Photo: Teck Resources website

Teck Metals Ltd. (Teck) was found to be in violation of discharging effluent from its lead and zinc smelting and refining operation in Trail and into the Columbia River.

The company was found to be guilty of discharging the effluent over six time periods — from June 8, 2022 to Feb. 1, 2024 — and was fined $26,750.

The provincial regulatory authorization governing the discharge of effluent from a lead and zinc smelting and refining operation is Permit 2753 issued under the Environmental Management Act. The permit was issued and administered by the BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

The permit authorized the discharge of effluent into the Columbia River from Teck’s integrated lead and zinc smelting and refining complex, a fertilizer plant and the Technical Services Trail (formally the Applied Research and Technology) facility.

Under Section 2.2 of the permit, Teck must not allow any discharge authorized by the permit to bypass the authorized works, except with the prior written approval of the director. But from June 8, 2022 to April 30, 2024, Teck continuously failed to comply with Section 2.2 “when it allowed an authorized discharge to bypass the authorized works without prior written approval from the director.”

In the opportunities to be heard (OTBH) submission, Teck did not dispute the contravention. In the OTBH submission it stated, “Teck is not offering submissions on the penalty for $23,000 related to the CII outfall and accepts that penalty.”

In determining his decision, Environmental Management Act manager Darren Stewart, felt that Teck made some efforts to correct the failure, including conducting temporary repairs in August 2024 that reduced effluent release by approximately 90 per cent.

“However, the bypass continued, albeit at a slower rate,” he wrote in his decision, delivered March 11.

“I find that Teck may have taken some measures to comply, but it has not taken all reasonable measures to comply. Based on the above, Teck failed to exercise due diligence to prevent the failures.”

Stewart noted Teck was aware of the discharge in June of 2022 yet took no remedial actions or maintenance to mitigate the bypass until almost two years later.