The Board of Environmental Review voted 5-2 to send a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stating that it erred in its adoption of a water quality standard for selenium in Lake Koocanusa. Attorneys working for mining giant Teck Coal drafted the letter, which comes as Teck faces mounting pressure from U.S. officials and tribes on both sides of the border to reduce mining-related pollution entering aquatic ecosystems. The letter represents the latest development in Teck’s months-long pressure campaign to strike Montana’s water quality standard for selenium, a chemical byproduct of Teck’s British Columbia coal mining operations that can hamper reproductive success in fish and lead to spinal, facial and gill deformities, even in small quantities.
