The University of Montana study concluded that concentrations of selenium in the Elk River below surrounding coal mines in the Elk River Valley “exceeded both the BC guidelines and the US [Environmental Protection Agency] water quality standard”

The report’s authors University of Montana limnology professor Dr Richard Hauer and research scientist Erin Sexton called for a ban on new coal mining in the area, saying the concentrations of selenium in the river below the mines was seven to 10 times higher than the concentrations above the mines.

The report says selenium is “known to cause health problems in domestic animals and humans and is a well-documented problem in fish” and that “the concentrations in the sites below the coal mining frequently exceed the values known to cause toxicity and abnormal development in fish”

Teck Resources operates five coal mines in the Elk Valley and spokesman Chris Stannell told the Globe and Mail he had not seen the US report and couldn’t respond directly to it.

He later added in an email statement that the company was “committed to responsibly managing selenium at our operations in order to ensure the continued health of the Elk River watershed”

Stannell said the company planne to invest $600 million over the next five years on water diversion and treatment facilities and on environmental research.

The report concluded that there were “significant ecological and environmental effects of coal mining on freshwaters of the Elk Basin when compared to both the Flathead Basin and the Elk Basin at sites above coal mines”

“These factors point to a degraded freshwater ecosystem in the Elk River Basin below coal mines,” it said.

“Indeed, we observed both a decrease in ecosystem structure and ecosystem function, with an overall loss of ecosystem integrity.”

According to environmental groups, there are five coal mines in the Elk River Valley, as well as four coal mine expansion proposals in the review stage, one new coal mine proposal and three exploration projects.