Seven years after a catastrophic dam failure at the Mount Polley mine in British Columbia’s interior, the provincial government is still failing its duty to regulate the safety of hundreds of potentially dangerous dams, a new Auditor-General’s investigation has found.
The report, released Tuesday, also follows a fatal operational error in 2020 at the Cleveland dam in North Vancouver, and B.C. Auditor-General Michael Pickup said there are hundreds of high-risk structures around the province that are not properly regulated, posing a threat to people, property and the environment.
“The ministry is not effectively overseeing the safety of dams,” Mr. Pickup said in an interview. “It’s concerning. That increases the risks that dam owners might not meet the requirements for safety, and it increases the risk that their dams could threaten public safety.”
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