British Columbia has many large-scale abandoned, proposed, and operational mines in transboundary watersheds shared with Alaska, Washington, Montana, and Idaho.
Large-scale British Columbia (B.C.) hard rock and coal mining in the headwaters of rivers shared with Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana threatens to permanently impact fish and water quality, commercial fishing, sport fishing, tourism, industrial economies, and traditional and customary ways of life.
In 2016, B.C.’s own auditor general warned the deficiencies in B.C. mining policy could lead directly to Canada violating Article IV of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The report specified the ongoing leaching contaminants into Alaska’s Taku River watershed and Montana’s Koocanusa Reservoir from poorly managed B.C. mines. This report and others led to an unprecedented move in 2019, when 8 U.S. senators united across political party lines in a letter to Premier John Horgan about the dangers B.C.’s transboundary mines pose to U.S. interests and their states: Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.
In the Alaska - British Columbia transboundary region there are over a dozen large-scale hardrock mines at various stages of abandonment, operation, and development, most of which sit on acid-generating deposits and requiring massive earthen dams to hold back their toxic waste in perpetuity, within the transboundary Taku, Stikine and Unuk River watersheds. These watersheds alone produce 80% of the region’s Chinook salmon.
Further south along Washington - British Columbia border multiple B.C. projects are operating in this transboundary region, and according to B.C.’s 2019 data, over 33 mining exploration projects are within a 60-mile radius of B.C.’s border with Washington; the most notorious of which comes from Imperial Metals to mine the headwaters of the Skagit River.
In the transboundary region of British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho, Teck coal mines in B.C. have been actively polluting the transboundary Elk-Kootenai watershed, with more than 100 years of legacy contamination in the watershed.
Thousands of Americans, along with Federal, Tribal, State, and Municipal governments in the United States have long requested relief from transboundary mining contamination originating in British Columbia.
In 2016, B.C.’s own auditor general warned the deficiencies in B.C. mining policy could lead directly to Canada violating Article IV of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The report specified the ongoing leaching contaminants into Alaska’s Taku River watershed and Montana’s Koocanusa Reservoir from poorly managed B.C. mines. This report and others led to an unprecedented move in 2019, when 8 U.S. senators united across political party lines in a letter to Premier John Horgan about the dangers B.C.’s transboundary mines pose to U.S. interests and their states: Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.
In the Alaska - British Columbia transboundary region there are over a dozen large-scale hardrock mines at various stages of abandonment, operation, and development, most of which sit on acid-generating deposits and requiring massive earthen dams to hold back their toxic waste in perpetuity, within the transboundary Taku, Stikine and Unuk River watersheds. These watersheds alone produce 80% of the region’s Chinook salmon.
Further south along Washington - British Columbia border multiple B.C. projects are operating in this transboundary region, and according to B.C.’s 2019 data, over 33 mining exploration projects are within a 60-mile radius of B.C.’s border with Washington; the most notorious of which comes from Imperial Metals to mine the headwaters of the Skagit River.
In the transboundary region of British Columbia, Montana, and Idaho, Teck coal mines in B.C. have been actively polluting the transboundary Elk-Kootenai watershed, with more than 100 years of legacy contamination in the watershed.
Thousands of Americans, along with Federal, Tribal, State, and Municipal governments in the United States have long requested relief from transboundary mining contamination originating in British Columbia.
The Problem
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Current B.C. and Canadian environmental assessment and permitting allows for mines to be developed in the B.C. headwaters of rivers flowing across the international border and into the United States without:
(1) the consent of indigenous communities in B.C. and the U.S., as well as private property owners; (2) an analysis of historical impacts from such mines; (3) the independent collection of at least 3-5 years of baseline/reference condition water quality and fish and wildlife population data; (4) an independent, comprehensive evaluation of downstream impacts; (5) a demonstration of technology to mitigate impacts that satisfies both the U.S. and Canada that shared resources won’t be harmed; (6) the establishment of an independent, fully funded, and perpetual independent monitoring system; (7) the establishment of a robust financial assurances regime that covers all mining impacts as well as the establishment of an arbitration process for settling claims. |
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Join the thousands of people along with
Federal, State, County, City and Tribal leadership in the United States who have long requested
relief from transboundary mining contamination originating in British Columbia.
Federal, State, County, City and Tribal leadership in the United States who have long requested
relief from transboundary mining contamination originating in British Columbia.
Learn more about threats to United States-British Columbia transboundary rivers:
Washington - British Columbia Rivers Transboundary Rivers
British Columbia - Montana - Idaho Transboundary Rivers
