Toxic soil AT dawn on a late- August morning — for decades — thousands of anglers would push off from West Vancouver's Horseshoe Bay and other marinas for Howe Sound’s famors hot spots. Some trolled off Partcau, athers mooched at Hole-in- the-Wall, but eserybedy had hopes of hooking a Tyce that would take first prize in The Vancouver Sun fishing derby, the biggest event of its kind on the West Coast. By the iate 1970s, however, the prize-win- ning salmon were shrinking. Then the fish ran out and the derby died. Scientists now know that the death of che derby had less to do with overfishing and much more to do with hydro- clectic damage to spawning grounds and industrial water pollution. And heading the list of polluters was Howe Sound’s Britannia mine, the worst single source of metal contamination in North America. Against this background, few would argue British Columbia's decision, announced Wednesday, to have an Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) treatment plant built at the Britannia mine site. It is an excellent idea, and after cezades of inaction the province should be commend- ed tor finally addressing the AMD pollution problem in Howe Sound. But the proposal to finance the perpetual operation of the treatment plant through rev- enues from a contaminated soils landfill could tic Britannia’s name to even worse forms of pollution for decades to come. This is a cruel twist. Why? See the North Shore's Jinest selection. This week's specials: Tulip Angelique Double pink flowers. Pack of 15.... Tulip Queen of Night Deep-purple flower. Pack of 20...... Narcissus Thalia Fragrant daffodil bulbs. 10-pack... Scented Daffodil Mix (20-pack) _Multi-coloured daffodil bulbs.......3. $697 Because there is not acarly cnough information to justity issuing a pernut for the land- fil]. ‘The site is very complex and many questions about Britannia’s viability as a toxte soils dump remain to be answered. The province has said thar conditions have been written into the permits that require the proponent, Copper Beach Estates Limited (CBEL), to conduct studies to address these unknowns before the landfill goes ahead. But many critics fear that the province will be subjected to extreme pressure to authorize the land- fill, mainly because tie money to pay for perpetual water treatment is coming in part from the land£ill tipping fees ($6.75/tonne). Can you spell quid pro quel The proposed landfill is unlikely to signiticantly reduce the acid mine drainage, as claimed by the government and proponent. The old Britannia mine, after afl, has several open pits, only one of which is to be filled in by the soil cover, according to the CBE]. proposal. As a result, water and oxygen will still go into the mine workings and Japanese Anemone Indispensable for fall colour in sun or partial shade! 2-4 ft. high. Flowers in white, siloery pink or rose. Perennial. 97 One-galion pot Wednesday, September 15, 1999 ~ North Shore News - 13 ii not the answer to mine’s acid drainage of B.C. and Karen Wristen, executive director, Sierra izaal Defence Fund. — Submitted by Alan Young, executive — director Envtronmental Mining Counztl acid Will continue to be gener- ated. Furthermore, if the landfill is approved, it is entirely possi- ble that CBFTE. will be able to violate the terms of its permits with inipurtity because, due ta budget cutbacks, the province no longer has the capacity to conduce the sort of monitor- ing and testing of soil samples that would be required. Ina July 1999 survey of B.C. Government Employees Union members working in enviromental protection, 88%, said that permits are not ade- quately inspected, monitored or eniorced. This is a very serious prob- lem because other toxic canta- minants, iike pesticides and hydrocarbons, could very easi- ly slip through the gates as contaminated soils arrive ar 3 rate of, on average, 26 truck- loads a day. By all means, a treatment plant should be built ar the mine site; bur B.C. ought to think twice before adding to Britannia’s foul record and the tragic demise of Flowe Sound. | LORMOTIVE | COLLISION SPECIALISTS fer Foreign & Domestic NORTH SHORE’S HIGHEST VOLUME ALL MAKE 1.¢.B.€. VENDOR ° Quality Workmanship e Trustworthy Service . TL CBC. Vendor Same.owner , Que $iiXear’. 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