Eight years after a mining operation in British Columbia leaked wastewater into surrounding waterways, three engineers have been disciplined by authorities.
For their involvement in the Mount Polley wastewater leak, two former engineers have been ordered to pay a total of $226,500, while a third has been temporarily suspended and ordered to complete additional training. In August 2014, the tailings dam at the copper mine owned by Imperial Metals failed, which released over 20 cubic metres of mining wastewater
According to provincial regulator Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia, the case was one of the most complex it has handled. Thousands of documents, which include contracts, technical reports, drawings, correspondence, and daily site reports were reviewed for the case.
“This marks the final chapter in a long and difficult story for our province and our professions,” said Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia CEO Heidi Yang in a statement.
After they were both found acting unprofessionally, former engineers Todd Martin and Stephen Rice were ordered to pay $94,000 and $132,500, respectively, in fines and legal fees. Martin resigned his license in 2020, while Rice resigned his in 2018. Neither is permitted to practise professional engineering in BC, but can reapply under certain conditions.
Martin admitted in a consent order that some of his work was inconsistent with "prudent engineering practices," which include his failure to recommend drilling to improve embankment foundation soils and his failure to record important field observations in 2011, the regulator said. Meanwhile, Rice was found unprofessional for failing to properly fill the role of review engineer, and for allowing a junior engineer with limited experience in embankment design to act in a senior role.
The junior engineer in question, Laura Fidel, was found to have failed to ensure adequate observation of the dam and to monitor seepage flows that could offer evidence of unsafe embankment conditions. Her registration as a professional engineer was suspended for two months, and she was ordered to undergo more training.
Engineers and Geoscientists BC did not make allegations or findings related to the cause of the embankment failure, The Canadian Press reported. The regulator said that after the dam breach, it had taken actions to improve dam safety, which include the creation of professional practice guidelines relating to dam foundations, updating existing guidelines, and hosting professional development seminars.
