Tag: environmental monitoring

Categories
Community Exploration Remediation

A letter from the Mount Polley Team

Happy Holidays – we hope that everyone enjoyed a joyous holiday season and wish you all the best for 2021.

A Covid-19 update – Mount Polley employees continue to take additional precautions to minimize the risks of COVID19 transmission and illness as recommended by the Provincial Health Officer. All personnel continued to report to work in Q4.

Employees and site visitors are required to sign off on a daily COVID-19 Questionnaire before entering the site and will be turned away if showing symptoms of illness.

Mount Polley Mine: Care and Maintenance

Bulletins regarding the mines care and maintenance:

  • The environmental monitoring programs continue and are on track
  • Closure research projects continue as planned
  • Remediation of Hazeltine Creek continued at Lower Hazeltine, projected to be complete in 2021
  • Workforce consists of thirteen staff plus additional contractors
  • Site water management continues, including the near-continuous operation of the water treatment plant
  • Exploration Geological Mapping of new areas on mine site
  • CANMAG shipping magnetite

Environmental Monitoring Update

Environmental team: Matt O’Leary, Gabriel Holmes, Kala Ivens, Alicia Lalonde (DWB Consultant), Kim Sandy, Don Parsons (Corporate Office)

New Hire

Kimberly Sandy was hired on November 16 as the newest member of the Mount Polley environmental team.  She has been hired as an Environmental Technician and extensive on-site training is underway.

New ENV Permit

A new ENV permit 11678 was issued on December 31, 2020 that incorporates conditions from a previous consent order because of ongoing appeals of conditions within the permit as issued on February 1, 2020.

Quarter 4 routine monitoring activities completed:

  • Weekly WTP water quality sampling including monthly/quarterly toxicity sampling
  • Monthly water quality sampling at Hazeltine Creek 
  • Monthly & Quarterly water quality sampling of surface & mine affected waters including groundwater, mine seepage
  • Hydrological monitoring
  • Polley Lake, Bootjack Lake, & Quesnel Lake water quality sampling 
  • All critical ditches, sumps, ponds, and pipeline inspections 
  • Monthly/quarterly Waste Inspections
  • Continued investigation of unauthorized discharges and exceedances
  • Reporting—monthly, quarterly, investigations
  • Monitoring planning as per the Comprehensive Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) and ENV Permit 11678

Specialized Environmentally Related Work

During the course of the year, we enlist the help of numerous environmental consulting companies to complete some of the specialized components of the environmental monitoring done at Mount Polley Mine.  Examples include bird song surveys or benthic and invertebrate studies in the remediated areas of Hazeltine Creek.  Most of our consultants completing specialized environmental work have wrapped up their field seasons and are processing data and interpreting their field observations in preparation for delivering their reports.  Some of these reports satisfy CEMP requirements and some are stand alone studies.  The results of this work can be found in the upcoming Mount Polley Mine Annual Environmental Report.  Some of the companies that we engage with include Golder Associates Ltd, Minnow Environmental Inc., DWB Consulting Services Ltd., Ensero Solutions, and Watersmith.

Environmental monitoring is conducted in accordance with the Environmental Management Act (EMA) Permit 11678 and the approved Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring Plan (CEMP) requirements.

Snow corer for evaluating snowpack.

MPMC Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Update

In Quarter 4, the total treated water discharged to Quesnel Lake was ~1,592,581 mᵌ with an average discharge rate of ~0.2mᵌ/second.

The plant operated continuously for most of Quarter 4.  Water quality samples were collected weekly at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at the influent (E19) and effluent (HAD-3) sites throughout the quarter.  To further optimize the plant operations the WTP operators have been utilizing a Hanna Multiparameter Photometer to assess influent and effluent copper concentrations to help guide daily plant operations.  We are developing a data set comparing the field readings to the lab results to verify the reliability of the instrument. 

Water Treatment Plant Laboratory

Permit Exceedance

On November 11, 2020, a permit exceedance for elevated copper was observed at the WTP.  Through the course of the resulting investigation, the plant was shut down for four days, additional samples were collected (in recirculation mode), a site contact water review was completed, the source of copper was identified, plant operations and site conditions were assessed key findings were identified and operational recommendations were compiled. The plant resumed normal operation on November 27, 2020.

Bypass Request

On October 26, 2020, MPMC requested a bypass of the authorized works (the WTP) to discharge mine site contact water that is being stored in the Springer Pit without active treatment.  Through the course of the last year, the water quality in the pit has improved greatly and meets the end of pipe permit limits as indicated by the sample results taken during on-site monitoring.  This is the result of the water clarifying and passive in-situ treatment occurring in the pit.  The bypass request also included water from the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) and the Cariboo Pit provided that they meet the end of pipe permit limits.  Significant water quality fluctuations are not expected because of the single-source nature of the bypass.  Monitoring is planned to increase in the Springer Pit to provide early warning of water quality changes and will remain at the same frequency at the end of the pipe.

Another driver for this request is to aid MPMC in eliminating surplus water currently being stored on site.  The quantity of water stored on-site currently exceeds “Best Practices” as advised by the Tailings Storage Facility Engineer of Record.  A bypass authorization will enable MPMC to increase discharge volumes while still meeting permit limits and BC Water Quality Guidelines. This will also limit year-over-year accumulation of stored water on site.  A similar bypass authorization request was submitted by MPMC in 2016 and approved by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment (MoE) on March 11, 2016.

Water Treatment Plant and Discharge Pipeline to Quesnel Lake

MPMC Water Treatment Plant (WTP) Update-Graph

Hazeltine/Edney Creek Remediation 

Remediation work was limited in Q4 to ground cover seeding and seed collection efforts.  All areas that were disturbed by the 2020 construction near Hazeltine and Edney Creek were seeded.  Additional Sitka Alder and Cattail seeds were collected for distribution.  The native ground cover seed blend that is used in the remediation is comprised of Mountain Brome, Native Red Fescue, Rocky Mountain Fescue, Bluebunch Wheatgrass, Blue Wildrye, Fireweed, and Big Leaf Lupine.

Lower Edney Creek and Secondary High Flow Channel
Newly Constructed Edney Creek Outfall to Quesnel Lake
Hazeltine Creek Reach 3
Ice Forming in Lower Edney Creek

Exploration Update

In late 2019, a comprehensive exploration program consisting of a geochemical MMI-soil sample survey and a geophysical 3D-IP survey was carried out over the Frypan/Morehead area located west and north of the Mount Polley mine. The target area is roughly 3 by 3 kilometers in size, largely till covered and shows a similar magnetic response to that obtained over the Mount Polley mine host rock of monzonite and hydrothermally altered monzonite breccia pipes. 

In June 2020, an additional 3D-IP survey was conducted over the Mount Polley mine site to identify the geophysical response of the known mineralization. 

Interpretation of the new geophysical data sets led to numerous high-priority targets both in the Frypan/Morehead area and on the mine site. 

A drill program was planned to test the new high-priority targets on and off the mine site and to expand zones of known mineralization on the mine site. The first phase of drilling was carried out at the end of 2020. 

Due to prolonged delays with assay labs, the program is waiting for results before drillings resume. 

MPMC EVENTS

Quarter 4, 2020

October 7:

Public Liaison Committee (PLC) Meeting via conference call

Upcoming

February 3, 2020

Public Liaison Committee (PLC) Meeting via conference call

You can also download this newsletter in PDF formatDownload

Resources

imperialmetals.com

BC Mine Information Page: https://mines.nrs.gov.bc.ca/

BC Ministry of Environment Natural Resource and Enforcement Database: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/ocers/searchApproved.do?submitType=menu

If you have any questions regarding the Community Update, please email Gabriel Holmes at gabriel.holmes@mountpolley.com

Categories
Monitoring

Mount Polley Environmental Monitoring

Remediated wetland habitat in Polley Flats
Remediated wetland habitat in Polley Flats - Released under Creative Commons CC0

Environmental monitoring programs and closure research projects at Mount Polley mine site continue as planned. Remediation construction at the lower Hazeltine Creek and Edney Creek began this summer. Mount Polley staff, with assistance from Golder Associates Ltd., have begun development of the 2022 Water Management Plan.

Monitoring activities include regular water quality and toxicity sampling at:

  • water treatment plant (WTP) 
  • surface waters of Polley Lake, Bootjack Lake, Hazeltine Creek, Edney Creek & Quesnel Lake
  • mine contact waters including groundwater & mine seepage with flow rates

Regular inspections of all critical ditches, sumps, ponds, pumping systems and pipelines.

Ongoing surveys and studies include:

  • spawning activity in Hazeltine & Edney Creeks
  • remediated terrestrial habitats; vegetation growth, nesting sites and wildlife usage
  • aquatic habitats; fish population & tissue, zooplankton, phytoplankton, benthic invertebrates and sediments in Bootjack, Polley & Quesnel Lakes
  • dilution modelling of the Quesnel Lake discharge
  • semi-passive and passive water treatment options for closure which include a constructed wetland treatment system pilot study and a saturated rock fill bench scale test
Tour of aquatic habitat construction in lower Hazeltine Creek
Tour of aquatic habitat construction in lower Hazeltine Creek
Hazeltine Creek Reach One revegetated riparian area – Released under Creative Commons CC0
Categories
Remediation

Mount Polley water quality is evidence of remediation

Mount Polley water quality
Water quality and monitoring is fundamental to the Mount Polley remediation process for site recovery.

Mount Polley takes water quality very seriously. Extensive monitoring is evidencing the effectiveness of the remediation and site water management programs undertaken by Mount Polley.

How is water quality monitored in Polley and Quesnel Lakes to ensure proper environmental monitoring is being carried out?

  • Mount Polley follows the BC-ENV approved Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring Plan. The results for all our monitoring sites are published in the publicly available Annual Environmental and Reclamation Reports.
  • You can find a link to the current report here: 2019 Environmental Report 
  • Polley Lake water met all BC Water Quality Guidelines for aquatic life parameters in 2019 with the exception of phosphorus, which was elevated even prior to mining. As Polley Lake is immediately adjacent to the mine site, this indicates the mine is doing a very good job of capturing and controlling run-off.
  • A number of sites are monitored in Quesnel Lake, and in 2019 there were no exceedances of acute BC Water Quality Guidelines.
  • At one monitoring site in Quesnel Lake, there was one minor copper exceedance of chronic BC Water Quality Guidelines in 2019, but as copper is also naturally occurring in the native soils and sediments around Quesnel Lake, and there are a number of creeks that empty into the lake near this sample site, it is difficult to know if this exceedance was natural or related to the mine.

We often get asked if we continue to discharge into Polley Lake or Quesnel Lake?

The mine discharges mine site water, that meets strict permit limits, through diffusers at depth into Quesnel Lake. This water is the only substance the mine is discharging to Quesnel Lake. The mine does not discharge water into Polley Lake.

  • Mount Polley discharges only mine site water that meets strict Environmental Management Act (EMA) permit guidelines.
  • treated by a water treatment plant, when needed to meet permit requirements, before being released into Quesnel Lake. The water going into the treatment plant (influent) is monitored on an ongoing basis, and the treated water leaving the plant (effluent) is sampled regularly for analysis. Not all water at Mount Polley requires treatment to meet EMA permit water quality guidelines before discharge, and in the past, water that was simply stored in Springer Pit was found suitable for passive discharge.
  • The lake water quality is also routinely monitored and sampled regularly as part of the mine’s Comprehensive Environmental Monitoring Plan.

Continued monitoring data confirm that remediation efforts are effective.

  • Currently, there are no indications in the monitoring data that the water discharged from Mount Polley is having any negative effects on Quesnel Lake water quality or aquatic life.
  • If you are interested in looking at water quality data collected on surface water in the area around the Mount Polley mine, in addition to data in the mine’s annual reports, results are available through the BC Government Surface Water Monitoring Sites Interactive Map.

Categories
Community Remediation

Staying connected to the community during Mount Polley’s remediation

Did you know that over the past six years, over 39 community meetings have been organized and hosted by Mount Polley management and environmental staff?

Mount Polley is committed to the environment and to ensuring the community is kept up to date on remediation efforts.

Over 24 meetings have been held in Likely, the community in closest proximity to the Mount Polley mine. Meetings have also been held in the communities of Quesnel, Horsefly, Big Lake and Williams Lake.

These meetings provide an opportunity for local residents to learn about the activities and progress of the remediation work and research programs being conducted, and the opportunity to engage and ask questions.

There is still work being done to complete the rebuilding of fish habitat in Hazeltine Creek. The rebuilding and revegetating of the lower part of the creek will be the last part of the remediation work to be done.

Guest speakers have included consultants and representatives from provincial Ministries who help educate the local community about environmental remediation.

Furthermore Mount Polley has established The Mount Polley Mine Public Liaison Committee (PLC).The PLC is comprised of representatives from the local communities of Likely, Big Lake, Horsefly and Williams Lake, local First Nations, government ministries, consultants and mine staff.

Meetings are held on a quarterly basis, with the purpose to share information about activities at the mine site with the PLC members, who are there as representatives of their communities. The agenda for each meeting includes updates on mine operations, environmental monitoring, and remediation. There is also a roundtable discussion at each meeting for all participants to pose questions and discuss any community concerns.

Categories
Remediation

Mount Polley Remediation’s 2019 Environmental Update

Extensive remediation work in the areas affected by the 2014 breach at Mount Polley has been achieved during the past five years.

Over $70 million dollars has been spent on clean-up work, including environmental impact and risk assessment studies, and remediation and monitoring of areas impacted by the spill.

Throughout 2019, the environmental department collected 1,115 water and soil samples. 336 surface water, 234 lake samples, 104 contact water, 77 groundwater, 181 seep, and 153 soil/other samples.

The construction on Hazeltine Creek concluded at the beginning of October and will re-commence at Lower Hazeltine in the Spring of 2020. The flow of Hazeltine Creek was monitored monthly.

There are 3 on-site environmental technicians to do the water sampling, environmental monitoring, inspections including reporting, database, spreadsheet data entry, communication, and coordinating meetings/tours.

Even though environmental monitoring slows down in the winter months, the environmental staff remain busy in the office with reporting, data entry, database management, scheduling, meetings, shoveling snow and general cleaning duties.

We continue to work hard to exemplify the highest site remediation standards and look forward to updating you as our work continues.