A coalition of environment groups is calling for a ban on new coal mining in the B.C.’s Elk River Valley after a U.S. study found high levels of selenium have leached from open-pit coal mines into the river.

The study, by Richard Hauer and Erin Sexton of the Flathead Lake Biological Station at the University of Montana, concluded that concentrations of selenium in the Elk River below the mines “exceeded both the B.C. guidelines and the U.S. EPA water quality standard.”

Their report said selenium concentrations were “significantly elevated” in the Elk basin of southeastern B.C., below coal mines. And it said the concentrations were typically seven to 10 times above naturally occurring levels above the coal mines.

The report said selenium is “known to cause health problems in domestic animals and humans and is a well-documented problem in fish,” and that “the concentrations in the sites below the coal mining frequently exceed the values known to cause toxicity and abnormal development in fish.”

“Human consumption is also problematic, although most fish are catch-and-release,” said John Bergenske, executive-director of Wildsight, an east Kootenay environmental group that wants a moratorium until the environmental effects of existing mines are studied.

“The problem is (selenium) bio-accumulates and shows up in the fish,” said Bergenske.

He said the proposed expansion of the Line Creek coal mine and proposed Bingay coal mine should be part of the moratorium.

Bergenske said the findings weren’t a total surprise. “What’s surprising is how high the levels are.”

Other groups calling for the moratorium are Sierra Club BC, CPAWS-BC and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. The four groups are also urging the B.C. government to dedicate a park in the southeastern one-third of the Flathead River Valley, adjacent to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.

“The high concentrations of sulphates and selenium in waters downstream of Elk Basin coal mines represent a significant threat to the ecological integrity of these streams and rivers,” the U.S. report said. “This should be of great concern to both Environment Canada and the U.S. EPA, as the Elk is a tributary to the Kootenai River and Lake Koocanusa, which flows into the U.S.A. in western Montana.

The U.S. study, commissioned by Glacier National Park, compares water quality in the Elk and neighbouring Flathead River Basins.

It also found extremely high nitrogen and sulphate levels.

According to the environmental groups, there are five coal mines in the Elk River Valley, adjacent to the Flathead River Valley. As well, there are four coal mine expansion proposals in the review stage, one new coal mine proposal and three exploration projects underway.

“These levels of selenium are toxic and known to cause deformities in fish and other species,” noted Peter Wood, CPAWS-BC Terrestrial Campaigns Directors. “Clearly we are far from striking the right balance between resource development and the need to maintain the health of these ecosystems.”