From previous page of the copper feund in’ acid mine drainage that v sexiety runs the B.C. Mining Museum, the raost vis- ible face of the Britattnia mine since it sits below the old seven-storey copper mill, cen- trepiece of dozens of movies and TV shows. Johnson was site boss for Anaconda when it closed down. He has plenty of reasons for wanting acid mine drainage dealt with. not the feast of , which is the poor image it gives the museum. “The site the museum is on is not contaminated but it’s the first place people come to and photograph when the issue is being reported. We're tar- nished with it.” However, he can sympathize with some of the companies being sought for the cleanup. “Who's responsible for the cleanup is a difficult question,” he said. “But Anaconda spent several years and a lot of money satistving the permits and reyu- lations of the time, before it was even alowed to sell the site. “It's a litte tike me buying the house that your gran ther built and discovering th the wiring’s faulty. Am I going to come. after you?” The closest the Britannia mine has come to getting a treatment plant was the plan proposed by the site’s own- ers, Copper Beach Estates (CBE). Last: year CBE received Waste Management and Mines Act permits from two B.C. ministries — Mines and Environment — for a plan to build a treatment plant to neutralize the avid and cap ture the metals The plan would Mine site into a landiill for nen- hazardous industrial wastes to effectively plug Britannia’s open pits and thereby reduce the inflow of rainwater and outflow of acid mine drainage Fees for dumping waste would America (Alcoa. the B.C. gov: emment, the Adantic Richfield Company (Arco), Caazinca hid. Ivace/Arrowhead Metals fad., the Canadian govern- ment and three of Aleoa’s sub- sidiaries located in| Delaware, (currently listed as one poten- tially responsible party) Intalco Aluminum Corporation, “The site the museum is on is not contaminated but it’s the first place people come to and photograph when the issue is being reported. We’re tar- nished with it.” — Britannia Beach Historical Society director Terry Johnson cover the annual $800,000 costs of running the treatment plant, according to CBE. Rut CBE could not tind the $4 million needed to build the treatment plane and did not conduct the required studies to begin cleanup of the site, there- by defaulting on its remedia- tion order. Ii is now one of the eight parties listed by deputy director of Waste Management Ron Driedger as potentially respon- sible tor the clean After several months nego- Wating the legal vagaries of cor- porate successor fiability and B.C.’s Waste Management Act, Driedger is expected to issue a new or amended remediation order next month, naming the parties responsible for cleaning up Britannia Mine. The other seven parties are: Aluminium Company — of Alumax Ine. and Howmer Holdings Corporation. “Jockeving” might best describe how the list got to be so large, and it could still grow, When potentially responsibl, parties are named they can sub- mit to the waste manage branch names of other compa- ies or authorities that the ve should be included. Some inclusions appear more tenuous than others. Through mergers, transfers of ownership and name changes, the mine's last opera- tors, Anaconda, can be linked to Canzinco, Ivaco/ Arrowhead and Arco, henee their inclusion. Copper Beach is included because it has owned the site since 1979. Alcoa was named after Canzinco argued that the com. pany is the legal successor to the Howe Sound Corporation (which operated the Britannia mine — betore Anaconda} through ovo stanttory mergers and a name change. Canzince also nanted the BoC. govern- ment as responsible because of its regulatory rufe in the mine and its response to a flood in 1991, which allegedly bated pollution at the Two months ago, Arce’s lawyers filed a submission alleg- ing that fotaleo Atuminum Corporation, Alumax Inc. and Howmet Holdings Corporation are. alse responst- ble by virtue of being Alcoa's subsidiaries. In the same sub- mission, Arce alleged that the government of Canada is responsible because it is a pre- vious “operator” of the mine, during the Second World War. Not every allegation ended in a potentially responsible party being named. For instance, the management branch Copper Beach Estates” sugges- tion that the Britannia Beach Historical Society, which oper- ates the B.C. Museum of Mining, be named. Nor did it accept: Arco’s suggestion that former and existing directors of Copper Beach Estates be named to the remediation order. For good measure, Copper Beach Estates is suing Arco and Alcoa for $150 milion US in the United States federal courts. “The suit is to cover all contingencies ting to the ming, museum lands, anywhere on the property that. consti- tutes the mine,” said Copper Beach Estates director Tim Drummond, speaking on his cell phone on the way to dis- covery hearings in Seatde. Drummond believes he'll Sunday, November 19, 2000 - North Shore Mews - 31 irst ordered 26 years ago get results more quickly in the Us. “We didn’t do the imnin- ing, legally we shouldn’r have to come up with a red cent,” said Drummond, who admit- ted that he regrets buying Copper Beach in 1990. Given this legal manocu- vring, (which possibly cost the equivalent downpa , might ble parties named next month simply ignore any reme- diation order, or immediately appeal? Not necessarily, according to North Vancouver barrister and solicitor Wiliam Andrews, who's been following the case on behalf of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund and the Environmental Mining Council of B.C. “One shouldn't jump to the conclusion that because t been jockeying, they won't at some point, when the deci- sion’s been made, contribute to the cleanup of the site,” said Andrews. The pracess allows companies room to make the right decision without’ the sense of losing face, he added. Andrews is not aware of a precedent for governments appealing being named to remediation order, and even companies appeal to the Enviroamental Appeal Board, it does not follow that the order is stayed. “It's conceivable work could get under way in. six months,” said Andrews. Alan Young of — the Environmental Mining Council has reservations. “My concern is that the real prob- lem — the copper and zinc geing into Howe Sound — could get fost in lawyers’ nego- tiations. The government needs to keep its eve on the ball and ensure that regardless of legal procedure, a cleanup plan ic in place and funded in the short term. “If there is a cooperative approach among all parties. that would be great. The gov. ernment needs to be involved in the cicanup at some stage, but what its financial vbdliga- tions are compared to those who profited from the mine, needs to be examined.” Young, Karen Wristen of Sierra Legal believes the responsible party process works on a sound principle and deserves to be followed. “If it’s not followed, what’s left is tax- payers having to pick up the price tag,” said Wnristen. Ron Driedger denies there's a conflict of interest in he, a B.C. government employee, deciding if the B.C. govern- ment is a responsibic para. He pointed out that he named the B.C. government as a responsi- ble party in a pollution preven- tion order issued. in a recent case involving coal tar contam- ination on lands located at 9250 Oak Street. He's confident that respen- sible parties will comply with his remediation — order. “Because of the urgency in this case, the — Environmental Appeal Board will process any appeals very quickly, but in the meantime, responsible parties are obliged to comply with the order,” said Driedger. “We don’t want to see any undue delays. This is a serious situation and we expect it to be dealt with now.” Twenty-six years to . the month after the first. remedia- tion order was issued, now has been a long time coming.