Teck Resources water-treatment plant shut after dead fish found – by Mark Hume (Globe and Mail – October 28, 2014)

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

VANCOUVER — A $100-million treatment plant that is a key piece of Teck Resources Ltd.’s plan to address a selenium pollution problem in British Columbia’s Elk Valley has been taken off line because of a fish kill.

In a statement, Teck says the Line Creek plant, which went into operation in July, temporarily shut down “as a precautionary measure” while technicians try to figure out what went wrong. Teck states a problem was first noticed Oct. 16 when “fish were found deceased in the area of the water-treatment facility.”

A total of 45 fish were found dead near the plant, which was built as part of a $600-million, five-year plan to address the pollution threat to westslope cutthroat trout and other aquatic life in the Elk Valley.

Environment Canada recently reported selenium levels are so high in the Fording River that trout are hatching with deformed gills, fins, jaws, spines and craniums. Teck’s statement says the cause of the Line Creek fish kill isn’t known at this time.

“While the investigation into this incident is ongoing, the startup process of the water treatment facility – recently installed to reduce selenium in water – may potentially be related to the incident,” says the statement released by Nic Milligan, manager of community and aboriginal affairs for Teck.

“It will now be necessary to decommission, then restart and recommission the water-treatment facility. This will allow for enough time to fully understand the cause of the incident and implement any mitigation measures that may be required. As a result, full operation of the water treatment facility is now not expected until early 2015,” it states.

“We take this incident very seriously and are actively working to determine the cause,” said Mr. Milligan. “We are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure water quality and aquatic health is protected in the Elk Valley for the long term.”

For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/teck-water-treatment-plant-shut-down-after-dozens-of-dead-fish-found/article21359828/