B.C. Government Faces Criminal Charges Over Mount Polley Disaster
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- Published on Thursday, 20 October 2016 09:15
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Mount Polley, B.C. Government Target of Criminal Charges Brought by Mining Watchdog
Almost 30 months after 25-million cubic metres of contaminated sludge and water swept into lakes and creeks around the Mount Polley Mine near Williams Lake, MiningWatch Canada has filed a private prosecution against the provincial government and Mount Polley Mining Corporation.
MiningWatch, supported by a coalition of environmental, First Nations and social justice organizations from Canada and Alaska, was forced to take action because the Crown has failed to lay charges and enforce the Fisheries Act despite ample evidence, said Ugo Lapointe, MiningWatch national program coordinator. Read more.
Exclusive New Photos: The B.C. Government's Frantic Push to Get Site C Dam Past 'Point of No Return'
With construction ramping up, the high cost of the Site C dam is becoming more visible, and not just on the landscape.
Residents are being forcibly removed from their land. More than 100 kilometres of river valley — much of it agricultural land — is slated for flooding. Independent review processes, meant to ensure the project serves the public interest, have been circumvented and indigenous rights have been trampled.
Thanks to donations from our readers, DeSmog Canada was able to send celebrated photographer, Garth Lenz, to the Peace to capture the ongoing construction and the landscapes and lives that stand to be affected by the Site C dam. Read more.
I’m Still Waiting for an Interview With a Government Scientist About the Diesel Spill Near Bella Bella
I’m irritated today. Maybe it’s because B.C.’s pipeline incident webpage has been down for over a month. Or maybe it’s because the amount of oil spilled from a pipeline into an Alberta wetland, first reported on October 6, remains undetermined.
But I think the real reason is that a media request I placed with the B.C. government on Thursday last week — to speak with a scientist about the barge that ran aground on the central coast last week and its tug that’s leaking diesel into Heiltsuk territory — has yet to be fulfilled. Not that I’ve been ignored.
No, on the contrary, I’ve received helpful messages along the lines of ‘don’t lose hope, Carol! We’re going to connect you with a real, live scientist soon. Very soon!’ Read more.
Why We Still Don’t Know How Much Oil Was Spilled in an Alberta Wetland
The volume of a crude oil pipeline spill that occurred in an Alberta wetland remains undetermined although both the pipeline’s operator, Trilogy Energy Corp, and representatives from the Alberta Energy Regulator have been on scene since the spill was first reported 14 days ago.
The cause of a leak in the underground pipeline, located at Trilogy’s Kaybob Montney oil project near Fox Creek, also remains undetermined, according to John Williams, Trilogy president and chief operating officer.
In a telephone interview Williams said he believes the leak to be small in size and therefore “very difficult to detect.” Williams said he preferred not to speculate on the cause of the spill. Read more.
How Harper’s Changes to Environmental Laws Are Being Leveraged by Pipeline Companies
On June 23, the Federal Court of Appeal struck down the Harper government’s approval of the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline on account of failing to properly consult with adversely affected First Nations.
Many environmental and Indigenous groups cited the ruling as a win, but buried in the decision is a legal interpretation that upholds former Primer Minister Stephen Harper’s changes to environmental assessment law.
Some argue this interpretation of the new Canadian Environmental Assessment Act will undermine the ability to challenge the legality of environmental assessment reports for future projects, such as Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline and TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline. Read more.
Diesel Spill Near Bella Bella Exposes Deficient Oil Spill Response
The grounding of a fuel barge near Bella Bella is raising fresh concerns about B.C.’s ability to respond to marine oil spills as a tug releases diesel fuel into the traditional waters of the Heiltsuk First Nation — and it took oil spill response crews more than 15 hours to arrive on scene after the accident.
The Nathan E. Stewart, a 10,000-ton tanker barge owned by Texas-based Kirby Corporation, ran aground around 1 a.m. Oct. 13 in Seaforth Channel near Gale Pass on Athlone Island.
Although the barge itself was empty, three fuel tanks for the 100-foot tug powering the vessel were damaged and hold an estimated 60,000 gallons of diesel fuel, according to a statement from the Heiltsuk First Nation. Read more.
Ian Gill: Fearless Journalism Essential to Democracy
Canada’s media industries are in a tailspin.
As many as 10,000 journalists have lost their jobs in the past decade and newsroom closures or contractions are an almost weekly fact of life across the country.
In a new book, No News Is Bad News: Canada’s Media Collapse — And What Comes Next, veteran reporter Ian Gill chronicles a decline that is bad for democracy.
Then again, the collapse of mainstream media is making room for new, mostly online journalism to flourish. Gill generously counts DeSmog Canada among the bright lights of Canada’s new journalism. Here are a few telling excerpts from his book. Read more.
B.C.’s Pipeline Incident Map Has Been Quietly Offline for Over a Month
The B.C. Oil and Gas Commission describes its vision as providing “oil and gas regulatory excellence for British Columbia’s changing energy future” and lists its values as “respectful, accountable, effective, efficient, responsive and transparent.”
Carrying out those lofty goals is difficult, however, when the commission’s main public accountability portal for its more than 43,000 kilometres of pipelines — an online ‘incident map’ — has been offline for more than a month.
DeSmog Canada notified the Oil and Gas Commission that the incident map had been down for over one week via e-mail on September 7. A message posted online in lieu of the interactive map — which is meant to provide up-to-date and historical data related to pipeline incidents including accidents, ruptures and releases — said the site was down for maintenance. Read more.
Revealed: What Ezra Levant Wanted His 'Banned' Reporters To Do At Marrakech UN Climate Talks
There has been a lot of discussion in the Canadian media about whether or not the UNFCCC was right to deny Ezra Levant's media group, The Rebel, accreditation for the upcoming climate summit in Morocco.
While we think journalists should be protected in their right to report, regardless of their political leanings or even ideology, a DeSmog recording of Levant and Rebel reporters at an Edmonton event reveal what the group planned to do at the UN climate event.
Check it out and decide if that sounds like journalism to you? Read more.
Ontario Cancels Nearly $4 Billion in Clean Energy Projects
The fingerpointing continues on the Ontario government’s decision to cancel $3.8 billion in planned wind and solar projects, as part of its struggle to keep a lid on soaring electricity prices that are being attributed to multiple factors.
The cancelled schemes could have offered up to 1,000 megawatts of power under optimal weather conditions, sufficient to service the instantaneous demand of roughly a million homes.
When making this latest announcement, Energy Minister Glen Thibeault said that Ontario had a surplus of supply with no “urgent need” for expanding capacity. Read more.
New B.C.-Alaska Deal Not Enough to Protect Transboundary Rivers from B.C.’s Mines, U.S. Fisheries Panel Hears
Alaska’s fishing industry and lifestyle are under threat from mines on the B.C. side of the border and a non-binding cooperation agreement between B.C. and Alaska, signed last week, does not provide sufficient protection, the Alaska State House Fisheries Committee was told this week.
The committee held a public hearing because of persistent concerns from fishermen, business owners, municipal and Tribal leaders about the proliferation of B.C. mines near the headwaters of salmon-bearing rivers such as the Taku, Unuk and Stikine, which start in B.C. and flow through Southeast Alaska to the ocean.
About 10 mines are in the planning, exploration, construction or production stages in the area close to the border.r0
