By Phil McLachlan
Three charges have been laid against Teck Resources under the Fisheries Act for a fish mortality incident that occurred in 2014.
The deceased fish were found near the West Line Creek Active Water Treatment Facility between October 16 and November 5, 2014.
The Line Creek plant was temporarily shut down to prevent further damage, as well as allow technicians to examine the issue.
In 2015, The Free Press reported the fish died of nitrite poisoning, as well as a low level of dissolved oxygen in the water.
An extensive investigation was launched by Teck at the time of the incident, which resulted in the implementation of numerous new strategies to help ensure this would not happen again. This included improved monitoring, the creation of incident response systems, additional process controls, and the addition of an effluent buffer pond to allow Teck the ability to catch potential issues more efficiently in the future.
“At Teck, we take all environmental issues very seriously,” said Nic Milligan, Manager of Community and Aboriginal Affairs for Teck, in a statement to the press last Wednesday. “We are committed to working to improve our environmental performance and achieve the objectives for water quality improvements outlined in the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan.”
For more information, go to www.teck.com/elkvalley.