Tracing the threat of mining in US waters
PABLO, Mont. — In the mountain streams of southern British Columbia and northern Montana, a rugged part of the world, fish with deformed skulls and twisted spines have been caught over the years.
Many scientists attribute the malformed creatures and the decline of some fish populations to five massive open-pit coal mines that interrupt this wild landscape of dense forest fringed with grizzly bears and wolves.
For decades, these mines owned by Teck Resources, a multinational mining company based in Canada, have been the subject of environmental concerns due to chemicals like selenium, a mining waste , which seeps into mountain rivers that flow through Indigenous lands and cross the border into the United States. waterways.
Selenium is an important natural chemical in the environment as a trace element. But selenium pollution has long been recognized as an extremely dangerous by-product of coal mining. At higher concentrations, the chemical accumulates in the eggs and reproductive organs of fish and birds, and can cause a variety of adverse effects, including reduced reproduction, deformities, and death. The risk to human health from eating contaminated fish is not well understood.
Teck has repeatedly challenged various state and federal regulatory standards on what should be considered safe levels of selenium in waterways. And these limits differ for lakes and rivers and between countries, complicating monitoring efforts.
The latest case involves Montana and Idaho, where environmental lawsuits are campaigning over Montana's 2020 levels for Lake Koocanusa. Its state standard is in question as a debate rages over cross-border waterway pollution, part of the war between regulators, tribal nations and scientists against Teck over whether the levels pose a danger to aquatic life.
In a 2020 Science journal letter, a group of scientists warned of cross-border pollution from Canadian mines and criticized what they and others attributed to a lack of regulatory oversight. “Mine assessment and licensing does not require the incorporation of transparent, independent, peer-reviewed science,” they wrote. In Canada, they said, "Teck's Elk Valley permit allows for contaminant discharges up to 65 times greater than scientifically established fish protection thresholds."
They urged the Canadian and US governments to enter into bilateral negotiations, through the International Joint Commission, although previous calls were ignored.
In March, President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada pledged to reach an agreement this summer to reduce and mitigate water pollution in the Elk-Kootenay watershed. U.S. and Canadian officials say they are engaged in talks to set up a bilateral process in the coming months.
On the Montana standard, Teck challenged the levels of the State, which are more restrictive than American standards. “Continued and extensive monitoring confirms that selenium concentrations in the Koocanusa Reservoir are safe, not increasing and have been stable since 2012 and pose no risk to aquatic or human health,” spokesperson Chris Stannell said. of Teak.
< img alt="" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/07/11/multimedia/11SCI-SELENIUM-03-jfhp/11SCI-SELENIUM-03- jfhp-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?auto=webp&quality=90"/>
PABLO, Mont. — In the mountain streams of southern British Columbia and northern Montana, a rugged part of the world, fish with deformed skulls and twisted spines have been caught over the years.
Many scientists attribute the malformed creatures and the decline of some fish populations to five massive open-pit coal mines that interrupt this wild landscape of dense forest fringed with grizzly bears and wolves.
For decades, these mines owned by Teck Resources, a multinational mining company based in Canada, have been the subject of environmental concerns due to chemicals like selenium, a mining waste , which seeps into mountain rivers that flow through Indigenous lands and cross the border into the United States. waterways.
Selenium is an important natural chemical in the environment as a trace element. But selenium pollution has long been recognized as an extremely dangerous by-product of coal mining. At higher concentrations, the chemical accumulates in the eggs and reproductive organs of fish and birds, and can cause a variety of adverse effects, including reduced reproduction, deformities, and death. The risk to human health from eating contaminated fish is not well understood.
Teck has repeatedly challenged various state and federal regulatory standards on what should be considered safe levels of selenium in waterways. And these limits differ for lakes and rivers and between countries, complicating monitoring efforts.
The latest case involves Montana and Idaho, where environmental lawsuits are campaigning over Montana's 2020 levels for Lake Koocanusa. Its state standard is in question as a debate rages over cross-border waterway pollution, part of the war between regulators, tribal nations and scientists against Teck over whether the levels pose a danger to aquatic life.
In a 2020 Science journal letter, a group of scientists warned of cross-border pollution from Canadian mines and criticized what they and others attributed to a lack of regulatory oversight. “Mine assessment and licensing does not require the incorporation of transparent, independent, peer-reviewed science,” they wrote. In Canada, they said, "Teck's Elk Valley permit allows for contaminant discharges up to 65 times greater than scientifically established fish protection thresholds."
They urged the Canadian and US governments to enter into bilateral negotiations, through the International Joint Commission, although previous calls were ignored.
In March, President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada pledged to reach an agreement this summer to reduce and mitigate water pollution in the Elk-Kootenay watershed. U.S. and Canadian officials say they are engaged in talks to set up a bilateral process in the coming months.
On the Montana standard, Teck challenged the levels of the State, which are more restrictive than American standards. “Continued and extensive monitoring confirms that selenium concentrations in the Koocanusa Reservoir are safe, not increasing and have been stable since 2012 and pose no risk to aquatic or human health,” spokesperson Chris Stannell said. of Teak.
< img alt="" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/07/11/multimedia/11SCI-SELENIUM-03-jfhp/11SCI-SELENIUM-03- jfhp-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?auto=webp&quality=90"/>
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