Xatśūll First Nation seeks injunction on increasing capacity at Mount Polley tailings facility

The Supreme Court of British Columbia says it will release its decision on an injunction application for the Mount Polley Mine Aug. 6. A ruling on the judicial review is expected to be completed in the weeks or months after. It was prompted by Xatśūll First Nation after the British Columbia government approved increasing the height of Mount Polley Corporation’s tailings storage. It’s the same facility that suffered a devastating breach in 2014. Xatśūll petitioned the court during several days of hearings last week to overturn recent provincial authorizations that allow the mine to raise the height of the tailings dam whose failure impacted Xatśūll territory lands north of Williams Lake, BC. In a statement following last week’s hearings, Xatśūll said “it will continue to call for accountability and responsible decision-making regarding industrial activity on its territory, especially in light of the unresolved impacts of the 2014 tailings dam breach.” If granted, the injunction would prevent Mount Polley Mining Corporation from using the new provincially authorized volume until the judicial review is concluded. In the meantime, Xatśūll and Mount Polley have agreed to the new terms of commitment, also known as an undertaking, that prohibit the company from depositing tailings requiring the use of the increased dam height until the injunction ruling is delivered. Mount Polley will file that undertaking with the Court. Continue Reading