VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) -British Columbia’s chief inspector of mines says the Mount Polley mine and its engineers had weak standards for the tailings storage facility that collapsed in August 2014.

But Al Hoffman says those standards were not weak enough to warrant charges under the Mines Act.

Hoffman makes 19 recommendations in a report released into the disaster, including that all mines with the same storage facilities be required to have designated mine safety managers and staff to oversee its management.

“I can only recommend a report to crown counsel is there’s a distinct offence and that’s a non-compliance with the regulations, the code, or the permit, and despite 15 months of investigation, we couldn’t find it.”

Hoffman says the strength of the layer of clay underneath the dam in BC’s Cariboo wasn’t taken into account when the dam was built and the failure of the tailings pond was also a result of inadequate water management.

Another report released last January also concluded that the spill of 24-million cubic metres of silt and water into nearby lakes and rivers was caused by a poorly designed dam.

Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said the government will introduce new regulations and requirements to make the province a leader in safety standards for tailings storage.

Bennett did have some harsh words for the company.

“The company and the engineers and I wanted to include this quotation ‘review and characterize the foundation styles but these opportunities were unnoticed, ignored, and or discounted’ end of quote.”