Ecojustice, Canada’s environmental law charity, alongside Canadian environment conservation charity Wildsight, has initiated a petition to the Federal government concerning the acquisition of coal mines in British Columbia’s Elk Valley by Swiss-based Glencore. The US$6.9 billion deal, announced last November, involves the takeover of mines from Canadian-owned Teck Resources and requires federal approval under the Investment Canada Act.
Environmental and Financial Concerns
“This petition will legally oblige the government to answer questions regarding how its final decision factors in the significant and foreseeable liability to taxpayers around the cleanup of these mines,” stated Casey Brennan, Wildsight Conservation Director.
The five Elk Valley coal mines have been plagued by selenium-contaminated runoff, which has led to an international water pollution crisis affecting areas from Sparwood and Fernie in B.C. to communities across the border in Montana and Idaho. Teck Resources’ operations have severely polluted the Elk River and its tributaries with high levels of selenium, creating one of the largest selenium contamination events globally and a significant environmental disaster in North America.
Besides selenium, these mines also discharge substantial amounts of sulphates, nitrates, nickel, and heavy metals like cadmium into the watershed. This pollution has resulted in calcite cementation in streambeds, destroying fish breeding habitats and impacting aquatic life. While Teck has made efforts to mitigate selenium pollution through water treatment facilities, other ecological damages remain largely unaddressed. The severity of Teck’s environmental impact is evident as they faced the largest Fisheries Act fine in history and prompted an International Joint Commission investigation by the Trudeau and Biden administrations.
Financial Implications
A Wildsight-commissioned report highlighted that taxpayers could be liable for billions of dollars in cleanup costs due to insufficient reclamation securities held by the B.C. government. Reclamation securities are financial assurances that mining companies must provide to cover environmental remediation costs. Currently, Teck has posted $1.49 billion as security, which is $417 million less than the estimated liability. Even if Teck meets the provincial requirements, this amount is dwarfed by the estimated $6.4 billion needed for full remediation, as per a recent independent expert study.
Concerns Over Glencore’s Track Record
Brennan expressed concerns about the financial risk to taxpayers increasing if the mines transfer to Glencore, which plans to spin off the mines within two years. “We want to know how Ottawa is factoring that risk into its decision making, and what it’s doing to make sure polluters, not taxpayers, pay,” he said.
Glencore’s environmental record is troubling, with failures in fulfilling modest reclamation commitments in B.C. and abandoning mines in Colombia, causing significant environmental and health issues. Their Horne Smelter in Quebec has led to severe arsenic pollution, prompting the relocation of 200 homes at a cost of $88.3 million. Additionally, the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company Plant in Montana, owned by Glencore, was declared a Superfund site due to extensive contamination, with cleanup costs estimated between $624 million and $1.4 billion USD.
Legal Obligations and Expectations
The petition, prepared by Ecojustice lawyers with Wildsight’s support, was submitted to Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry DeMarco. According to Fraser Thomson, an Ecojustice lawyer, “Pursuant to Section 22 of the Auditor General Act, Commissioner DeMarco is legally obliged to pass our petition on to the federal government. The appropriate ministers must consider and respond to all eight questions posed by it within 120 days.”
Thomson emphasized the need for answers on how the government is assessing the environmental and financial implications of Glencore’s takeover. “Is the government carefully considering how Glencore’s takeover will impact Canadian taxpayers, species, and landscapes? How is it factoring Glencore’s environmental track record into its decision? To what extent has it assessed Glencore’s human rights track record under international agreements such as UNDRIP? These are all questions that we hope to get answers to,” he said.
Future Outlook
A final decision on the proposed takeover is expected within the next few months. Ecojustice and Wildsight hope the federal government will impose conditions on the sale to ensure Glencore provides adequate reclamation securities to protect taxpayers, the environment, and local communities in the Kootenay watershed.
As the decision looms, it remains critical for the federal government to thoroughly evaluate the potential long-term environmental and financial impacts of Glencore’s acquisition to safeguard Canada’s natural resources and public funds.