May 6 - September 9, 2020: U.S./B.C. Transboundary Rivers in the News

U.S./B.C. Transboundary Rivers in the News, May 6 - September 9, 2020

Hello transboundary river supporters,

2020 has offered challenges no matter where you look, but there have been some big milestones this summer in the work to address the risks posed by British Columbia mines along international transboundary rivers. A few highlights: 

• B.C. has committed $1.5 million to take the first steps toward cleanup of the abandoned Tulsequah Chief mine in the transboundary Taku River watershed, but doesn’t yet know who will pay the at least $100 million it will cost. B.C. taxpayers, beware. 
  
• The Canadian federal government agreed that Teck Resources’ expansion of its coal mines near the B.C. / Montana / Idaho border should undergo a federal impact assessment, not just an environmental review by B.C. regulators. This decision was based on transboundary risks for fish, concerns for B.C.’s inadequate mine permitting process, the need for engagement with First Nations, and the scope of the project — all of which have big implications for existing and proposed mines along the entire B.C. / U.S. border.
  
• Seabridge Gold, proponent for the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell mine project (KSM) in the transboundary Unuk River system, which would rival the size of the proposed Pebble mine project in Alaska, has requested an additional two-year extension to the environmental assessment certificate it received almost six years ago. But Alaska Tribes and a B.C. First Nation not only say an extension is not warranted but are calling for a whole new impact assessment for KSM. 
  

Overarching Transboundary Mine Waste Concerns 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this year sent a letter to B.C. regulators demanding information about why Teck Resources is allowed to exceed contaminant limits in the transboundary Elk-Kootenai watershed — highlighting increased concern from the U.S. over B.C.’s reckless mining regulations and oversight.
May 11, Canadian Press — United States increasingly concerned over pollution from B.C. mines

Concern is also rising, generally, about the risk of mine waste (tailings) dam failures. 
August 20, Science Magazine — Catastrophic failures raise concerns about dams containing muddy mine wastes

Several global and local efforts to address the risks tailings dams pose to sensitive areas like salmon-bearing rivers were finalized this year. The Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management is one of those. Many say it falls far short, however, of what is required to prevent pollution, property damage, and loss of life. 
June 24, Reuters — Exclusive: Global tailings dam standards fall short of changes sought by civil society groups

August 6, CoastAlaska – Global mine tailings standards rest on voluntary compliance 

More stringent mine waste standards are outlined in the proposed “Safety First” guidelines, supported and released this summer by an international coalition of more than 140 organizations, including Salmon Beyond Borders and Southeast Alaska Tribes. 
June 29, Reuters — Environmental groups propose tailings dam safety standards

A letter from an international group of 22 scientists and policy experts, published in late April in Science and explored in our last media roundup, led to calls from sportsmen and former International Joint Commission commissioners for more protective mining policies in transboundary watersheds. 
May 11, East Kootenay News Online Weekly — Opinion: Mining policies in transboundary watersheds must improve
May 26, East Kootenay News Online Weekly — Opinion: Fix Canadian mining now

Specific Projects in Shared Alaska / B.C. River Systems

When it comes to specific projects, this year has led to big developments with the Tulsequah Chief mine, which has been contaminating the Taku River watershed with acid mine drainage since it was abandoned by Teck Resources (formerly Teck-Cominco) more than 60 years ago. In coordination with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, the province was to begin work to ready the site for cleanup this summer. Though B.C. will fund the first $1.6 million, the province is not yet sure who will pay for the full cleanup. The estimated total price tag is at least $100 million, including the $1 million per year needed to pay for water treatment in perpetuity. 
August 13, The Narwhal — Cleaning up B.C.’s Tulsequah Chief Mine will cost $48.7 million
September, 7, Juneau Empire — Opinion: Mine cleanup plan is encouraging, but there’s still work to be done


The Tulsequah Chief mine also highlights that the financial assurances B.C. requires of its mines are inadequate to cover reclamation of a mine site, with a $1.2 billion shortfall across the province. Canadian taxpayers will most likely foot most of the $100 million cleanup bill, unless the B.C. Chief Inspector of Mines Herman Henning holds Teck Resources, the historical mine owner, liable — which is entirely within the inspector’s discretion and authority to do. 
August 21, The Province — B.C. holds only $1 million security for up to $100 million cleanup of Tulsequah Chief Mine

Part of the reason it’s unclear who will clean up the Tulsequah Chief mine: the mine’s current owner, Chieftain Metals, is being sued by a creditor for $20 million. 
August 7, CoastAlaska News — Tulsequah Chief creditors delay cleanup of contaminated mine site 

In the Unuk River watershed, Seabridge Gold, proponent of the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine project — which would be one of the largest mines on the planet if built as proposed — has requested a two-year extension of its environmental assessment (EA) certificate, reviving  calls for a new impact assessment that incorporates updated mining practices and new information, specifically since Imperial Metals’ 2014 Mount Polley mine tailings disaster. 
August 19, The Narwhal — Seabridge Gold asks B.C. for more time to begin KSM mine construction, citing COVID-19
August 27, CoastAlaska — Large open-pit mine developer near AK border asks Canadian regulators for more time

The Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) is one of the groups requesting a new EA for KSM. “KSM would be huge and so close to us. Our people need a say in the process,” said Sylvia Banie, Vice President of the Organized Village of Saxman and Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission’s Secretary.
August 21, Indian Country Today, Press Release — Like Alaska’s Pebble Mine, this project is located in the wrong place

Threats to Washington / B.C. Transboundary Rivers

Pressure is mounting in Washington state to defend the transboundary Skagit River from mining in the “donut hole,” the unprotected, sensitive area between two parks in B.C. near the B.C. / Washington border. Indigenous leaders also recently highlighted how B.C. mining projects threaten additional salmon rivers shared by Washington and B.C.
July 19, The Province — Opinion: Mike Harcourt and Ken Farquharson: It's time to finish saving the Skagit
August 30, The Seattle Times — Opinion: Protect Washington’s rivers from British Columbia mining waste. Written by Scott Schuyler of Sedro-Woolley, who is a lifelong fisherman, tribal member and the natural resources director of the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, and Rob Edward of Keremeos, B.C, who is a traditional knowledge keeper and former chief of the Lower Similkameen Indian Band.

The Skagit was the focus of this comprehensive piece on the dangers recklessly regulated B.C. mines pose to rivers that flow into the U.S. 
May 26, Sierra — A river runs through international borders

B.C.’s Mount Polley Mine and the Fraser River

This August 4 marked the sixth anniversary of the Mount Polley tailings dam disaster, for which Imperial Metals has still not been held liable by B.C. Bev Sellars, grandmother and former chief of the Xat’sull Nation, wrote, “The disaster was an opportunity for British Columbia and Canada to change their Gold Rush-era mining laws. But they didn’t. Instead, they continue to allow industry to use the Fraser River watershed as a garbage dump.”
August 13, CBC — Contamination from Mount Polley spill continues to affect waterways, study finds
August 11, Juneau Empire — Opinion: We are poisoning our future. There’s a better way.

While charges have not been levied against Imperial Metals, engineers tasked with monitoring the failed tailings dam face discipline and fines. 
June 4, Prince George Matters — Engineers face discipline over northern B.C. mine disaster

The Mount Polley failure and failures of global tailings dams that have caused loss of life, property, and health worldwide have resulted in calls to ban mine waste dumps upstream of communities from many organizations, including B.C.’s First Nations Energy and Mining Council and Salmon Beyond Borders.
August 10, Business Intelligence for B.C. — Lessons learned from the Mount Polley disaster

Wild Salmon and Climate Change Along the Salmon Coast

Meanwhile, Fraser River sockeye salmon runs have collapsed. This year was expected to be “the worst year since tracking began in 1893.” 
August 11, CBC — 'Quite dire': Fraser River sockeye salmon run expected to be worst ever recorded

Abysmal salmon returns led to closures of Chinook fishing on the Taku and Stikine Rivers. 
June 23, Terrace Standard — Sport fishing season for chinook salmon closed on B.C.’s Stikine and Taku Rivers

Climate change and an abundance of hatchery fish competing for food are leading Alaska’s salmon, especially Chinook, to return to their natal streams younger and smaller. 
August 25, Seattle Times -- Alaska salmon returning smaller amid climate change, competition with hatchery fish, study finds

Climate change is also impacting Alaska’s salmon-rich freshwater systems.
July 28, The Cordova Times — What climate change means for Alaska’s rivers — and king salmon

The B.C. / Montana / Idaho Border
Along the B.C. / Montana / Idaho border, pollution from Teck Resources’ coal mines have caused selenium levels to skyrocket. Selenium is lethal in large amounts and recently wiped out cutthroat trout in a transboundary tributary of the Elk River that flows past Teck’s mines. Because of its transboundary implications and impacts to fish and First Nations, the Canadian federal government announced it will conduct a federal impact assessment of the Castle project, Teck’s planned expansion of its network of coal mines. B.C. Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy George Heyman pointed out that “trans-border issues” are “matters of federal jurisdiction.” First Nations, Tribes, organizations including Salmon Beyond Borders, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had called for this action and applaud Minister Wilkinson’s decision.
August 19, The Canadian Press — Feds to join assessment of Teck coal mine expansion in B.C.
August 19, The Narwhal — Ottawa to review Teck’s Castle Mountain coal mine in B.C. amid concerns over fish habitat

Please stay tuned for, after five years of research and negotiation, imminent news of the adoption of a new, stricter water quality standard for selenium by the State of Montana and the Province of B.C. in the transboundary Elk-Kootenai River. 

Digital Engagement During COVID-19

This May, Salmon Beyond Borders hosted a webinar discussion called “Western Transboundary Watersheds and the Boundary Waters Treaty” with Indigenous leaders on both sides of the border, scientific and policy experts, and members of the International Joint Commission, which works to find international solutions under the U.S./Canada Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.
May 17, The Cordova Times — Indigenous leaders connecting on transboundary issues
That webinar is available here. 

In July, leading up to the sixth anniversary of the Mount Polley tailings dam disaster, Salmon Beyond Borders co-hosted a webinar with Canadian partners called “No More Mount Polleys,” which featured Indigenous leaders and technical experts. That webinar is available here. 

In one of the most incredible projects with which Salmon Beyond Borders has had the honor to be involved, Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission and Ping Chong + Company recently presented When the Salmon Spoke: Indigenous Stories of the Stikine River, in collaboration with Salmon Beyond Borders and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust. The online premiere of this digital production was directly followed by a virtual “Salmon Wauwau” — an online roundtable discussion with project collaborators and Tlingit, Tahltan, and Haida storytellers. If you haven’t yet, we invite you to listen to these important Indigneous stories from both sides of the transboundary Stikine River here.

A Well-deserved Retirement

Finally, Tis Peterman, who has worked tirelessly to defend the Stikine and other transboundary Alaska / B.C. rivers from recklessly regulated B.C. mines, retired as the executive director of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) this summer. Along with many, many others, we extend our heartfelt thanks to Tis for her years of work, and welcome Fred Otilius Olsen, Jr., the new ED of SEITC!
June 25, Salmon Beyond Borders blog — People of the Salmon Coast: Tis Peterman
May 26, KINY — Tis Peterman to retire as director of SEITC

As always, thanks so much for taking the time to read this update. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or comments. 

Sincerely, 
Jill Weitz
Salmon Beyond Borders director

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