Archive for the 'mining' Category

Cotter rerouting tainted creek near leaking uranium mine

Published on 03/06/2012 in contaminated water, management, mining and water diversions. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Retrieved from: Reuters

“The owners of a leaking uranium mine west of Denver have begun a bold project to reduce contamination of a creek that flows into a metro drinking-water reservoir: physically rerouting the creek so that it no longer flows over toxic waste.

“Nobody wants Cotter Corp.’s re-routing of Ralston Creek to be permanent.

“Federal biologists say the pine-studded creek corridor through a picturesque canyon is habitat for the endangered Preble’s Jumping Mouse.

“But government permits were issued because the latest data show uranium levels between 40 and 50 parts per billion — above the 30 ppb limit — in water destined for 1.3 million metro residents.

“Cotter work crews on Monday were completing a 21-foot-deep concrete-and-steel structure designed to channel all surface and shallow groundwater through an 18-inch-diameter black plastic pipeline running 4,000 feet around the Schwartzwalder Mine, once the nation’s largest underground uranium mine. As a condition of its 10-year federal permit, Cotter must irrigate the creek corridor to ensure that trees and wildlife survive.

“This is a temporary bypass that will allow us to do the permanent fix,” Cotter vice president John Hamrick said. “We really are trying to do the right thing here.”

“This is happening amid a continuing and costly legal standoff between Cotter, a Denver-based subsidiary of defense contractor General Atomics, and state regulators charged with protecting Colorado’s environment”

Read more: Reuters

sammykayed

Native Indian tribes facing ‘extinction’?

Published on 03/04/2012 in contaminated water, greenwashing, mining, oil, policy and privatization. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Photo retrieved from: www.nytimes.com

“The push to exploit natural resources is having a huge impact on native Indian communities across Latin America.

All too often, they say, their interests and preserving their way of life end up coming second to energy companies and the pursuit of profits.

Serving as the most notorious example for indigenous groups is that of the oil giant, Chevron, which last year was fined an unprecedented $18bn.

The company was found guilty of heavily polluting large parts of Ecuador’s rainforest. But it is fighting the ruling in the international courts, and so far has not paid a single cent of the fine.

And it is not just oil. Mining is also a source of tension for Indian tribes around the region in countries like Bolivia, Peru and Colombia.

In Ecuador, the Kichwa people in the town of Sarayaku are fighting the government whom they accuse of granting drilling rights to an Argentine oil company without their consent.”

Read more: Aljazeera

lily victoria

Troubled Waters: How Mine Waste Dumping Is Polluting Our Oceans, Rivers, And Lakes

Published on 02/28/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, greenwashing, lakes, mining, oceans, policy, rivers and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: .

Retrieved from: www.nodirtygold.org

“These mine wastes, or tailings, can contain up to three dozen dangerous chemicals, including arsenic, lead, mercury, and cyanide.

Each year, mining companies dump over 180 million tonnes of these hazardous mine wastes into rivers, oceans, and lakes – that’s more than 1.5 times the amount of waste that US cities send to landfills each year.

The Troubled Waters report examines the impacts of ten corporations’ waste dumping practices in water bodies in 11 regions around the world, including those in Papua New Guinea, Turkey, Canada, Indonesia, United States, and Norway.

The report calls on mining companies to stop using our oceans, rivers, and lakes as dumping grounds for their toxic wastes. The report recommends additional steps that must be taken by mining companies to protect people and ecosystems from irresponsible aquatic waste disposal, including dry stacking and backfill, where safe, and adopting measures to produce less waste.”

Read more: no dirty gold

 

lily victoria

Tibetan Village Stops Mining Project Near the Nu River

Published on 02/17/2012 in aquatic ecosystems, dams, displacement of people, greenwashing, mining, policy, privatization, rivers, water diversions and water wars. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Photo retrieved from: www.internationalrivers.org

“A Nu Challenge Looms for Ethnic Groups

After the villagers of Abin successfully canceled the mining project near the Nu River in January, they claimed the mountain itself had played a role. In these remote regions of western China, where many non-Han ethnicities reside, traditional views and nature worship can still be found. But while Abin was successful, development projects continue to be a looming threat to the traditional livelihoods of thousands of ethnic villagers living along the Nu River valley.

In particular, the 13-dam cascade first proposed in 2004 has returned to haunt the landscape, as seen through the roadwork, tunnels, and make-shift workers huts and equipment springing up along the Nu River. The watershed is home to thirteen different ethnic groups, most of whom are subsistence farmers. As many as 50,000 largely Lisu, Tibetan and Nu villagers would lose their farmland and be forced to move to prefabricated houses in new towns and look for work. Moreover, China has been reluctant to accord its ethnic minority nationalities “indigenous” status under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which recognizes the rights of indigenous people to prior consultation and consent. The dams would even wipe out portions of the pilgrimage route around Mount Kawagebo – a serious blow to the Tibetans both in and outside the area. As one ethnic Tibetan told the New York Times in 2007:”

“If people are forced to move because of the project, they are going to lose the way of life that makes them special. It’s inevitable that people will lose their traditions if they move away.”

Read more: International Rivers

 

lily victoria

Josh Fox: Are We About to Witness the Liquidation Sale of New York and its Drinking Water?

Published on 11/30/2011 in clean water act, contaminated water, fracking, mining, natural gas drilling, privatization, tap water, uncategorized and water rights. 0 Comments

“This is a conversation about community and sharing the voices from the gaslands of America. This is the story of Josh Fox, his movieGasland and about his current, Save the Delaware campaign. “Is this the liquidation sale of New York and our drinking water?” asks Josh Fox.

This is a week to celebrate the sudden November 17 cancellation of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) meeting where they were expected to vote on new gas drilling regulations, i.e. green-light fracking in the Delaware River basin that provides drinking water for 16.5 million people. On the 17th Governor of Delaware, Jack Markell announced that his state would be voting “no” on the new DRBC regulations that would have allowed 20,000 wells to be fracked in the watershed. Governor Cuomo of New York had already stated that he would vote “no” which left the expected “yes” votes of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, leaving the deciding vote to a representative for President Obama; a very complicated decision for him and one with risky implications. This is a movement about building coalitions, including the Delaware Riverkeeper that lead the numerous grassroots organizations organizing the event in Trenton, New Jersey on November 21.

So a momentary respite from the threats of gas drilling to the Delaware was celebrated on November 21 as hundreds of people traveled to the already scheduled rally in Trenton, New Jersey which included actors and activists, Debra Winger and Mark Ruffalo residents of upstate NY. In addition, Julie and Craig Sautner of Dimock, PA who are still without safe drinking water three years later, as promised by Cabot Oil, gave their support of the victory for the watershed and served to remind us of what’s at stake.”

Read More: Alternet.org

 

jenna cavelle

Coal ash spills into Lake Michigan after bluff collapse

Published on 11/02/2011 in contaminated water, lakes, mining, policy and wastewater. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Retrieved from: www.iwatchnews.org

“It is unknown how much coal ash fell from the pile, but the spill left behind a debris field about 120 yards long, theMilwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports .

“Based on our land use records it is probable that some of the material that washed into the lake is coal ash,” We Energies spokesman Barry McNulty told the Journal Sentinel. “We believe that was something that was used to fill the ravine area in that site during the 1950s. That’s a practice that was discontinued several decades ago.”

As iWatch News has previously reported , coal ash is the leftover residue from burning coal that is known to contain neurotoxins like lead and mercury and the carcinogens such as arsenic. In a series of investigations , iWatch News has examined the lack of federal oversight of the waste and its affects on communities near coal ash dump sites.

House Republicans championed legislation in mid-October that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to regulate coal ash and give regulatory authority to the states — a move that would shift authority away from the EPA and reduce federal regulations that Republicans say are burdensome.”

Read more: iwatch news

 

lily victoria

‘Green peacemaking’ needed on Latin America’s environmental disputes

Published on 10/27/2011 in agriculture, aquatic ecosystems, contaminated water, dams, hydropower, management, mining, peak water, policy, privatization, rivers, tap water, wastewater, water diversions, water rights, water wars and world water supply. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

In 2007, Argentinians – fearful the Botnia paper mill would cause pollution – protested on a bridge on the border with Uruguay. Retrieved from: www.guardian.co.uk

“Policy experts believe access to water is the issue with the most potential for stoking conflict. The problem is likely to be exacerbated by climate change, because most of Latin America’s major river basins are shared and water disputes rapidly assume a political character.

Friction between Bolivia and Chile over the Silala river illustrates how water disputes can touch raw historical nerves. Similarly, long-standing border tensions between Nicaragua and Honduras have been complicated by the impact of Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which changed the flow of the Negro river.

Hydroelectric power also cranks up strains. The potential for dams on the Usumacinta river has been a historic focus of tension between Mexico and Guatemala, and opponents of Brazilian mega-dams on the Madeira river warn they will also affect Bolivia and Peru.

Strains in the La Plata river basin are likely to escalate as development fuels rapid growth. The proposed Hidrovía project to straighten the Paraguay-Paraná rivers for better navigation to landlocked Bolivia and Paraguay also threatens the Chaco-Pantanal wetlands.

Pollution stirs this volatile mix, as in the Botnia case. On the other side of Uruguay, at its border with Brazil, biocides and fertilisers used in rice paddies have contaminated run-off into the Patos-Mirim lagoon system, stoking water quality disagreements.

Migration resulting from land exhaustion or climate change is another major potential source of conflict, especially if it brings into contact peoples with pre-existing tensions. The migration of 300,000 peasants from El Salvador to Honduras in search of land in the 1960s helped to spark the brief but bloody “Soccer War” of 1969.”

Read more: The Guardian

 

lily victoria

Lead by example on climate change, says Fedusa

Published on 09/12/2011 in aquatic ecosystems, climate change, contaminated water and mining. 0 Comments

Retrieved From: www.watersense.co.za

“The Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) says it is highly disappointed with government’s no show at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) meeting on Monday morning held to address problems caused by acid mine drainage.

“Representatives from government departments were scheduled to meet with organised business and organised labour — namely Fedusa and the Congress of South Africa trade unions [Cosatu].”

Cosatu had recently joined Fedusa ‘s Section 77 Protest Action against Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and waste water treatment and wished to formally add additional concerns relating to water quality and accessibility.”

To Read More Click Here: Mail & Guardian Online

jenna cavelle

Botswana Bushmen Drink From Reopened Borehole

Published on 09/06/2011 in boreholes, mining, policy, privatization and water rights. 0 Comments Tags: .

Photo retrieved from: www.commercialpressuresonland.org

“Survival International says Botswana’s Bushmen are drinking water from a borehole in the Kalahari desert for the first time in nine years.

It is a significant victory against the government that once evicted them from their ancestral lands.

The government capped the well at Mothomelo in 2002 to help force the tribe out of an area rich in diamonds.

In 2006 a court ruled the eviction illegal. But few Bushmen returned because the only water available was in handmade sand depressions.

Only in January did a court rule that the Bushmen have a fundamental right to water.

Survival International said Monday the Mothomelo well was re-drilled and a solar pump installed by Vox United charity working with Gem Diamonds, which mines in the Bushmen’s lands.”

Read more: Trib.com

lily victoria

How The Environment Agency Has Spun The News On River Quality

Published on 09/01/2011 in contaminated water, greenwashing, management, mining, policy, rivers, wastewater and waterborne diseases. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

A clean-up operation of the Thames at Brentford, south-west London. Retrieved from: www.guardian.co.uk

“But we must take the EA’s words with a heavy pinch of salt. The Wandle, which it says has “become a vibrant rich habitat due to better environmental regulation”, was massively polluted only a few years ago when Thames Water spilled thousands of gallons of industrial-strength chlorine into it; and only three months ago 450,000 tonnes of raw sewage escaped into the Thames, killing fish and leaving pollution.

However, the greater spin is to suggest that these and other English rivers are in good nick. The 10 rivers chosen here have been carefully selected and do not reflect the true status of our rivers, most of which are suffering because of abstraction, sewage, blockages to fish passes and other pollution.

What the government has done is to measure these rivers via what is called the General Quality Assessment (GQA). This assesses the water quality by the levels of oxygen demand (BOD), ammonia and dissolved oxygen found in the water. By this measure, rivers are indeed improving across the board and it is correct to say there has been a steady improvement in quality for 20 years, with 70% of rivers reaching “good” or “fair” standard.”

Read more: Guardian

 

lily victoria