Nine in ten Kootenay residents want companies to foot the bill for any environmental harm they cause, according to an opinion poll commissioned by Wildsight.
The survey, conducted by Research Co., asked 1,531 people across B.C. to answer some questions about the costs of environmental damage caused by industry.
According to Wildsight, 92 per cent of respondents felt that environmental restoration and clean-up costs should be fully covered by the companies responsible for the damage.
“I was surprised at the strength of some of the results of the survey. Over 89 per cent of respondents province-wide and over 90 per cent in the Kootenays are somewhat or very concerned about the loss of wildlife and natural habitat,” said Casey Brennan, Wildsight conservation director.
This poll comes after a study estimated the costs of cleaning up selenium pollution from Elk Valley coal mines to be upwards of $6.4 billion.
“Currently those companies are only bonded for $1.9 billion with the province. That not only covers water pollution but also covers land surface reclamation costs,” said Brennan.
“We feel these operations are completely inadequately bonded and financial security is not in place to ensure that taxpayers in B.C. and residents in the Kootenays are protected from potential upsets, bankruptcies or future mine owners walking away from these operations and leaving taxpayers with the bill.”
Most respondents to the survey agree with Brennan’s sentiment.
“More than half of Kootenay residents think the province’s regulation of pollution and environmental damage from mining isn’t tough enough, and 80 per cent want politicians to do more to stand up to corporate polluters,” said Brennan.
“Kootenay residents want to see the government doing more to protect them — an overwhelming majority (86 pre cent) say Canada should require Glencore to give financial assurances to cover the entire cost of environmental restoration for these mines before the sale goes through.”
This comes as Teck’s coal mines in the Elk Valley are under a $9 billion (USD) purchase offer from Swiss-based mining giant, Glencore.
“People are worried they’re going to be left to fund the clean up of this environmental catastrophe, and that fear is not unfounded,” explained Brennan. “The reality is that Glencore intends to spin off its coal assets within two years, so we have no idea whose hands these mines will end up in, how financially secure they will be, or what their environmental commitments will be.”
Environmental bonding is the process in which an industrial business, such as coal mining in the Elk Valley, agrees with the provincial government to pay a set amount of money for clean-up and restoration.
Brennan said Wildsight hopes to use the results of this survey to show governments that residents want tighter environmental regulations.
“We’re hoping to engage the provincial and federal government in a dialogue around the very clear sentiment from the public and taxpayers that they should not be held responsible or on the hook for costs of mining clean-up,” said Brennan. “We need to make sure politicians and governments do what’s right and put the proper bonding and financial security in place so taxpayers don’t get left holding the bill.”
You can find the survey results here.
More: Wildsight report estimates $6.4 billion price tag on Elk Valley water pollution clean-up (Mar. 19, 2924)
More: Teck sells coal division to Glencore (Nov 14, 2023)
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