In Sparwood, dust from the nearby coal mine sometimes drifts over the town, coating everything in fine black powder and leaving some residents concerned about what they’re breathing in. But what exactly is in that dust? The answer may come from a surprising source: moss. Wildsight’s own Wyatt Petryshen has just published a peer-reviewed study … Continued
For decades, mountaintop removal coal mining has been leaching contamination into the Elk-Kootenay River System. Deemed by some as Canada’s largest-ever contamination crisis, selenium, nitrates, sulphates, and other pollutants are threatening species at risk like cutthroat trout, regional water secu
Kukama?nam/Kimberley The BC government has fined Teck Coal $16.5 million for failure to construct a water treatment facility by the required permit date, along with fines for exceedances in selenium and nitrate. Wildsight strongly supports the administrative penalties issued by the BC Ministry of the Environment for failures to construct the Fording River South Active … Continued
The intervenor applications for the Gitxaała Nation’s legal challenge against the Province of British Columbia and four mineral claim holders begin today. The Nation filed the case with the B.C. Supreme Court in October 2021, requesting a review of seven mineral claims staked on its territory without its consent, as well as a determination of … Continued
K̓ukamaʔnam/Kimberley – Wildsight strongly supports the Ktunaxa Nation’s decades long call to have the International Joint Commission (ICJ) address the deterioration of water quality in the Elk-Kootenay River System. The IJC, with independent representatives from Canada and the United States, makes recommendations based upon consideration of science and Indigenous knowledge. Wildsight is concerned with both … Continued
If Elk Valley coal mine emissions from coal in the ground to steel in hand were included in British Columbia’s total greenhouse gas emissions, it would increase British Columbia’s total greenhouse gas emissions by 115%, but they aren’t. In part three of our Cost of Coal series, we explore the full inventory of greenhouse gas … Continued
The Elk Valley, British Columbia, is in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. It hosts stunning views of rugged mountains and scenic rivers. It is also home to 80 percent of Canada’s annual metallurgical coal exports, extracted from Teck Resources Limited’s four-open pit metallurgical coal mines. Metallurgical coal is used to make steel. These mines … Continued
From Appalachia to India, research has uncovered the potential harms open-pit coal mining has on the environment and human health. In this second instalment of our series, ‘The True Cost of Coal’, we take a look at the impacts of coal mining to human health.
Why is the involvement of the International Joint Commission (IJC) needed in the Elk Valley? Coal mining has occurred in the Elk Valley for over 100 years. Recently, coal production has drastically increased while water quality has decreased throughout Kootenay/Kootenai Watershed. Selenium concentrations continue to reach record highs, threatening the environment and communities that call … Continued
K̓ukamaʔnam/Kimberley – “We are deeply concerned that Global Affairs Canada has unilaterally decided to walk away from discussions to engage the International Joint Commission (IJC) in the transboundary Kootenay River system. The Ktunaxa Nation has been calling for a reference to the IJC since 2012. Since then, we have seen the situation on the ground … Continued
