Court clears way for raise of Mount Polley tailings dam despite Indigenous opposition

The BC Supreme Court has rejected a First Nation’s legal challenge against the government’s approval for Imperial Metals to raise the Mount Polley Mine tailings dam by four metres, a ruling delivered during the anniversary week of the catastrophic 2014 breach.

The 2014 disaster — BC’s largest environmental disaster from mining — released over 24 million cubic metres of toxic mine waste into Xatśūll territory in the Cariboo region near Williams Lake. The community continues to face lasting impacts on their rights, culture, environment and way of life more than a decade later.

Justice Michael Tammen ruled that consultation with the Xatśūll Nation was legally sufficient and described the proposed four-metre raise as “comparatively modest,” unlikely to increase the mine’s overall footp