance of lowering permitted selenium concentrations, for the benefit of all living things that live in and around these waters. We must set pollution limits that genuinely protect our aquatic ecosystems.
The Elk Valley ABMP public comment period is open until May 30, 2025. Take a look at their website, which contains the draft plan as well as other information here, and send your comments to elkvalleywaterquality@gov.bc.ca.
Top three points to include in your letter:
- Science clearly shows that selenium levels present in the Elk River and near the mines suppress reproductive capacity. Why are we allowing this?
- What is the timeline behind improving water quality? When can we expect to see the Elk River meet provincial aquatic safety standards?
- Lakes have been shown to have ecosystems especially sensitive to selenium pollution. What are we doing to protect the most sensitive organisms impacted by these mines?
Additional points to consider…
- Elk Valley Resources has a history of water treatment facilities being built behind schedule. How are we ensuring that facilities become operational in a reasonable timeframe?
- Selenium leaching does not seem to slow down much decades after mine closure, meaning water treatment will have to be performed for decades, if not centuries into the future. How are we to ensure that treatment facilities will continue to operate for decades into the future, potentially after mining has stopped?
- Are water treatment facilities the only method of managing selenium? What can be done to manage pollution in a way that won’t require long term operation of large, expensive treatment facilities?