Coal Valley: The story of B.C.'s quiet water contamination crisis

In this beautiful valley in southern British Columbia - a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts - a water crisis is slowly unfolding. The Elk Valley is home to some of Canada's largest mines, which grow daily in an unrelenting pursuit of metallurgical coal, used primarily to create steel. With the coal extracted in these mines, owned and operated by one of B.C.'s most influential corporations, Teck Resources, comes selenium, a naturally occurring element that, while fine in small doses, can quickly become toxic to aquatic life.
Selenium levels in the Elk Valley are off the charts - far above the limits set out in B.C.'s water quality guidelines. And yet, coal mining operations continue unabated in the Elk, where fish are suffering from misshapen jaws and missing gill plates - signature birth defects caused by selenium poisoning. Now, residents are being warned not to drink water from local wells that are contaminated with selenium at levels above what is considered safe for human consumption.
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[@pendoreille6186]

Excellent video, thank you. We have issues in norther Washington too from cross-border pollution, including the attempt to install a toxic silicon smelter in our town, using British Columbia silica sand. Stopped this polluting project for now, but we're not done fighting yet. The cross-border watersheds are common resources to both countries and must be protected at all costs.

[@goldenlily9478]

You have no idea what Canada goes thorough most of our gas and oil goes to you Americans everything you ask for oil,wood all we do is give you purify it take a fare percent and give the rest back the tailing ponds are the worse You could stop Alberta from building a pipeline across Canada for consumption but no....a tailing pond in BC 2014 destroyed two of our rivers and is still contaminated to this day Over 1M of our endangered salmon are gone and it's all cause of our need for fossil fuels Alberta is even destroying BC because of this consumption they slowly just slowly slip their industrial oil mess to our province..

[@goldenlily9478]

Fuck Alberta man miles upon miles in the oilsands just gone...and they want a second pipeline and their non filtered oil in tailing ponds ain't normal oil in the sands...it sinks to the surface and contaminated the soil....it cannot be cleaned noir undone

[@craigmurray5367]

@@goldenlily9478 theres nothing wrong with another pipeline through BC, go vote for the green party if you want the economy to die

[@janemarsh5089]

That just makes me heartsick! The selenium issue is a HUGE one, is failing, but the mines and politicians just proceed as though there isn't an issue. Where's everyone's common sense? Obviously, everything is for sale!

[@roydoyle-baker7915]

And the assault continues unabated. This is what we don’t want happening on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The UCP is pursuing a course of death for the environment, encompassing species at risk, water, air quality, Albertans, and our neighbours to the East and South. Even hard science, hard data, seem to belie common sense with this government. Please pass this doc on. Thanks

[@susanpodlog2194]

I live in sparwood and the selenium is truly mutating the fish. I catch so many that are deformed from this stuff. So sad. I've been fishing these creeks since I was a young boy and could catch a good 20 fish in a day now you can maybe catch 2 if you are lucky. I hate the greedy owners of teck

[@goldenlily9478]

Sometimes I think fucking Alberta slips their mine industry in look what happened in 2014 with a tailing pond the Fraser River still looks horrible...and it's 2020 it killed over 1M endangered salmon

[@cindywagner4623]

Guidelines, not laws ......

[@tweetiebirdquesnelbc422]

Keep up the awareness. Be it mining, forestry or pulp mills people have to make up their minds what they are willing to live with. A video of interest might also be working conditions, pollution and greed. A living example in Quesnel BC

[@MourningReason]

Yup shut down all industry in BC! BC doesn't need the natural resource industry. You know what is best, go you!

[@tweetiebirdquesnelbc422]

In your film an interesting comment about guides lines and not law regarding selenium! The clean energy act of 2010 stated that the smart meter must be installed by 2012. This appears to be a legal purchase order available to just a very small handful of suppliers. Where were the voices during this implementation process within a statute. Who was looking after the interests of the people of BC then. This is a compounded green issue regarding the all encompassing energy sector. Wow this is a large topic.......

[@amandacline21]

How can this be stopped? What can someone do to help the environment, animals and people?

[@kenparke6801]

Lots can be done to help the environment, animals and people. Our company, a wastewater treatment company, have had a couple calls with Teck to discuss what we can provide. We can get reduce contaminations below acceptable levels, it does come at a cost and I believe that is where things stop. In one of our calls we were advised that any new technology takes Teck "7 to 10 years to implement", that immediately tells me that the technology they are using to treat the water is 10 years outdated.

[@tweetiebirdquesnelbc422]

We do not have to go back very far in history..when our asbestos industry came to the forefront and then the continuation of use not in Canada but to export it to India and other countries with less awareness??? or regulation??? or what ever??? allowing them to utilize the product into products and sell to consumers elsewhere or perhaps within their own population. Recently Mt Polly's mine closure due to lower copper price (temporary until perhaps Cu rebounds. Let us remember the mine dam breach in 2014 that spilled it's content into Polly Lake and then into Quesnel Lake, then into the Quesnel River and then perhaps into the Fraser River and perhaps into the Pacific Ocean. Consider the meters of sediment at the mouth at Likely BC. Not to mention the land change environmentally due to its force. Our friends, the liberal government and Imperial Metals and the Mine Act are all doing a good job! Do I need to further comment on say mining in Manitoba or the old 6Km Enbridge pipe line crossing the great lakes in Ontario! The use of force on protesters on a pipeline to Kitimat for natural Gas over unceded lands, just to get started. Wow jobs for Jobes and silver for Judea for humour.

[@duelenigma7732]

coal , oil doesn't matter they never clean up their mess . Owners should be punished but never are . Human waste .

[@marcussampson4308]

Fuck yea! These towns wouldn't even be here if it weren't for these mines

[@rosstaggart6117]

Ummm.. We don't need towns there.

[@MourningReason]

@@rosstaggart6117 Damn straight, everyone should just live in the big cities where all the very smart people like yourself live. Where food comes out of the supermarket, buidlings come out of the ground with with cement from a cement truck. Nothing in nature ever needs to be disturbed for you.........

[@2DEKAY]

Wow this is wild, i am sad to hear our government has dropped the ball like this 😢

[@briananderson6142]

These mines work with complete immunity to the law. They create so many jobs and threaten to shut down if persecuted. The Government gives them a paltry fine and 20-25 years to clean it up.

[@DanRedwater]

where are the watchdogs?

[@avail1.]

Isaiah 24:5/James 5:1-5 But not forever

[@kittybanana9389]

Wow BC, great Idea. Pollute the freaking river!. Please close the mine! BC doesn't even burn coal for power!

[@Ur_mom69123]

Kitty Banana the coal is not thermal it is metallurgical coal for steel making

[@craigmurray5367]

Its all exported, trained to the coast, and shipped over seas.... this is 4-5% of the provinces GDP, its needed, also, they're spending billions on water treatment projects now

[@ddooodddoo]

Without the coal mines 6 communities will die and become ghost towns and killing 2% of the country's income

[@MourningReason]

That's right Kitty, close all the mines, we don't need no coal, we don't need steel for anything or money of any kind. You know what is best, go you!