March 4, 2023.
1.1 million litres of tailings escaped into the Smoky River, a tributary of the Peace.
The spill lasted at least 17 hours.
9,000 kilograms of suspended solids.
Senior staff not immediately notified.
No qualified spill managers were on site.
More than 7 hours after detection was the AER notified.
CST Canada Coal Ltd. does not have a good track record with “a history of operational issues and financial difficulties”. Perhaps that latter point is why they were only fined $9,000 by the AER.
Yes, you read it right. $9,000.00
From where I’m sitting that isn’t just a slap on the wrist but also encouragement to be less conscientious about their operations and a signal to other companies to recognize negligence as non-worrisome because the consequences are negligible.
When Grande Cache Coal went bankrupt forcing hundreds in the hamlet to be unemployed, the CST Group picked it up. Based in Hong Kong and incorporated in Caymen Islands, can you really be convinced of financial hardships meriting sympathetic fines?
And it would be interesting to know what the cost was to the AER compared to that token fine. After all, it only took 2 years to get there.
Read the whole story here.