Code Review
Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett has appointed a Code Review Committee, pursuant to section 34 of the Mines Act, that will determine how best to implement the 26 recommendations made in the reports of the Independent Expert Engineering Panel and the Chief Inspector of Mines following their investigations into the August 4, 2014 tailings facility breach at the Mount Polley Mine.
The Code Review Committee is chaired by the Chief Inspector of Mines and includes an equal number of representatives nominated by First Nations, mine labour unions and industry. The review consists of three separate committees: an overarching Code Review Committee and two sub-committees that are providing technical reviews for the tailings storage facilities (TSFs) and the health and safety sections of the code.
Tailings Technical Review
The TSF portion of the code review, including the submission period, is now complete, and revisions are legally in force as of July 20, 2016.
- News Release for TSF Portion of Code Review – July 20, 2016 (PDF, 491KB)
- Revised Part 10 of the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia – July 20, 2016 (PDF, 62KB)
Public Comment Period
The public will have the opportunity to provide written submissions to the Code Review Committee. Written comments will be forwarded to the Code Review Committee for consideration.
The public submission period for the Health and Safety stage of the code review is now open and will run from July 15 to September 30, 2016. Written comments can be emailed to CodeReview@gov.bc.ca.
The health and safety technical review is expected to continue through 2016, with all revisions complete and in force by spring 2017.
- Terms of Reference – Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia Review (PDF, 152KB)
- Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia
- News Release for Code Review – June 24, 2015 (PDF, 1.2MB)
Best Available Technology
Further information on the discussion of best available technology (BAT) is available in letters provided by Dirk van Zyl, a member of the Independent Expert Engineering Panel.
- Letter dated August 18, 2015 (PDF, 178KB)
- Follow up letter dated September 14, 2015 (PDF, 175KB)
Recommendations from the Mount Polley Investigations
Work to implement a number of the 43 recommendations made by the Expert Independent Panel, the Chief Inspector of Mines, and the Auditor General's report on Mining is either substantially underway or complete. Government is committed to ensuring all the recommendations are implemented. The recommendations are listed in the following document along with status of implementation as of July 20, 2016.
- Mount Polley Recommendations Table (PDF, 267KB)
