theotherpress.ca news // 4 Mount Polley re view panel » The ‘Globe and Mail’ claims oversight played a role Angela Espinoza News Editor Mi news @theotherpress.ca ki A independent report eleased on January 30 declared the 2014 Mount Polley mine spill to be the result of issues to the dam holding back the mine’s contaminated water, or “tailings.” Tailings are used to collect leftover remnants of extracted ores—in the Mount Polley case, such as gold and leaking out and polluting the environment. The tailings pond : collapsed on August 4, 2014, : releasing several billion gallons : : of polluted water into nearby: : lakes and rivers leading into : Likely, BC. The leak also resulted in announcements : asking locals to avoid non- bottled drinking water : roughly “250 miles northeast : of Vancouver,’ as reported by previously overlooked structural Bloomberg. The report was prepared by an expert review panel : of three “distinguished : : geotechnical experts,” and took : : place between August 2014 : and January 2015, according . : toa press release by the copper—to prevent toxins from review panel. The report was : released to the Ministry of : Energy, as well as the T’exelc : First Nation and Xat’sull First : Nation groups, and the press release states investigative : data collecting, lab testing, : and numerous interviews were : used during the process. In the report, it is noted that the collapse was due : in part to a design flaw that : caused the dam to be affected : by outside environmental : effects such as “sub-glacial” : and “pre-glacial” weathering. : The flaw was a crack, : which filled with a layer of glaciolacustrine (deposits of : dirt and rock from glaciers) : that resulted in the dam : deteriorating from the inside : Over time. The report also stated that : construction, which caused a : “steep slope,” near the mine revealc : ultimately triggered the : collapse, and that had the area : : remained flat, thedam would : : have lasted longer. Seven recommendations : for reviewing and updating : similar mines in the future : are also laid out in the report. : The recommendations : include improving “corporate : governance,” strengthening : “current regulatory operations,” : : and improving “professional : practice” and “dam safety : guidelines,” with all having their own lists of criteria. But while the official : report stated human error : was not to blame for the dam’s collapse, a timeline dating back to 1997 (up to 2014) by the Globe and Mail outlines ause of spill Image from HuffPost.com : several times in which stability of all of Mount Polley’s tailings : at the time were a concern as : glaciolacustrine was recurrent : in the area. The specific issue : of glaciolacustrine buildup was : reportedly brought forward to : then-engineering consultant : Knight Piésold between 2005 : and 2006, whom the Globe : and Mail reports said the y 3 glaciolacustrine “would not affect dam stability.” The Globe and Mail : also revealed numerous : investigations over several : years found glaciolacustrine : to bea potential concern, : and that improvements to the Mount Polley tailing’s pond were planned prior to its collapse last August. Local news roundup » Fake kidnapping threat, school space concerns Angela Espinoza i inviting more families to the city was a goal. Space fora new elementary school was The New Westminster school board’s recently approved Gender and Sexual Diversity marriage is between one man and one woman. So we would interpret the scriptures that F News Editor also discussed, but some are Inclusion policy has become way, Hill told Tri-City News. 4 @theotherpress.ca > ¢ concerned there won't be a social issue for some local New Westminster . Fim enough room. ministers. Community Church’s lead Coquitlam woe ‘f Mayor of Coquitlam According to Tri-City News, _ pastor Paul Dirks also CMP revealed that on “wae” Richard Stewart reportedly Olivet Baptist Church associate stated concerns with overtly January 7, a woman in Taiwan received a fake threat that her son in Coquitlam had been kidnapped. The callers demanded ransom money and reportedly faked sounds of a struggle over the phone. Police as well as several family members were contacted in an attempt to resolve the issue. The son was eventually located and found safe with the help of Coquitlam RCMP. Tri-City News reported that fake kidnapping calls are often made in Taiwan, but shared that regardless of location, police should be the first een a youyy Image from Twitter.com persons contacted when there is the possibility of a kidnapping. “Though this incident turned out to bea scam, we take these kinds of reports very seriously,” said Corporal Jamie Chung ina public statement. Parents in the city of Coquitlam are raising concerns over lack of school space for future students. The concerns came as a result of potential housing discussion at a January 26 public hearing in which encouraged discussion of school space, but stated such decisions are at the hands of “provincial government and school district 43,” according to Tri-City News. “I can promise you that there are members of council here that focus a whole lot of attention on this [school availability] even though we don’t have control over it,” Stewart said at the hearing. New Westminster Aspects of this story were covered in the previous issue of the Other Press. pastor Grant Hill has openly disapproved of aspects of the policy. While he defended the safety of the students regarding their respective orientations is important, Hill’s concern was with a potential lack of understanding regarding persons of different religious backgrounds. The statement in the policy that Hill critiqued said that, without an inclusive environment, respective students “are frequently the targets of homophobic, transphobic, and heterosexist behaviours.” “We would affirm biblical encouraging what could potentially be experimental phases in young children. Dirks added that due to the high suicide rate amongst LGBT youths, encouraging behaviour could pose a similar threat. President of the New West Pride Society Jeremy Perry, however, has fully approved of the new policy. “T like that there’s actually action-oriented language in it. It’s not only acknowledging an issue, but forces the school board into action into creating an inclusive environment in our schools,” Perry told Tri-City.