Kootenai added to list of most endangered
rivers
|
|
April 19, 2013 |
Five open-pit coal mines in southeastern British
Columbia in the Elk River
watershed, a
major tributary of the Kootenai River, an
international watershed that covers 18,000
square miles in British Columbia, Montana and
Idaho, were cited by American Rivers for ranking
the Kootenai River among the most endangered in
the United States, and the group is urging its
100,000 members to write Secretary of State John
Kerry to use the International Joint Commission
to protect the river.
Teck Coal has admitted that coal mining
operations in the Elk Valley watershed, which
includes the Elk and Fording rivers and Lake
Koocanusa, which flows across the border into
Montana, are linked to high selenium levels in
those waters, and on Monday, the British
Columbia government ordered the company to come
up with a plan to address selenium and other
contaminants in 90 days.
American Rivers has ranked the Kootenai as
number nine on its list of the 10 most
endangered rivers in the United States. The
Colorado River is ranked number one.
According to American Rivers, large scale
open-pit coal mining is currently degrading
water quality and impacting fisheries and other
aquatic life in the Elk River in British
Columbia, which flows into the headwaters of the
Kootenai River.
Teck Coal operates five open-pit coal mines in
the Elk River Valley. Multiple new mines that
are being proposed, along with expansions at
existing mining operations, are posing
unprecedented risks to the clean water, fish and
wildlife, and recreation values of the Kootenai
River system.
Selenium, a naturally-occurring element, is
released as a result of the mining, and becomes
toxic at very low levels in the aquatic
environment. Despite documented violation of
provincial and federal water quality guidelines
for selenium, four of the five mines are
expanding. Each mine expansion is being
considered individually, with no legal
requirement to evaluate the cumulative water
quality and aquatic life impacts from all five
mines.
In addition to the expansions, one new mine has
also been proposed and three large scale
exploration projects are currently underway that
could lead to even more mine proposals.
Teck Coal's own data show that they have
exceeded British Columbia’s selenium standard
since 2006, with levels steadily increasing and
detectable in Montana and Idaho.
Selenium is a pollutant that bioaccumulates in
the environment. That means its impact
multiplies as it moves through the food chain.
Elevated levels of selenium have already been
detected in Kootenai River fish. Due to selenium
contamination, the State of Montana has listed
Lake Koocanusa (a dammed section of the Kootenai
River on the U.S./Canadian border) as an
impaired water body under Section 303(d) of the
U.S. Clean Water Act.
British Columbia is expected to issue permits
for expansions of two of the five open-pit coal
mines in the near future.
Both of Montana’s Senators have requested that
the U.S. State Department investigate the
existing and potential downstream impacts from
the open-pit coal mines.
In addition, a coalition of tribes has requested
that the governments of the U.S. and Canada
refer this matter to the International Joint
Commission (IJC). International scrutiny of the
proposed mines expansion, through the objective
auspices of IJC, is the best way to ensure
protection of water quality and native fisheries
in the Kootenai River system. |
|
Questions or comments about this
letter?
Click here to e-mail! |
|
|
|
|
