Environmental monitoring at mine sites & Future directions

CIM Bulletin, Vol. 93, No. 1038, 2000

N.C. Garisto, SENES Consultants Ltd., Richmond Hill, Ontario, K. Himbeault, A. Rosaasen, Conor Pacific Environmental Technologies, Inc., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, D. Campbell, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, and D.A. Orava, SENES Consultants Ltd

The level of scientific knowledge about the effects of contaminants is increasing and changes in environmental monitoring are likely to allow for the assessment of environment effects particularly to the aquatic environment. This paper provides an overview of recent developments in this area which include the environmental effects monitoring program for pulp and paper operations, the assessment of the Aquatic Effects of Mining (AQUAMIN) program, the Aquatic Effects Technology Evaluation (AETE) program, and the review of the federal Metal Mining Liquid Effluent Regulations (MMLER). The paper also provides a look forward at the direction of environmental monitoring of mine projects in Canada.

Keywords: Environmental monitoring, Aquatic environment.