Opinion: Protect Alaska’s transboundary rivers from Canadian mining pollution

Has been updated: 46 few minutes ago release date: 46 few minutes ago

Finally convinced the governments of Canada and the United States to convene an International Joint Commission (IJC) to address years of coal mining pollution in southeastern British Columbia (BC) and Montana’s Elk Valley. The success of the Ktunaxa Nation has been tremendous. transaction. The IJC is provided for and guided by the Boundary Waters Treaty signed by Canada and the United States in 1909. The IJC researches and recommends solutions to cross-border problems at the request of national governments.

While this is great news, the Ktunaxa Nation, whose traditional territory includes much of the Kootenay region of British Columbia and parts of Alberta, Montana, Washington, and Idaho, will receive recognition from the U.S. had to overcome long-term negotiations that lasted more than 10 years. It called for the Government of Canada to implement the IJC’s standards and develop a plan to reduce the effects of selenium pollution that has long plagued the Elk and Kootenay watersheds. Taking so long to deal with an insidious and potentially irreversible problem is not something the governments of the United States, Canada, or British Columbia should be proud of.

The Ktunaxa Nation’s success now reflects the importance of what we can do here across the border in Alaska and British Columbia to prevent the same fate from befalling the rivers on which the people of this region depend for almost everything. This raises the question of whether it should be done. Ktunaxa’s accomplishments provided further impetus to raise awareness of his IJC efforts and other federal efforts to protect transboundary rivers (Taku, Stikine, Unuk, and Chilkat). I would appreciate it if you could. To find solutions to reduce toxic mine drainage, decades after it has already polluted rivers and damaged local economies and ways of life, we must go through a history similar to that of the Ktunaxa Nation. Unacceptable. We need to prevent mine pollution from causing problems in the first place. You won’t have to fix the problem for years to come.

While the request for an IJC reference is undoubtedly legitimate for the entire transnational region, Sen. Lisa Murkowski made just that suggestion in a September 15, 2023 letter to President Joe Biden. This is especially important for the Unuk River basin. . Currently, he has four mining projects within 32 miles. Mutual radii at different stages of exploration and development that directly affect the Unuk River. Given that B.C.’s policies and processes for assessing the cumulative impacts of multiple mines within a basin or geographic area are woefully inadequate, an IJC reference or similar action would be helpful to address this rapid and widespread impact. may be the only way to analyze the cumulative impacts of mining exploration. And development.

Of particular concern is the large-scale Kar Sulfarets Mitchell (KSM) gold mining project located within the Unuk and Nass river basins. The project is currently undergoing substantial commencement, which is required under the BC Environmental Assessment Act for mining projects within 10 years of issuance of the project’s environmental assessment certificate. If the project has been substantially started, the certificate is valid for the life of the project. This process does not address any of these issues, whether related to climate change, new scientific information, or regulatory reform, so it is important to ensure that downstream communities are protected by timely amendments to certificates and project approvals. pose environmental, cultural and social risks. In the case of the KSM project, the data informing the certificate approval is over 10 years old, and his latest KSM mine plan is completely different and than what the certificate was originally approved for. It’s much larger.

Federal involvement is now needed to prevent and stop BC mines from polluting rivers across the Alaska-BC border. Preventing problems caused by mine pollution is the top priority. Having to clean up the mess years later, after the damage has already been done, shouldn’t be a consideration.

brian lynch He is a former commercial fisheries biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and currently works on Canadian mining issues in the Alaska-British Columbia border region of southeast Alaska for Rivers Without Borders. He has resided in Southeast Alaska for his 43 years and currently resides in Petersburg.

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