A total of 15 charges have been approved in connection with the August 2014 Mount Polley Mine tailings pond breach. 

The charges are for possible contraventions of the federal Fisheries Act and come after a joint investigation by the British Columbia Conservation Officer Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, noted the conservation officer service in a Facebook post Tuesday (Dec. 10).

The B.C. Prosecution Service assessed the charges and has approved to proceed to direct indictment against Imperial Metals Corporation, Mount Polley Mining Corporation and Wood Canada Ltd. 

Contraventions under two different sections of the federal Fisheries Act were used for the charges. 

The first is Section 35 (1) which states no person shall carry on any work, undertaking or activity that results in serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Indigenous fishery, or to fish that support such a fishery.

The second is Section 36 (3) which prohibits the deposit of all deleterious substances: into water frequented by fish, or to any place, under any conditions, where it may enter water frequented by fish.

A first court appearance date is scheduled for Dec. 18, in British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver. 

A statement from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service issued Tuesday said it worked with the Department of Fisheries and Environment and Climate Change Canada to investigate possible contraventions of the act.

Jamie Kneen, a spokesman with Mining Watch Canada, said the Mount Polley spill left B次元官网网址渄evastating environmental impacts,B次元官网网址� including potential damage to the salmon runs in the Fraser River.

B次元官网网址淭here's the physical destruction of 25 million cubic meters of material ripping down Hazelton Creek and into Quesnel Lake,B次元官网网址� said Kneen.

He said there are still many questions left unanswered, such as whether contamination from the spill is still active in Quesnel Lake.

B次元官网网址淎side from seeing these charges actually brought forward, our major concern is still the ongoing contamination,B次元官网网址� said Kneen.

B次元官网网址淲hat we don't know B次元官网网址� and there isn't really enough study being done on it B次元官网网址� is what the consequences are for the fisheries, or for the salmon runs, and part of that is that those are very complicated systems to study. But also there's not that much investigation being done to try and sort that out."

The agencies involved with the joint investigation were working together at the Mount Polley Integrated Investigation Task Force (MPIITF) 

A report to Crown Counsel was previously submitted to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada and the British Columbia Prosecution Service by the MPIITF for assessment of its investigation for prosecution.

Mount Polley Mining is a subsidiary of Imperial Metals, while Wood Canada is an engineering firm. 

The indictment alleges the companies allowed a "deleterious substance" from the mine's tailings pond into several bodies of water "frequented by fish," including Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek, Bootjack Creek, Edney Creek and Quesnel Lake. 

It alleges the companies' work at the mine near Likely, B.C. "resulted in serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery B次元官网网址� namely the death of fish or any permanent alteration to, or destruction of, fish habitat.B次元官网网址� 

Imperial Metals said in a statement the company received the indictment this week and as the matter is before the courts it won't be making further comment. 

A post from August on the Mount Polley Mine website says more than $70 million has been invested in environmental repair and clean-up efforts, "demonstrating a strong commitment to restoring the affected areas."

The offences under the Fisheries Act listed in the indictment carry fines between $500,000 and $6,000,000. 

The charges coming 10 years after the incident.

In the early hours of B.C. Day holiday, on Aug. 4, 2014, the northern flank of the mineB次元官网网址檚 tailings impoundment failed.

During the subsequent hours, about 17 million cubic metres of water and eight million cubic metres of tailings and mine waste spilled into nearby Polley Lake, Hazeltine Creek and Quesnel Lake.

B次元官网网址� with files from Canadian Press