Regulatory body wraps up investigation into engineers involved in B.C.'s Mt. Polley mine disaster
CBC
Nearly eight years after the largest environmental mining disaster in Canadian history, B.C.'s engineering regulatory and licensing body has wrapped up its investigation into three engineers who were involved.
Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (EGBC) brought a collective $226,500 in fines against two engineers involved in the Mount Polley mine disaster who are no longer working in the industry and a brief suspension and required training for a third engineer.
The regulatory and licensing body for the professions of engineering and geoscience in B.C. said on Friday it had concluded its disciplinary proceedings against Stephen Rice, Laura Fidel and Todd Martin, in relation to their work at the Mount Polley Mine in Central B.C.
"This marks the final chapter in a long and difficult story for our province and our professions," said Heidi Yang, CEO of EGBC, in a release.
On Aug. 4 2014, there was a breach in the gold and copper mine's tailings storage facility, causing 24 million cubic metres of mine waste to be dumped into Quesnel Lake, Hazeltine Creek and other waterways in the area.
An independent report into the disaster said the dam was built on a sloped glacial lake, weakening its foundation. It said the inadequate design of the dam didn't account for drainage or erosion failures associated with glacial till beneath the pond.
The regulatory body had previously announced in August 2021 disciplinary hearings for former engineer Stephen Rice and engineer Laura Fidel.
The panel found that both Rice and Fidel demonstrated unprofessional conduct in the course of their work at the mine. Rice was censured for not properly overseeing Fidel, the more junior, inexperienced engineer — and allowing Fidel to act as engineer of record for the dam's tailing storage facility.
EGBC reported that a discipline hearing panel had imposed a maximum fine of $25,000 against Rice, who resigned in 2018.
Rice also agreed to pay $107,500 dollars in legal costs to the association and is no longer permitted to practice as a professional engineer in the province.
A separate discipline hearing panel found that Fidel also committed several acts of unprofessional conduct and failed to ensure sufficient observation and monitoring of the tailings dam.
The lack of site visits and monitoring of seepage flows allowed unsafe conditions — the instability of the embankment — to go undetected, according to EGBC.
Fidel also failed to ensure that an excavation left unfilled in the embankment was assessed to ensure stability — and failed to properly review the design drawings.
On Friday, EGBC announced a two-month suspension of Fidel's registration as a professional engineer.
An 18-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in a deadly daytime shooting on a highway south of Edmonton.
More than a month after the deadly mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, stories of bravery during the tragedy are being shared.
Just over six months after the University of Prince Edward Island's medical program began, the dean of the faculty says things are “going wonderfully.”
One person has been found dead after a large fire gutted a home in Mississauga on Monday night, officials say.
The Northwest Territories government says it has found elevated levels of lead in drinking water at the Chief Jimmy Bruneau school in Behchokǫ̀.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree faced pointed questions Tuesday about why the federal government has deported one Iranian official, despite longstanding concerns about how the regime operates in Canada and abroad.
An RCMP-led corruption investigation is underway and search warrants were executed on a number of properties including the homes of former mayor Jyoti Gondek, former councillor Sean Chu and sitting councillor Andre Chabot.
Toronto police say they are creating a counter-terrorism unit and a specialized task force that will see officers with semi-automatic rifles stationed at key locations in the city.
ATCO Ltd. says it's taking a 40 per cent ownership stake in the company building the Grays Bay Road and Port project.
Justice Minister Sean Fraser says he has no plans to change how judges are appointed in Canada despite four premiers writing to Prime Minister Mark Carney to ask for more of a say in the process.
An RCMP-led corruption investigation is underway and at least one current and one former Calgary city councillor, as well as a business were subject to search warrants executed last week, CBC News has learned.
Ontario’s education minister is telling school boards to ensure their upcoming graduation ceremonies don’t express any “political views” or “engage in divisive or contentious issues of any kind,” according to an internal memo obtained by CBC News.
A new daily non-stop flight between Charlottetown and Montreal is set to begin this summer.