Coalmont is a small mining town on the north bank of the Tulameen River, northwest of Princeton, BC, where Coalmont Energy operates.

The private company has a 25-year mining lease on coal licenses near the town.

Coalmont Energy spokesman Keith Meldrum told Globalnews.ca that a malfunction at one of the company’s new plants caused a containment pond to spill waste into the Tulameen River.

Despite the river appearing black, Meldrum said there was no environmental impact aside from the change in water clarity.

“It is our belief at this point that this is more of a visual impact and there is minimal environmental impact,” he said.

Meldrum added that the tailings were not toxic because the coal the company mined didn’t contain sulfur or blasting contaminates.

The plant installed by Coalmont has been shut down until further notice and the provincial government is monitoring the situation.

Globalnews.ca reported that American officials had been notified because there was a risk the tailings could flow into the Columbia River.