Conuma Resources Limited has been penalized $13,000 after government inspectors found a pattern of exceeding dust emissions limits. The company is the largest employer in the Peace River Regional District and uses about 900 locals on a full-time basis. During an 18-month span, it exceeded air pollution standards 32 times. The denial, issued by the director of the Environmental Management Act, Stephanie Little, on Aug. 18.
The violations were serious too, including 19 violations where the emissions were over 50 percent over the limit allowed. The dust emitted from Conuma’s operations is made up of primarily fine particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in diameter. These so-called “fugitive emissions” are very concerning. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fine particulate matter is dangerous to human health, with both acute and chronic effects.
Now Conuma Resources has accepted an administrative penalty for doing so. Last year, the company was ordered to pay a hefty penalty of more than $41,000 for failing to adequately monitor coal mine waste that poured into an adjacent fish-bearing tributary. This troubling track record of neglect and failure to comply with the law has shocked environmental advocates as well as community members.
Stephanie Little, when announcing the penalty, emphasized the degree of intent involved in these infractions. One of the findings that particularly interested her was the “no to low level of deliberateness” about the violations. This indicates that even if the violations were egregious, they probably didn’t result from a deliberate attempt to flout federal environmental laws.
The egregious violations raised troubling questions about the state and federal enforcement of the area’s air quality protections. They further warn of serious health impacts for people who live near Conuma’s mining operations. And now, local advocacy groups are demanding a stronger, more energetic enforcement of these environmental regulations. Their mission is to protect public health and preserve the local marine ecosystems.
