US, Canada, Indigenous Groups Reach Deal To Address Cross-Border Mining Pollution

The United States, Canada and various indigenous groups have agreed to evaluate a long-standing cross-border dispute over pollution from coal mines in the Canadian province of British Columbia that flows into US waters.

The Agreement

The agreement was announced in a joint statement by US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen and his Canadian counterpart, Kirsten Hillman.

The American and Canadian governments collaborate with British Columbia, the US states of Idaho and Montana, and six indigenous communities on both borders.

According to the joint statement, Canada and the United States have requested that the International Joint Commission establish a formal governance body by June 30 in order to consider future possibilities.

The IJC is a treaty-based institution that mediates water issues.

The two countries stated that they had asked the IJC to form "a two-year Study Board to convene experts and knowledge holders to conduct transparent and coordinated transboundary data and knowledge sharing."

The research group is entrusted with determining how to reduce contamination from coal mines in British Columbia's Elk Valley, which flows into Lake Koocanusa, a reservoir in British Columbia and Montana, and American rivers.

The initiatives will aid in "understanding and taking steps to reduce and mitigate the impacts of pollution," according to the US-Canada joint statement.

The diplomatic groundwork for the proposal was laid last year, when President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in March 2023 that the US and Canada hoped to reach a "agreement in principle" in the coming months to reduce pollution in the Elk-Kootenai watershed in collaboration with tribes and first nations.

Rely On Fish Stocks

Several years ago, scientists from the United States Environmental Protection Agency found elevated amounts of selenium in fish and eggs in Montana's Kootenai River, downstream of Lake Koocanusa, which spans the United States and Canadian borders. The chemical, released when coal is extracted and cleaned.

Some people of the Ktunaxa Nation, which includes two tribes in the United States and four first nations in Canada, rely on these fish stocks for sustenance.

"The fish, especially the smaller ones, you see a lot of damage. You're starting to get abnormalities in their bodies, reproductive issues," said Tom McDonald, Vice Chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in northwestern Montana.

A recent study by the United States Geological Survey and CBC News, contamination emanated from mines in British Columbia, and efforts by Canadian miner Teck Resources to reduce those emissions were not making a significant difference in the volume moving south.

A Canadian coal company paid a $60 million fine in 2021 after pleading guilty to a court lawsuit concerning pollution discharges in British Columbia that were blamed for damaging fish populations.

Investigators discovered that Teck Resources Limited released unsafe quantities of selenium and calcite from two coal mines.

Teck Resources said it was looking forward to learning more about the announcement made by the United States and Canada and that the business will work with the concerned parties to continue with a strategy to improve water quality in the region.