Comox Valley community updates: March 28, 2024

Deep Water Recovery, the controversial ship-breaking operation at Union Bay, has received a pollution abatement order from the province.

The order found that Deep Water Recovery failed a 96-hour toxicity test results in January 2024 and confirmed high concentrations of pollutants on the site, reporting high levels of copper iron zinc and other substances.

The province has ordered the company to immediately stop discharging copper, lead and zinc into the environment and to take steps towards a plan for ongoing management and reporting related to pollution from the site.

Madeline Dunnett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Discourse