BC Regulator Refuses To Open Files On Mount Polley Dam (24 Million M3 Mine Waste Spill)
The owners of the Mount Polley mine say a crack in their tailings dam found in 2010 was almost a kilometre away from the spot where the dam containing toxic waste failed this summer, and the company “fully complied” with a series of recommendations to improve safety in response to that initial fissure. But NDP Leader John Horgan is calling for the release of technical documents to show just what the company and the province knew about the safety of the dam prior to the Aug. 4 breach in the dam that flushed 24 million cubic metres of water and mine tailings into Quesnel Lake in central B.C.
The last geotechnical inspection by the ministry of mines at Mount Polley took place in September of 2013 and resulted in no orders related to the tailings storage facility, according to ministry officials.
The government has not opened its inspection files, saying it must “protect the integrity and independence” of an independent engineering investigation and inquiry into the tailings pond breach that is expected to be completed in January.
“The most horrific environmental disaster in B.C.’s history wouldn’t have happened if everything was fine,” Mr. Horgan said Sunday. “They are trying to say everything that could be done, was done, but they won’t release the documents to show what they did.”
EDIT
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-signed-off-on-tailings-dam-repair-after-fissure-found-in-2010/article20939432/
Ed. - emphasis added