Elk Valley Resources’ expansion challenged over environmental compliance

A proposed expansion of an open pit coal mine in British Columbia is sparking fears about downstream water pollution in the Columbia River Basin, according to a report in The Western News. Elk Valley Resources Operations Limited (EVR), which manages five coal mines in the Elk Valley, argues that expanding its Fording River Mine will secure regional employment and economic growth. The proposal involves extracting 280 million metric tons of coal from a 3,000-acre area.

However, participants at a January 22 forum on the project voiced greater concern over the three billion cubic metres of “waste rock” miners would need to discard to access coal-rich seams. When exposed to rainfall, these excavated rock mounds are known to leach significant amounts of selenium into nearby streams, carrying it downstream into the Elk River and then Lake Koocanusa. While selenium is an essential nutrient in small doses, large amounts cause neurological and reproductive defects in fish. In humans, excessive selenium levels can lead to gastrointestinal distress, organ failure, and in rare cases, death.

A United States Geologic Survey study found that selenium concentrations in the Elk River surged by 581% between 1980 and 2020, primarily due to Elk Valley mining operations. Despite the mining company's investment in water cleaning technologies, selenium concentrations in some watershed segments continue to exceed levels deemed safe by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

The Ktunaxa National Council, reviewing the project, expressed strong reservations. They wrote: “We had expected there to be more progress on concerns around existing operations before this decision was at our tables. There are still water quality non-compliances from EVR’s current operations that will likely be exacerbated should this project be approved. In any case, contemplating an expansion while compliance has yet to be achieved is not acceptable.”

Sheldon Reddekopp, a project assessment director for British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Operations, acknowledged, “We aren’t blind to the fact that there are large tracts of land that have been impacted by mining in the valley and large tracts of streams that have issues that are above water quality guidelines,” during the January 22 meeting. Reddekopp confirmed the agency plans to assess cumulative effects from the mine expansion through an environmental assessment in an upcoming review stage. This assessment will form the basis for provincial and federal agencies to issue a final decision, with the entire process expected to last through spring 2028.

Canada and the United States have long disagreed on Columbia River Basin recommendations, and it remains unclear whether Canadian officials will consider the U.S.'s more stringent parameters in their analysis. In 2025, selenium concentrations in Lake Koocanusa peaked at 1.8 micrograms per liter, below the Canadian standard of 2.0 micrograms per liter but above the U.S. standard of 0.8 micrograms per liter.

Both the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners and Elk Valley Resources (formerly Teck Coal Limited) petitioned the Montana Department of Quality in 2021 to invalidate the site-specific selenium standard for Lake Koocanusa. In April 2022, the Board of Environmental Review, a quasi-judicial body, ruled in favor of Teck and Lincoln County. The Department of Environmental Quality and several environmental nonprofits subsequently filed two separate, ongoing lawsuits disputing this ruling.