Well this looks pretty bad...

I'm most interested to find out how a structurally sound and monitored dam failed without warning.

I suspect it didn't happen without some assistance.

What have the rain levels in that area been like this year?

What have the rain levels in that area been like this year?

Somewhat normal,but they had a shittonne of snow,and compound that with increasing groundwater due to the beetle kill,it wouldn't surprise me if the pond was full. Probably why they had been looking for a discharge varience.

It should be noted that dams like this are heavily monitored for moisture content,physical movement and seepage,which apparently none of which set an alarm….till it failed.

not true, tacklebox, apparently the pond has been a concern for a number of years…. http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/08/05/mount-polley-mines-tailings-pond-breach-of-five-million-cubic-metres-of-contaminated-waste-called-massive-environmental-disaster/

As far back as 2011, concerns were raised about the tailings pond at the Mount Polley Mine. Brian Olding and Associates, an environmental consulting firm, prepared a detailed report that was submitted to the provincial Ministry of the Environment.

“We looked at the pond and we thought there was monitoring required. We wanted an emergency contingency plan in place.”

Olding was hired jointly by the Williams Lake Indian Band, the Soda Creek Indian Band and mine owner Imperial Metals to conduct an independent review of the Mount Polley Mine 75 kilometres southeast of Quesnel and prepare a technical assessment report on the proposed discharge of water from a tailings pond.

Officials from Imperial Metals, which operates the Mount Polley Mine, did not return phone calls or emails from The Vancouver Sun on Monday, but according to a 2011 article in the Williams Lake Tribune, the capacity of the tailing pond has been a concern as far back as 2009.

At that time, the Mount Polley Mine applied for a permit from the Ministry of the Environment to discharge effluent into Hazeltine Creek.

The paper reported then how Mount Polley general manager Tim Fisch explained that the “closed system” of containing the toxic effluent in the pond was “difficult as the mine accumulates more water than it can use in a year due to its location in a ‘net positive’ precipitation zone the amount of run-off requires dam raises and prohibits the formation of proper tailings beaches which could increase seepage and cause conditions that are ‘geotechnically unstable.’”

In 2011, Likely Matters reported the Williams Lake Indian Band opposed any permit to discharge effluent into Quesnel Lake due to environmental sensitivities.

“The tailings pond was filling out and they needed to get rid of the water,” said Olding of the dam, which he described as “earthen.” “The walls were getting too high and the water was getting too high.

“I’m not a structural engineer,” said Olding, “but it appeared from a common sense point of view that you could not continue to build that up higher and higher.”

It should be noted that dams like this are heavily monitored for moisture content,physical movement and seepage,which apparently none of which set an alarm….till it failed.

I wonder…

From:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/public_safety/dam_safety/

There are a number of tailings dams, sewage retention ponds, dugouts and other structures that retain water but are not licensed under the Water Act and therefore are not covered by the BC Dam Safety Program.

Well,im no mining imajineer,but the mines I've been to have monitoring stations every 100 yards or so along the dam.

Don't they view that as a cost of doing business, ie, the profit realized from general neglect in the long term offsets the odd time it bites them back?

I can't imagine that is even close of an equitable trade-off.

The mine had been struggling to contain high runoffs this spring and summer, according to the TV report I saw.

That could explain it.

Well,im no mining imajineer,but the mines I've been to have monitoring stations every 100 yards or so along the dam.

Maybe mine tailing ponds are covered under Mine Safety rules vs. BC Dam Safety Program?

Edit: Answered my question, yes they are monitored differently:
http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/mining/permitting-reclamation/geotech/documents/mining_dams_requirements.pdf

Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines, responds to Mt. Polley Mine Incident

http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2014/08/bill-bennett-minister-of-energy-and-mines-responds-to-mt-polley-mine-incident.html

so they are storing toxix water in a pond not secured in concrete?

so they are storing toxix water in a pond not secured in concrete?

Why spend all that profit on something that will never happen?

Likely residents fear the worst after Mount Polley Mine disaster

http://www.wltribune.com/news/270019941.html

I just heard on the radio that a environmental consultant who'd examined it prior found it filled to the bursting point and a disaster waiting to happen.

So who's at fault, the mine operators or the Province for not holding their feet to the fire?

The Province holding their feet to the fire? Are you kidding me? The Liberals cater to big business [HTML_REMOVED] big corporations. The resource companies can get away with almost anything as long as they contribute to the campaign coffers.

the free market will surely take responsibility and clean this up.
I expect to hear from farmer any minute now about how they should deregulate the industry.