What would the salmon say?
5 years, 9 months ago

What would the salmon say?

Salon  

The company that wants to mine copper and gold in southwest Alaska at the site of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery hired a firm to design mine waste pond dams that was behind one of the worst mining disasters in Canadian history. The KnightPiésold firm designed a dam that failed in 2014 in Mount Polley, British Columbia, releasing about 24 million cubic meters of a toxic slurry of mine waste and water into a creek and a once-pristine glacial lake. Those experts made sure they did not take into consideration appear to have minimized the risk of a dam collapse by focusing on just 20 years even though the dam may be needed to hold back toxic waste for centuries and despite the actual recent mining dam failures like those at Mount Polley and Brazil. After an October 2018 workshop on “Failure Modes and Effects Analysis,” the prospect of a dam collapse in the next two decades was “ruled out as remote during the 20-year operational life due to likelihood of successful detection and intervention.” Fishermen in Bristol Bay downstream of where the mine could be built hired another firm, Lynker Technologies, to look at what could happen if a dam failed.

Dam Waste Bristol Bay Mount Polley Mine Waste  waste  sockeye  mining  say  salmon  mount  value  toxic  polley  dams  firm  dam

History of this topic

Salmon Return to Klamath River After Century-Long Drought
3 months ago

Salmon Return to Klamath River After Century-Long Drought

Associated Press  

Salmon swim freely in the Klamath River for the first time in a century after dams removed. Researchers determined that Chinook salmon began migrating Oct. 3 into previously inaccessible habitat above the site of the former Iron Gate dam, one of four towering dams demolished as part of a national movement to let rivers return to their natural flow and …

Salmon will soon swim freely in the Klamath River for first time in a century once dams are removed
4 months, 1 week ago

Salmon will soon swim freely in the Klamath River for first time in a century once dams are removed

Associated Press  

For the first time in more than a century, salmon will soon have free passage along the Klamath River and its tributaries — a major watershed near the California-Oregon border — as the largest dam removal project in U.S. history nears completion. This image provided by Swiftwater Films shows a downstream view of crews working at the Iron Gate coffer …

Leaked document says US is willing to build energy projects in case Snake River dams are breached
1 year, 1 month ago

Leaked document says US is willing to build energy projects in case Snake River dams are breached

Associated Press  

SEATTLE — The U.S. government is willing to help build enough new clean energy projects in the Pacific Northwest to replace the hydropower generated by four controversial dams on the Snake River, according to a leaked Biden administration document that is giving hope to conservationists who have long sought the removal of the dams as a key to restoring depleted …

Much Of West Coast Faces Salmon Fishing Ban As Population Plummets
1 year, 9 months ago

Much Of West Coast Faces Salmon Fishing Ban As Population Plummets

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING SAN DIEGO — As drought dried up rivers that carry California’s newly hatched Chinook salmon to the ocean, state officials in recent years resorted to loading up the fish by the millions onto trucks and barges to take them to the Pacific. DaveAlan via Getty Images Now, ocean salmon fishing season is set to be prohibited this …

Last wild Atlantic salmon can survive Maine dams, feds say
1 year, 9 months ago

Last wild Atlantic salmon can survive Maine dams, feds say

Associated Press  

PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government ruled Monday that the last wild Atlantic salmon in the country can coexist with hydroelectric dams on a Maine river, dealing a blow to environmentalists who have long sought to remove the dams. Conservation measures along Brookfield’s four Kennebec dams are designed to improve fish passages and will require an investment of more than …

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