The group made the statement following numerous discoveries of arsenic-laden coal washed ashore on a Texada Island beach, near Lafarge Canada’s Texada Quarry coal storage facility.

The findings follow a recent licence alteration for the Texada Quarry coal storage facility approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mines without public consultation.

In a press release issued by Voters Taking Action on Climate Change, director Kevin Washbrook accused the province of quietly issuing the permit amendment more than a month ago and intentionally failing to announce it publicly.

BC residents and landowners visited the coal handling facility numerous times during 2013 and each time documented coal on the beach.

They believed it was coal that was leaked into the water during handling.

The Lafarge permit prohibits release of coal into the water or foreshore at the Texada Quarry facility.

The statement added that both the MEM and the ministry of environment were notified twice in 2013 of the discovery of coal on the beach.

On February 17, a MEM technician was sent to the site to investigate but reported that no coal contamination was present in the area.

Residents then took matters into their own hands when they geo-referenced, photographed and collected samples for independent testing at their own expense.

The independent testing was found to be conclusive, confirming that coal and dangerous levels of arsenic were present on the beach.

In the wake of the results water treatment specialist Clear Coast Consulting has urged the MOE to conduct an immediate follow-up investigation to determine if shellfish in the areas had been contaminated with arsenic.

The permit amendment, which allows coal ash storage at the Texada Quarry, comes as part of BC’s plan to increase coal exports to 65 million tonnes annually by the end of 2015.