Court ruling forces mining pollution to be revealed

[tango]

ENVIRONMENT

Court ruling forces mining pollution to be revealed

MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT

April 25, 2009

ENVIRONMENT REPORTER

Mining companies have long had a loophole in federal environmental right-to-know law that no other industry enjoys. Environment Canada has exempted them from having to track the full extent of the pollution their operations cause.

But a Federal Court ruling issued on Thursday will force Environment Canada to collect from the industry and divulge to the public the amount of toxic compounds in tailings and waste rocks found around every mine in the country.

It is a major victory for environmental organizations that have been pressing Ottawa for more than 16 years to have this information disclosed.

Environmentalists believe that when Ottawa releases the information, it will show that mining waste is the single largest source of industrial pollution in the country. The material is often laced with such hazardous compounds as arsenic and mercury, and if the rocks contain sulphur, is capable of creating sulphuric acid.

"The amount of pollution reporting by these mines is just going to be astronomical," predicted Justin Duncan, lawyer with Ecojustice, a public interest legal group that brought the case against the government on behalf of Great Lakes United and Mining Watch Canada, two environmental organizations.

U.S. mines have had to reveal this information for the past decade, and while they account for less than 1 per cent of industrial facilities, the sector is the source of nearly a quarter of all pollution in the United States, Mr. Duncan said.

more...

I'm glad to see this, not that it will stop them from evading the cleanup.

[bush_cheney2004]

U.S. mines have had to reveal this information for the past decade, and while they account for less than 1 per cent of industrial facilities, the sector is the source of nearly a quarter of all pollution in the United States, Mr. Duncan said.

[/i]

Well of course...if the Americans are doing it...it must be good.

[Smallc]

And every thread has to be hijacked by juvenile stick poking.

[bush_cheney2004]

And every thread has to be hijacked by juvenile stick poking.

...as "every thread" is started with selective American policies?

[g_bambino]

...as "every thread" is started with selective American policies?

The quoted article chose to point to US policies, not the person who posted it.

[bush_cheney2004]

The quoted article chose to point to US policies, not the person who posted it.

Right....the point being that "US policies" are embraced to advance an agenda, or discredited to oppose an agenda.

All is well.....

[g_bambino]

Right....the point being that "US policies" are embraced to advance an agenda, or discredited to oppose an agenda.

Maybe, but I don't believe that was the intended focus of the thread. Perhaps you could start one specifically on that subject, or take it up with the journalist who wrote the piece?

[bush_cheney2004]

Maybe, but I don't believe that was the intended focus of the thread. Perhaps you could start one specifically on that subject, or take it up with the journalist who wrote the piece?

Maybe it's just me who noticed, but the poster specifically bolded the reference to regulations for American mines.

So tell me about the focus again....

[tango]

Maybe it's just me who noticed, but the poster specifically bolded the reference to regulations for American mines.

So tell me about the focus again....

The focus is ... it is long overdue in Canada.

http://www.miningwatch.ca/index.php?/Canada_en

Canada: 16 lakes to be turned into toxic mine dumps

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/06/16/...9961411679&

"In northern B.C., Imperial Metals plans to enclose a remote watershed valley to hold tailings from a gold and copper mine. The valley lies in what the native Tahltan people call the "Sacred Headwaters" of three major salmon rivers. It also serves as spawning grounds for the rainbow trout of Kluela Lake, which is downstream from the dump site."

[g_bambino]

Maybe it's just me who noticed, but the poster specifically bolded the reference to regulations for American mines.

Do you see any other references he could have highlighted?

[bush_cheney2004]

The focus is ... it is long overdue in Canada.

Perhaps......and regardless of what the mining regulations are in the United States.

[August1991]

Hey, would you posters knock off the "She said, but he's a bigger ***." thread hijack?

According to the OP, the US has done this for 10 years and now Canada will follow. But will it cahnge anything?

Environmentalists believe that when Ottawa releases the information, it will show that mining waste is the single largest source of industrial pollution in the country. The material is often laced with such hazardous compounds as arsenic and mercury, and if the rocks contain sulphur, is capable of creating sulphuric acid.

"The amount of pollution reporting by these mines is just going to be astronomical," predicted Justin Duncan, lawyer with Ecojustice, a public interest legal group that brought the case against the government on behalf of Great Lakes United and Mining Watch Canada, two environmental organizations.

The people living around these mines presumably knew what was happening to their local environment and I am sure the change was reflected in local property values. Some people chose the high wages of working in a mine and the low property values of a mining community (since no one else wanted to live with mine tailings in their backyard).

The federal government can release this information but people already know it.

So what might change? These miners might lose their jobs because outside do-gooders decide to prohibit an activity.

[bush_cheney2004]

Hey, would you posters knock off the "She said, but he's a bigger ***." thread hijack?

No.....next question please.

According to the OP, the US has done this for 10 years and now Canada will follow. But will it cahnge anything?

The US position on this matter should drive regulation in Canada? Interesting.

So what might change? These miners might lose their jobs because outside do-gooders decide to prohibit an activity.

This has never stopped do gooders in the past.

[tango]

Hey, would you posters knock off the "She said, but he's a bigger ***." thread hijack?

According to the OP, the US has done this for 10 years and now Canada will follow. But will it cahnge anything?

The people living around these mines presumably knew what was happening to their local environment and I am sure the change was reflected in local property values. Some people chose the high wages of working in a mine and the low property values of a mining community (since no one else wanted to live with mine tailings in their backyard).

The federal government can release this information but people already know it.

So what might change? These miners might lose their jobs because outside do-gooders decide to prohibit an activity.

Don't you think mining has to be done sustainably too?

If the information is public, there will be more public pressure on them to clean up their act.

[Smallc]

The US position on this matter should drive regulation in Canada? Interesting.

If someone is doing something better, we should clearly follow it when it comes to something like the environment. We don't only look to the US for examples, we get much of our inspiration from Europe, Australia, ourselves, etc. The US, I'm sure, looks to others for example as well. Give it up already.

[bush_cheney2004]

Don't you think mining has to be done sustainably too?

If the information is public, there will be more public pressure on them to clean up their act.

The information is public. A few years ago, Health Canada was growing and distributing tainted cannabis in the Flin Flon Manitoba area of the most heavy metal contaminated remnants of mining and smelting.

Mining Watch Canada has been beating this drum for years.

[bill_barilko]

The information is public. A few years ago, Health Canada was growing and distributing tainted cannabis in the Flin Flon Manitoba area of the most heavy metal contaminated remnants of mining and smelting.

You're a little mixed up-the stuff was produced hydroponically in underground caverns not on mine tailings-not that you've seen either one.

Personally having worked for and with Canadian mining companies in the past I doubt little will change-they are the kind of people who are congenitally incapable of change because they are so stupid/self involved/selfish/ignorant it beggars belief-I doubt a gun to the head could change the way those dinosaurs operate.

Shortly they'll start to p!ss and moan and grumble about how hard it is to do business here and drop broad hints about greener pastures in places where the natives are more acquiescent/more easily bought

[bush_cheney2004]

You're a little mixed up-the stuff was produced hydroponically in underground caverns not on mine tailings-not that you've seen either one....

If you say so...I guess even these dopers got it wrong:

http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/toxic.html

I live very close to a mine with tailings....see it every frickin' day. So much for what you know....

Edited April 27, 2009 by bush_cheney2004

[bill_barilko]

If you say so...I guess even these dopers got it wrong:

http://www.medicalmarihuana.ca/toxic.html

I live very close to a mine with tailings....see it every frickin' day. So much for what you know....

There's nothing about results from the actual marijuana itself being tested just supposition because No tests on the actual Marijuana were ever conducted

Then there's this

"Health Canada Government Marijuana Cultivation at Flin Flon

From an interview by Cannabis Culture with Brent Zettl: "Water is piped down from the surface of a nearby lake, the same source used for drinking water by the local town of Flin Flon, and is tested on a weekly basis. The soil is the same soil that Prairie Plant also uses to grow fruit trees: local outdoor soil enriched with a mix of peat moss, coconut primer blend and fertilizer."

Just because you live in a sh!thole and see mine tailings doesn't mean you know anything about them-as your post prove.

I lived in a mining town north of Sudbury and saw them all the time-drove through Cobalt countless times and saw those-BFD.

[bush_cheney2004]

....Just because you live in a sh!thole and see mine tailings doesn't mean you know anything about them-as your post prove.

I lived in a mining town north of Sudbury and saw them all the time-drove through Cobalt countless times and saw those-BFD.

Oh...in others words...you don't know dick either? OK.

No "shithole" like your old town....didn't you read the OP....Americans have regulations. LOL!

[bill_barilko]

You've provided no proof of tainted Marijuana-you lose.

[bush_cheney2004]

You've provided no proof of tainted Marijuana-you lose.

How can I lose? ....I'm not a doper!