Want evidence as to how often environmental agency and mining industry predictions are wrong when it comes to water contamination?
This report – Comparisons Report Final – analyzes the water quality that environmental studies predict prior to the approval of several different mines and the resulting water quality after the mines were in operation. They find that the predictions are rarely correct, having painted a rosier picture than what exists.
Although all mines require carefully executed mitigation, mines close to water resources with high acid drainage or contaminant leaching potential, such as the Black Butte mine, need special attention. That’s because the authors find that adverse impacts to water quality are common at mine sites, and they are most often caused by failed mitigation.