B.C.’s Environmental Appeal Board has upheld a more than $800,000 penalty against Peace River Coal Inc. after it repeatedly failed to comply with its environmental permit at a coal mine near Tumbler Ridge.

The penalty was the largest ever issued by the B.C. Ministry of the Environment under the Environmental Management Act when it was first handed down in 2021. It stems from the Trend-Roman mine’s failure to limit the discharge of selenium into three nearby creeks and rivers.

“I do not consider the resulting penalty to be too large in the context of the facts of this case,” wrote Environmental Appeal Board panel chair Maureen Baird in her Aug. 27 ruling.

“While the penalty is large, it, in my view is required to satisfy the goals of encouraging compliance and deterring others.”

Jamie K

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