Obed Mountain coal mine spill

File:Athabasca River.jpg

On October 31, 2013, a waste pit at the Obed Mountain Mine failed near the town of Hinton in Alberta, Canada. Following the collapse of a tailings dam, up to {{convert|1|e9L|e6USgal|abbr=off}} of wastewater flooded into the nearby Athabasca River in what may have been the largest coal slurry spill in Canadian history.{{cite web|url=http://ecowatch.com/2013/11/08/canada-largest-coal-slurry-spill/|title=Did Canada Just Have the Largest Coal Slurry Spill in Its History?|first=Donna|last=Lisenby|date=November 8, 2013|work=EcoWatch|accessdate=17 February 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Bennett|first1=Dean|title=Hinton Coal Mine Leak Cleanup Ordered By Alberta Government|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/19/hinton-coal-mine-leak-cleanup_n_4305199.html|website=www.huffingtonpost.ca|publisher=The Huffington Post|date=January 23, 2014|accessdate=17 February 2016}} The river's waters experienced immediate spikes in arsenic, metals, and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Although the Athabasca was deemed safe for drinking and wildlife by the end of the year, the extent of the environment's recovery remained in doubt.

Spill

Located about {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Hinton, the Obed Mountain Mine was a {{convert|7460|ha|acres|adj=on}} thermal coal mine with the capacity to produce about {{convert|3.2|e6t|e9lb|abbr=off}} of coal per year;{{cite web|url=http://obed.ca/about-obed/|title=About Obed – Obed Mountain Mine|work=Obed Mountain Mine|accessdate=17 February 2016}} {{convert|2.6|e6t|e9lb|abbr=off}} are proven to exist, and up to {{convert|84.7|e6t|e9lb|abbr=off|adj=pre|more}} were posited. Tailings ponds were constructed to contain water used to wash coal; besides wastewater, the pools also contained fine rock and clay particles, unrecovered coal, and flocculents. Operations were suspended in 2012 because of economic pressures, and around {{convert|624|ha|acres}} of the mine had been reclaimed.

On October{{nbsp}}31, 2013, one of the mine's tailings dams failed, and between 600 million and one billion litres ({{convert|600,000,000|to|1,000,000,000|L|e6USgal|abbr=unit|disp=out}}) of slurry poured into the Plante and Apetowun Creeks.{{cite web|url=https://news.vice.com/article/two-years-later-charges-laid-in-massive-alberta-coal-mine-spill|title=Two Years Later, Charges Laid in Massive Alberta Coal Mine Spill|first=Meagan|last=Wohlberg|work=Vice News|date=October 21, 2015|accessdate=17 February 2016}} The plume of waste products then joined the Athabasca River, travelling downstream for a month before settling in Lake Athabasca near Fort Chipewyan, over {{convert|500|km|mi|abbr=on}} away.

Environmental impact

In the first month after the spill, water quality tests revealed the presence of metals and chemicals such as cadmium, arsenic, manganese, lead, mercury, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in excess of limits for consumption or life along the first {{convert|40|km|mi|abbr=on}} of the Athabasca River.{{cite journal|last=Cooke|first=Colin|date=2016|title=Initial environmental impacts of the Obed Mountain coal mine process water spill into the Athabasca River (Alberta, Canada)|journal=Science of the Total Environment| volume=557-558 | pages=502–509 | doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.058 | pmid=27017080 | bibcode=2016ScTEn.557..502C |doi-access=free}} Mercury, for instance, was found to be nine times higher than normal, while PAHs were at levels four times higher than the Canadian standard for potable water. As a result, residents were discouraged from drinking any of the Athabasca as well as watering any livestock or pets.{{cite web|last1=Griwkowsky|first1=Catherine|title=Extent of environmental damage caused by Obed Mine spill will not be known until spring|url=http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/02/27/extent-of-environmental-damage-caused-by-obed-mine-spill-will-not-be-known-until-spring|website=www.edmontonsun.com|date=February 27, 2014|publisher=The Sun (Edmonton|accessdate=17 February 2016}}

By December 2013, as the plume reached Fort McMurray, government officials reported that water from the Athabasca was once again below safety thresholds for both wildlife and drinking water. Monitoring continued for at least two years, although First Nations representatives disputed the rigour of the sampling program, its exclusion of data from sediment, and the lack of information made available to the public.

Aftermath

In October 2015, the Alberta Energy Regulator corporation filed charges against the mine's operators, Sheritt Coal and Coal Valley Resources Inc.,{{cite news|last1=Weber|first1=Bob|last2=Cotter|first2=John|title=Companies charged over 2013 coal tailings pond spill: Alberta Energy Regulator|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/companies-charged-over-2013-coal-tailings-pond-spill-alberta-energy-regulator/article26855770/|date=October 16, 2015|website=www.theglobeandmail.com|publisher=The Globe and Mail|accessdate=17 February 2016}} on several counts of violations of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, the Water Act, and the Public Lands Act which could have amounted up to a $2.2 million fine.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSnMKW09hjQa+1c2+MKW20151016|title=Charges Laid Regarding October 2013 Obed Mountain Coal Mine Spill|author=Reuters Editorial|date=16 October 2015|work=Reuters|accessdate=17 February 2016}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Proceedings began on January{{nbsp}}20, 2016.

In June 2017, Prairie Mines & Royalty, formerly known as Coal Valley Resources, a subsidiary of Sheritt Coal, was fined $4.5 million after the company pled guilty to two violations of federal law under the Fisheries Act and one violation of Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act.{{cite news |author= |title=Coal mine fined $4.5M for 2013 spill that contaminated Athabasca River |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/obed-mountain-mine-fine-athabasca-spill-1.4154792|work=CBC News|location=Edmonton|date=9 June 2017 |access-date=6 April 2021}}