The Ministry of Energy and Mines has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a qualified contractor to assist with  the oversight of the process for independent third-party reviews of Dam Safety inspections for every permitted mine tailings storage facility in British Columbia.

Permitted mines are required to conduct a dam safety inspection each year. As part of the response to the tailings storage facility breach at the Mount Polley Mine, the Chief Inspector of Mines accelerated the deadline for this year’s inspections to Dec. 1, 2014, and added a requirement for these inspections to be reviewed by an independent qualified third-party professional engineer from a firm not associated with the tailings facility.

The order also includes a requirement for a third-party review of the dam consequence classifications by Dec. 1, 2014. A dam’s consequence classification is based on the potential impact to population, the environment, cultural values and infrastructure should it fail, and is set according to the Canadian Dam Association Dam Safety Guidelines. Under the order, mines with high, very high or extreme consequence classifications will be required to have their Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans reviewed by an independent third-party.

The successful proponent will be required to have geotechnical expertise and will assist the Ministry of Energy and Mines with reviewing submissions to ensure consistency and compliance, working with First Nations throughout the process and producing a report on the information collected, including the release of all submissions to the public.

Once the inspections and the independent reviews of those inspections have been received, the review and analysis of those reports is expected to take a minimum of eight weeks to complete. Once the review is complete, all information will be made public.

There are currently 98 permitted tailings impoundments at 60 operating and closed metal and coal mines in B.C.

The RFP is available for viewing on the Mount Polley website: http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/eemp/incidents/2014/mount-polley/

Media Contacts:

Jake Jacobs
Media Relations
Ministry of Energy and Mines
250 952-0628