Two Rivers Top British Columbia's Endangered List

VANCOUVER, Canada, March 14, 2001 (ENS) - Britannia Creek, the mountain waterway running through one of the most polluted abandoned mines in North America, is British Columbia's most endangered river.

That is according to the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C. (ORC), a coalition of 40 provincial outdoor recreation organizations and conservation groups representing 120,000 members. Each year, the ORC compiles B.C.'s "Most Endangered Rivers" list.

Britannia Mine's 74 year old mill overlooks Howe Sound. Fewer stretches of water in British Columbia or Canada are more polluted. (Photo by Neville Judd)

The spill forced the town of Chetwynd, 310 kilometers (192 miles) north of Prince George, to find emergency drinking water, and affected fish, wildlife and riverside vegetation. Today, the river remains at risk, and oil will continue to be released from soil, gravel, and the riverbed itself for years to come, said the ORC.

Britannia Creek's problems date back much further. Fifty kilometers (30 miles) north of Vancouver, the creek flows from Mount Sheer directly into Howe Sound through the site of what was once the largest copper mine in Canada.

The Britannia Mine closed in 1974 but the rock laid bare by 70 years of copper mining combined with two meters (6.6 feet) of rain a year, five open pits and a network of tunnels estimated to be 210 kilometers (130 miles) long, provide the perfect conditions for acid mine drainage.

Sign welcoming visitors to Chetwynd. (Photo by Jane Tait, courtesy District of Chetwynd)

Every day, up to 50 million liters of toxic runoff flows from the abandoned mine site into Howe Sound.

According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, mine waste from Britannia Creek is one of the most serious marine pollution problems affecting fish habitat in B.C.

Elevated copper and zinc levels in bivalves have been noted 18 kilometers from Britannia Beach. Surveys of bottom dwelling organisms in the Britannia Beach area have shown high levels of copper and zinc in crabs, oysters, mussels and shrimp and reduced numbers of these species.

Copper levels in Britannia Bay surface waters are at several times the toxic level for most marine organisms and are six times the "never to exceed level" set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Mark Angelo, chairman of the Outdoor Recreation Council and the Endangered Rivers Committee. (Photo courtesy B.C. Ministry of Environment, Land and Parks)

"The Endangered River's list for this year highlights the wide range of threats that can affect the health of our waterways," said Angelo. "The ORC is drawing attention to those rivers where the need for action and an appropriate response from government is deemed most urgent."

Nearly three decades after the Britannia Mine received its first pollution abatement notice, Britannia Creek's lower reaches and part of Howe Sound remain devoid of life.

All sides agree that the only solution for acid mine drainage is to build a treatment plant to neutralize the acid and capture the metals before the runoff reaches aquatic life. But no one who allegedly profited from the 53.6 million tonnes of ore (including 15.3 tonnes of gold and 180 tonnes of silver) mined at Britannia appears in any hurry to foot the bill.

The B.C. government's waste management branch is currently mired in the "responsible party process."

Map of Britannia Beach in relation to Vancouver, to the south. (Photo courtesy Britannia Beach Historical Society)

These parties, which include several U.S. companies, the Canadian government and the B.C. government, have met several times to agree on a plan of action to avoid being named responsible parties.

Driedger has extended each party's submission deadline several times to accommodate the talks and called for a final agreement by February 28. That deadline has since passed without an agreement so Driedger has resumed the submissions process.

Under the process, each party files submissions commenting on remediation requirements, explains why they are not to blame and points out who is. The last submissions are due in March 29, after which Driedger is expected to name which parties are responsible for carrying out the remediation order.

A full list of B.C.'s most endangered rivers, with reasons for their inclusion, follows.

• 1. Upper Pine River - oil pipeline spill and continued long term release of oil.

• 1. Britannia Creek - severe impact of acid runoff from mine waste into freshwater and marine environments

• 2. Okanagan River - channelization, riverbank vegetation removal, agricultural runoff.

• 3. Coquitlam River - heavy silt and sediment flows from gravel mining operations, industry, urban sprawl, pollution.

• 4. Fraser River - particularly Hope to Chilliwack section because of habitat loss, threatened fish stocks, logging, corridor loss, pollution, industry, gravel extraction.

• 5. South Coast Steelhead Streams - steelhead streams located on eastern Vancouver Island and Vancouver's Lower Mainland because of threatened fish stocks, habitat loss, logging, urbanization, industry.