Almost a year ago–Aug. 4, 2014–a tailings pond dam burst at the Mount Polley open pit and copper mine in the British Columbia interior.
Four days later, the four square-kilometres pond was empty and 24-million cubic metres of poison in the form of mine water and waste had gushed into waters near the mine, located in the Cariboo region of central B.C.
The spill flooded Polley Lake, its outflow Hazeltine Creek, and continued into nearby Quesnel Lake and Cariboo Creek.
Politicians quickly pledged to make sure it would never happen again and said they were going to work to clean up the mess.
On Wednesday, B.C.’s Ministry of Environment released a report saying the first stage of a massive recovery operation at the mine site had been completed.
It added that the owner of the mine, Imperial Metals Corp., has taken steps to stabilize a creek and to ensure water entering Quesnel Lake meets provincial standards.
The ministry says the second phase of work is in full swing and will continue through next summer. It will focus on the impacts of the breach and on assessing ecological and human health.
Earlier this month, Mines Minister Bill Bennett said the government had granted Imperial Metals Corp. conditional approval to reopen. He added that the company must still apply for further permits before it can operate fully.
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