Selenium concentrations more than three times than the permitted limit were recorded at a water quality monitoring site near a Teck coal mine in 2016.
However, the mining company argued that the site at Fording River, north of Elkford, was not a representative location for compliance monitoring due to “hydrologic challenges”.
Permit 107517 Annual Water Quality Monitoring Report, 2016, shows there were 44 permit level exceedances recorded during Teck’s surface water monitoring program in 2016.
It is one of 13 technical reports now available online via Teck’s website and the most recent report of its kind, published on March 31, 2017.
Last week, Teck announced it would make all water quality reports and data publicly available to “advance community knowledge and understanding and accelerate the pace of scientific progress and innovation in this area”.
The mining company spends between $15-18 million a year on water quality and aquatic health studies in the Elk Valley, where it operates five steelmaking coal mines.
Permit 107517 was approved by the B.C. Minister of Environment following the implementation of the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan and a fish mortality incident in 2014, which resulted in a $1.425 million fine for Teck.
It takes an area-based approach to managing water quality constituents of interest, such as selenium, originating from current and historical mining activities in the Valley.
Selenium is a naturally-occurring element essential to humans and animals.
However, when present in increased concentrations, as can happen through coal mining when selenium is released from waste rock, it can impact ecosystems.
Total selenium concentrations in the Valley have been increasing since the 1990s and based on data from a long-term water quality monitoring station in the Elk River, south of Elko, have been observed to exceed the B.C. water quality guideline for freshwater aquatic life since 1993.
According to the 2016 water quality report, selenium levels at the Elk River station peaked in late 2013/early 2014 at 8.2 micrograms per lite (µg/L) – more than four times the provincial guideline of 2µg/L.
Nitrate-N concentrations were also increasing and following a similar pattern to selenium.
The 44 permit level exceedances recorded in 2016 represented 2.5 per cent of the total samples taken at Teck’s eight authorized discharge compliance points that year.
Eleven of these occurred at the Fording River site, known as Compliance Point E300071 (FR_FRCP1), and in some instances were more than three times the daily maximum and monthly average for selenium.
Under Permit 107517, the daily maximum limit for selenium is 155µg/L and the monthly average is 130µg/L.
The highest daily exceedances occurred on January 5 (447µg/L) and February 2 (494µg/L), while the highest monthly exceedances occurred in the same months, 447µg/L and 316µg/L respectively.
Teck argued that due to natural hydrologic conditions, the site was was not a representative location for compliance monitoring, which was intended to monitor all or most discharges from the Fording River mine.
“The Fording River Operations Compliance Point instead measures isolated surface water that is predominantly mine-influenced water from one creek during low flow winter conditions,” read the report.
Teck proposed an alternative compliance point for Fording River and at the time was working on monitoring and analysis to support its proposal, and pursue an amendment under Permit 107517.
The remainder of exceedances in 2016 occurred at Line Creek Operations compliance point, EMS E297110 (LC_LCDSSLCC), and came after compliance limits for nitrate were reduced – dropping from a 14µg/L monthly average and 20µg/L daily maximum to 7µg/L monthly average and 9µg/L daily maximum.
The report stated that since that time, monitoring data indicated that the regional water quality model was not adequately projecting the nitrate loadings in Line Creek.
A third party qualified professional found that nitrate concentrations in most reaches of Line Creek in 2015 and 2016 were “below levels that would represent a risk to even the most sensitive aquatic species in the Elk Valley”.
The report also showed there were 138 reportable spills in 2016, mostly involving fuels or lubricants.
Greenhills had the highest number of spills in 2016 (48) followed by Fording River (35).
There was one spill reported to water, with Teck’s Sparwood office receiving a report of dust accumulation on the surface of Grave Lake, southeast of the Line Creek mine.
The source of dust in this incident was not determined, according to the report.
Teck also tested water samples for other constituents, such as mercury and iron, with less than 0.2 per cent (292) of 208,161 analyses showing concentrations above the B.C. approved or working water quality guideline for freshwater aquatic life.
The mining company has not yet released the annual water quality monitoring report for 2017, which must first go to the Environmental Monitoring Committee.
The group provides science-based and Ktunaxa Traditional Knowledge advice and input to Teck and the B.C. Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy regarding monitoring designs and reports in the Elk Valley.
Electronic copies of the reports currently available can be found at: Teck.com/responsibility/sustainabilitytopics/water/water-quality-in-the-elk-valley/research-and-monitoring-reports.