British Columbia’s chief mining regulator refuses to move compliance and enforcement to a separate agency, despite three reports that say design issues contributed to the massive Mount Polley Mine spill more than two years ago.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry of Environment (MoE), also involved in mine permitting, have been under scrutiny since the breach that dumped 4.5 billion gallons of water and 10.3 million cu yd of tailings and construction waste into two lakes, a creek and the Fraser River, polluting drinking water and potentially affecting spawning grounds for salmon there.