A mining company operating outside the historic gold rush town of Barkerville, B.C., has been handed a more than $276,000 penalty for dumping underground waste into a nearby river.
The company, which is owned by Osisko Development Corp., failed to meet provincial discharge limits when it dumped wastewater into the nearby Lowhee Creek. The effluent was found to contain high levels of arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, nickel, nitrite, nitrate, sulphate, zinc and total suspended solids.
Pollutants could risk health of aquatic life On 14 separate days after the state of emergency ended, the mining company was found out of compliance. Between July 6 and Nov. 29, 2021, nitrite concentrations exceeded provincial limits by as high as 314 per cent. The original notice described the failures as “major,” something Barkerville Gold disputed as 283 of the discharges exceeded permit limits by more than 50 per cent, not the 75 per cent it said constitutes a “major” contravention, according to the decision.
Barkerville Gold asked the province to reduce the penalty due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic — an event it said impacted staff, led to supply chain disruptions and prevented contractors from building the water treatment plant.