Skip to main content
NCBI home page
ACS AuthorChoice logoLink to ACS AuthorChoice
. 2026 Apr 14;60(16):11938–11944. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5c10900

Fish Remain High in Selenium Long after Mountaintop Coal Mines Close

Colin A Cooke †,‡,*, Jennifer A Graydon †, Andreas Luek §, Xiufen Lu ∥, Hailey Yu ∥, X Chris Le ∥, Megan Reichert ⊥
PMCID: PMC13130968  PMID: 41980274

Abstract

Mountaintop removal coal mining generates large volumes of waste rock. Weathering of this waste rock releases selenium, which can bioaccumulate to levels that can harm, and even extirpate, downstream fish communities. This is well demonstrated in ecosystems impacted by active mountaintop removal operations; however, less is known about the long-term impacts after coal mines close. Here, we show that mountaintop removal coal mines still present an acute threat to downstream fish populations, decades after mining ends. Crowsnest Lake (Alberta, Canada) receives runoff from the Tent Mountain Coal Mine, which closed in the 1980s and part of which was certified reclaimed. Fish in Crowsnest Lake contain tissue selenium concentrations (5–26 μg/g dry weight) that exceed guidelines and are among the highest documented in the literature. In contrast, tissue selenium concentrations in 840 fish from 29 reference lakes (without watershed coal mining) ranged from 0.2 to 2.5 μg/g. This study demonstrates that fish can remain high in selenium long after mountaintop removal coal mining ends, and it suggests that any further coal mine development may push the Crowsnest fishery beyond sustainability.

Keywords: trout, Alberta, Rocky mountains, pollution, water, sediment, fish, selenium

graphic file with name es5c10900_0005.jpg

graphic file with name es5c10900_0003.jpg

Introduction

Mountaintop removal coal mining releases selenium and other contaminants to downstream ecosystems. − The inputs of these pollutants can have devastating consequences for downstream fish communities and the ecosystems they inhabit. This is especially true for selenium, which bioaccumulates (primarily) through dietary exposure. , Decades of research offer insight into the sources, cycling, fate, and toxicity of selenium to fish (see Lemly, , Chapman et al. for reviews). Excess selenium can lead to deformities, reproductive problems (teratogenic effects), and mortality. − In fish, selenium is transferred into eggs during ovarian development, which can result in embryonic malformations and reduced reproductive success in exposed fish populations. , While the effects on newly hatched fish may be severe, the parent fish may appear unaffected. Complete reproductive failure and even population collapse can occur if exposure is prolonged and high enough.

Elevated fish tissue selenium concentrations have been well documented downstream of active coal mining operations; − however, fewer studies have investigated downstream fish communities decades after mining operations end. This is despite ample evidence that closed and legacy coal mines continue to release selenium (and other contaminants) long after mining operations cease. − In the Canadian Rocky Mountains, coal mining began in the late 1800s. Early mining activities were concentrated within the Crowsnest Pass region of the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, where bituminous (metallurgical) coal deposits are found on both sides of the Continental Divide. On the British Columbia side of the pass, coal production increased dramatically in 1970 when mountaintop removal mining methods were adopted. Today, a series of four mountaintop coal mines in the Elk River Valley account for ∼80% of Canada’s steelmaking coal exports. On the Alberta side of the pass, mountaintop removal coal mining occurred at two sites: Tent Mountain Mine and Grassy Mountain Mine (Figure a). Tent Mountain Mine closed in 1983 and Grassy Mountain Mine in 1968. A recent study of the Crowsnest River system, revealed high selenium concentrations in the streams and rivers draining the former coal mines. At the former Tent Mountain Mine, runoff from a waste rock pile (see Figure S1 for a photo) drains into Crowsnest Creek. In 2021 and 2022, selenium concentrations in the creek ranged from 3–24 μg/L immediately downstream of the mine (at site CC1) (Figure b). Lower concentrations, ranging from 1.3–7.0 μg/L, were noted further downstream at site CC2 where the creek empties into Crowsnest Lake. Within the lake, selenium concentrations were lower still, ranging between 1.3 and 2.0 μg/L. While selenium concentrations in the lake were lower than in Crowsnest Creek, they were still above Alberta’s 1 μg/L “Alert Concentration”, which stipulates a need for additional monitoring and research, and above regional background concentrations for streams unimpacted by coal mining (typically <0.5 μg/L). ,

1.

1

Open in a new tab

(A) Map of the Crowsnest Lake and the upper Crowsnest River watershed in southwest Alberta, Canada. Also shown are the closed mountaintop removal Tent Mountain and Grassy Mountain coal mines. The inset map shows the location of 29 reference lakes in Alberta where 840 fish were collected and analyzed for tissue (muscle) selenium concentration as part of Alberta’s Chemical Monitoring in Local Foods program. (B) Scatter plot of selenium concentrations in water from Crowsnest Lake, Crowsnest River and its tributaries collected during the open-water seasons (June–September) of 2021 and 2022 (note the different scales). Also shown is the Alert Concentration (1 μg/L), which is intended to trigger more monitoring and research, and the Guideline for the Protection of Aquatic Life (2 μg/L) as set by the Government of Alberta. (C) Selenium concentrations in a sediment core from Crowsnest Lake as well as the Alberta sediment quality guideline (2 μg/g). Also shown is a history of when underground and mountaintop mines were active within the Crowsnest River watershed. The water quality and sediment core data from panels B and C are from Cooke et al.

In addition to the water quality results, which represent contemporary conditions, a sediment core from Crowsnest Lake was used to reconstruct how selenium inputs to the lake had changed over time. The core revealed an increase in sediment-bound selenium coinciding with the onset of mining operations at Tent Mountain (Figure c). Selenium concentrations in the sediment core increased from a background of ∼3 μg/g prior to the mine opening, to ∼8 μg/g after mining began. These results, which are discussed in greater detail in the original publication, implicated Tent Mountain Mine as the largest contemporary source of selenium to Crowsnest Creek, Crowsnest Lake, and the Crowsnest River.

Recent proposals to restart mountaintop coal mining at both the Tent Mountain and Grassy Mountain mines have raised concern about the potential impact of any additional mining activities. Our objective was to quantify fish selenium concentrations in a system known to receive selenium inputs from legacy mountaintop removal coal mines. There are no resident fish populations in Crowsnest Creek today; therefore, Crowsnest Lake is the closest downstream ecosystem known to host a resident fish population. We hypothesized that Crowsnest Lake fish have elevated levels of selenium following decades of selenium supply from Tent Mountain Mine. To test this hypothesis, we measured tissue selenium concentrations in fish from Crowsnest Lake, and we compare these results with fish from other lakes not impacted by mountaintop coal mining.

Methods

Study RegionCrowsnest Lake and the Crowsnest River Basin

The Crowsnest River valley contains multiple towns and is a major transportation corridor, with Highway 3 and the Canadian Pacific Railway running parallel to Crowsnest Lake and Crowsnest River. Crowsnest Lake is characterized by multiple connected basins (Figure ). Crowsnest Lake hosts self-sustaining populations of brown trout (Salmo trutta), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni), longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus), and several minnow species, augmented by stocking of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus lewisi). Historically, the lake also hosted natural populations of westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). − Fish stocking has occurred sporadically over the past ∼100 years, and annually since 1998 (Figure S2). From 2000 to 2008, around 80,000 rainbow trout were added annually to the lake. After this period, 15,000 rainbow trout were added each year with fewer fish added in the past few years.

Beyond the lake, Crowsnest Creek hosted a stocked cutthroat trout population; however, this population was extirpated after a Tent Mountain Mine settling pond failure spilled sediment and contaminants into the creek in the mid-1990s. A small waterfall, beaver dams, and impoundments created by culverts are found within Crowsnest Creek prior to it flowing into Crowsnest Lake, and these features serve as barriers to upstream fish movement.

Fish Tissue Collection and Laboratory and Data Analysis

In August 2023, Crowsnest Lake was netted using the North American Standard Index Netting method for cold-water fisheries. Following that standard, we randomized sampling sites across the lake based on surface area and stratified by depth. Nets were set for approximately 24 h. Caught fish were identified by species, enumerated, measured for length and body weight, and muscle tissue (without skin) was taken from behind the vent. Each fish was further identified by sex and maturity according to visual assessment of gonad development, and otoliths were extracted for aging. The fish were sampled by government staff under the provincial Staff Research License (23–001-FR) following standardized provincial survey methods. Every effort was made to minimize the suffering captured fish. This permit is the only license required for provincial government employees and requires all involved to follow the Provincial Standard for the Ethical Use of Fish in Alberta.

Fish tissue (muscle) selenium concentrations were measured at the Analytical and Environmental Toxicology Laboratory at the University of Alberta. In brief, ∼1 g (wet weight) of fish tissue was weighed into a microwave digestion vessel (CEM Mars 6 acid digestion system). Five mL of nitric acid (Optima grade) was added into each vessel, and the vessels were kept in the fume hood overnight. Five mL of deionized water was added into each vessel the next day, and vessels were loaded on the microwave digestion instrument. Each digested sample was quantitatively transferred into a 50 mL beaker and the solution evaporated to ∼1 mL at 200 °C. Finally, the solution was diluted to 10 mL with 2% nitric acid for analysis and selenium was quantified using an Agilent 7900 ICP-MS. Quality assurance and quality control protocols included duplicate procedural blanks during each run, reanalysis of the calibration standards every 10 to 15 samples, and comparison of measured values to certified values of standard reference material 1566b Oyster tissue (certified value: 2.06 ± 0.15, average measured value: 2.21 ± 0.18, n = 7). All samples were analyzed as wet tissue and were converted to dry weight using species specific moisture values (brown trout and lake trout: 78%; mountain whitefish: 80%). − All fish tissue selenium concentrations are reported and discussed in dry weight (dw). Differences in median fish tissue selenium were tested for significance using a Kruskal–Wallis test and Dunn’s posthoc comparison in PAST.

Reference Lakes

To contextualize the results from Crowsnest Lake, we also present 840 measurements of selenium in eight species of fish from 29 reference lakes across Alberta (Table S1 and Figure ). None of these additional 29 lakes contain active or legacy coal mines within their watersheds. These fish were collected between 2011 and 2019 as part of Alberta’s Chemical Monitoring in Local Foods program, and were dissected and analyzed using the same methodologies (and at the same laboratory) as the Crowsnest Lake fish.

Results

Selenium in Crowsnest Lake Fish Tissue

A total of 212 fish from four species were captured from Crowsnest Lake: brown trout (n = 13), lake trout (n = 21), mountain whitefish (n = 71), and longnose sucker (n = 107). Interestingly, no rainbow trout were caught during the survey despite the stocking history described above. Selenium concentrations in Crowsnest Lake fish tissue ranged from 5 to 26 μg/g (Figure and Table ). Selenium concentrations were highest in brown trout (range: 6–22 μg/g; median: 19 μg/g), followed by lake trout (range: 12–20 μg/g; median: 15 μg/g), and mountain whitefish (range: 5–26 μg/g; median: 9 μg/g). Median selenium concentrations were significantly (Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn’s posthoc test p < 0.01) lower in mountain whitefish compared to the two trout species (Table S2). Longnose suckers were not analyzed for selenium concentrations because the species has not been a target species of Alberta’s Chemical Monitoring in Local Foods program.

2.

2

Open in a new tab

(A) Crowsnest Lake fish muscle tissue selenium concentrations in μg/g dry weight (dw) and by species and fish age. Guideline values shown are for the protection of fish and wildlife consumers from direct toxicity as set by the Government of Alberta (4 μg/g) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) (6.7 μg/g). Also shown is the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) selenium criterion for muscle tissue to protect aquatic life from chronic toxicity (11.3 μg/g). (B) Average fish muscle tissue selenium concentrations from Crowsnest Lake by species compared with species from 29 reference lakes not impacted by coal mining from across Alberta. The error bars represent one standard deviation (SD).

1. Summary Statistics for Fish Muscle Tissue Selenium Concentrations in μg/g Dry Weight in Crowsnest Lake and 29 Reference Lakes Not Impacted by Coal Mining.

species n min max median mean (1 stdev)
Crowsnest Lake
Brown trout 13 6 22 19 18 (±4)
Lake trout 21 12 20 15 15 (±2)
Mountain whitefish 71 5 26 9 9 (±4)
Reference lakes
Burbot 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5
Cisco 21 0.2 0.6 0.3 0.3 (±0.1)
Lake trout 34 1.0 2.4 1.4 1.5 (±0.3)
Lake whitefish 159 0.2 2.5 1.0 1.0 (±0.6)
Northern pike 272 0.2 2.2 0.5 0.5 (±0.3)
Walleye 331 0.4 2.4 0.9 0.9 (±0.4)
White sucker 6 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.4 (±0.1)
Yellow perch 16 0.9 1.7 1.1 1.1 (±0.2)
Open in a new tab

In general, we observed positive relationships between fish tissue selenium concentrations and fish age, length, and weight (Figure S3). Significant (p < 0.05) R 2 values were observed between selenium concentrations and age, weight, and length in mountain whitefish and between selenium concentrations and weight and length in brown trout. While sex is a known driver of selenium concentrations in fish, only one lake trout was mature and sample sizes for brown trout (n = 13) and lake trout (n = 21) were too small for sex-specific analyses. Selenium concentrations in mountain whitefish were significantly higher (p < 0.01) in females than males (Table S3). In fact, 14 of our 37 female mountain whitefish samples had tissue selenium concentrations exceeding the highest concentration among male whitefish (i.e., ≥11 μg/g).

Crowsnest Lake fish tissue selenium concentrations stand in contrast to fish populations from lakes not impacted by coal mine inputs. Selenium has been measured in eight species of fish (n = 840 individuals) from 29 (reference) lakes across Alberta over the past decade (Figure B). Within this data set, fish muscle tissue selenium concentrations ranged from 0.2–2.5 μg/g, well below the values observed in Crowsnest Lake fish. The contrast between Crowsnest Lake and the other Alberta lakes not impacted by coal mining becomes even more apparent after standardizing for fish size (Figure S4).

Comparison with Empirical Thresholds

Alberta has an interim fish muscle tissue selenium guideline of 4 μg/g to protect fish populations from reproductive effects. The Alberta guideline, which was adopted from British Columbia’s Ministry of the Environment, is lower than the Federal Environmental Quality Guideline of 6.7 μg/g set by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). Comparing against the Alberta guideline reveals 100% exceedance, meaning that every single fish sample analyzed exceeded this value (Figure and Table ). If we use the higher federal (ECCC) guideline, we observe 84% exceedance. When looking at just the piscivorous brown and lake trout, all but one individual fish exceeded the ECCC guideline. Similarly, all but one trout exceeded the even higher United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) criterion for muscle tissue of 11.3 μg/g. In contrast with Crowsnest Lake, none of the 840 fish tissue samples from our 29 reference lakes exceeded Alberta’s 4 μg/g guideline.

Discussion

Selenium released during weathering of the Tent Mountain Mine waste rock pile is transported downstream to Crowsnest Lake. Previous research revealed high selenium concentrations in both water and sediment downstream of the Tent Mountain Mine (Figure B,C). Our results can confirm this mine-sourced selenium is also present in the Crowsnest Lake fish population at concentrations that exceed thresholds established by Alberta, Canada, and the US EPA. Selenium concentrations in lake trout and brown trout were, on average, higher than in mountain whitefish; however, the highest individual tissue selenium concentration measured (26 μg/g) was in a female mountain whitefish. Significantly higher tissue selenium concentrations in female whitefish do not appear to reflect differences in growth rate between the sexes (Figure S5). Instead, we suspect this difference partially reflects a lack of captured older (and larger) male fish rather than an entirely biologically driven difference in selenium concentrations.

Beyond Crowsnest Lake, we know of only one previous assessment of selenium in fish tissue from the Crowsnest region. In 2016, fish from Blairmore and Gold Creeks, which drain the legacy Grassy Mountain Mine (Figure ), were analyzed for tissue selenium as part of an Environmental Impact Assessment to restart mountaintop removal coal mining at Grassy Mountain. , The species analyzed included brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and a hybrid population of rainbow trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Selenium concentrations in these individuals ranged from 4.5 to 10.4 μg/g (Table S4). Collectively, our results, as well as the fish from Blairmore and Gold Creeks, suggest a broader selenium problem within the Crowsnest Lake and River watershed.

Our fish tissue selenium concentration results are elevated relative to other Rocky Mountain systems impacted by excess selenium. Kuchapski et al. reported selenium concentrations in four species of fish downstream of mountaintop removal mining operations in both the Elk River valley (in British Columbia) and the McLeod River basin (in Alberta). Across these two basins, fish populations in mining-impacted streams had an average selenium concentration of 7.6 ± 1.0 μg/g (range: 4.7–14.3 μg/g). The Kuchapski et al. data included westslope cutthroat trout from the Fording River collected in 2011, and ECCC noted similar results again in 2012. , The ECCC fish tissue samples were collected under a warrant issued as part of an investigation into the release of deleterious coal waste rock leachate into the Fording River. Less than a decade later (in 2020), the Fording River adult westslope cutthroat trout population suffered a 93% decline (relative to 2017), and juvenile density was 73% lower. Teck Coal Limited was eventually fined 60 million dollars under Canada’s Fisheries Act for discharges of selenium and calcite to the Fording River, the largest such fine in Canadian history. Runoff from the Elk River valley mines eventually makes its way into Lake Koocanusa, a transboundary reservoir spanning the Canada and United States border. Molbert et al. recently summarized 1879 fish tissue selenium measurements across multiple years and species in Lake Koocanusa. They report muscle selenium concentrations ranging from 0.21 to 10.7 μg/g. Thus, fish tissue selenium concentrations in Crowsnest Lake equal or even exceed some of Canada’s best studied systems impacted by selenium pollution.

Crowsnest Lake fish tissue selenium concentrations are also elevated relative to well-studied systems in the United States impacted by mountaintop removal coal mining, coal combustion residual effluent, and agricultural inputs. For example, Arnold et al. examined two species of fish from the Mud River, which receives selenium-laden effluent from a mountaintop removal coal mine in West Virgina. They reported average fish tissue selenium concentrations of 6.3 and 3.5 μg/g in creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) and sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus), respectively. In a more recent review of multiple coal-mining impacted systems, Detering et al. reported an average muscle concentration of 4.8 μg/g (range: 0.1–25.1 μg/g; n = 386) in mountain whitefish and brown trout. In North Carolina, multiple studies of lakes and reservoirs receiving historical inputs of high-selenium effluent from coal-fired power plants reveal a complex, internal supply and cycling of selenium that can sustain biological uptake long after inputs cease. , Belews Lake (North Carolina) provides a particularly well-studied example, where fish tissue selenium concentrations ranged from 3–20 μg/g in four species more than a decade after selenium inputs were completely eliminated. The Belews Lake study illustrates that selenium-enriched sediment, which are also seen in Crowsnest Lake, can serve as an internal source even after mitigation measures eliminate selenium supply. Finally, closer to our study site, Day et al. report average selenium concentrations around 10 μg/g in fish from the Gunnison River (Colorado, USA), which drains an irrigated basin underlain by seleniferous soils.

The comparisons above illustrate the exceptionally high selenium concentrations in Crowsnest Lake fish tissue. While Tent Mountain Mine is the main source of selenium to the lake, and lake water and sediment are characterized by elevated selenium concentrations, bioaccumulation is clearly occurring. At present we cannot distinguish between the relative contributions of aqueous or sediment selenium in controlling uptake by biota. A better understanding of selenium cycling within the lake, including potential water-sediment exchange, could be combined with measurements of selenium at various trophic levels to reveal the factors driving selenium uptake among and within resident trout and whitefish.

The Crowsnest Basin: A Managed (and Stressed) Fishery

Crowsnest Lake and its outlet, the Crowsnest River, are managed recreational fisheries. Over one million rainbow trout have been added to Crowsnest Lake since 1998 (Figure S2), yet we did not net a single rainbow trout in 2023. This occurred even though fish introduced between 1998 and 2009 (83% of all fish added since 1998) were capable of reproduction (i.e., 2N strain), and fish were stocked into the lake three months prior to netting in 2023. There is no flow control on the outlet of Crowsnest Lake, which allows fish migration from the lake to Crowsnest River. We hypothesize that most, if not all, of the rainbow trout added to the lake escape downstream to Crowsnest River. Additional research into fish population dynamics and movement in this lake-river system would help understand the fate of stocked rainbow trout.

Excess selenium is not the only stressor present in the Crowsnest basin. In 2016, whirling disease was detected in the Crowsnest River. A 2019 assessment of Crowsnest River found that 85% of captured wild fingerling rainbow trout exhibited clinical signs of whirling disease. The most common symptoms observed were shortened opercula (i.e., exposed gills) and black tails. Some of these same clinical symptoms are exhibited in fish with selenium poisoning. ,,, We did not observe any obvious signs of either whirling disease or selenium poisoning during our assessment of the fish population in Crowsnest Lake. Fish from Crowsnest Lake have never been tested for whirling disease but as mentioned above, fish can move freely between the lake and the river. While the whirling disease study sampled the outflow of Crowsnest Lake, effects of whirling disease were limited to sites downstream in the Crowsnest River. A better understanding of magnitude and extent of both whirling disease and selenium pollution in the Crowsnest basin is clearly warranted.

In addition to the toxicity risks to fish, there are also concerns for human health for those that consume fish high in selenium. Current (2024) fishing regulations in Crowsnest Lake allow for the harvesting of any size of brown and lake trout but only mountain whitefish longer than 300 mm can be kept by anglers. Based on the results presented here, Alberta’s Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services issued Interim Fish Consumption Guidance stating that the public should consider limiting consumption of fish from Crowsnest Lake. In the United States, states with active mountaintop removal coal mines have issued fish consumption advisories to limit the intake of fish high in coal mine selenium pollution. This includes the Mud River in West Virginia, where decades of research have documented elevated fish tissue selenium concentrations downstream of active mountaintop removal mines.

Our results provide new evidence that selenium concentrations in resident Crowsnest Lake fish populations exceed empirical thresholds designed to protect fish populations and fish consumers. In addition to this excess selenium, the emergence of whirling disease, declining snowpack and increased drought, atmospheric transport and deposition of coal dust contaminants, , and year-round recreational angling pressure make Crowsnest Lake and River an especially vulnerable system. Any new development of coal mining within Alberta’s eastern slopes, such as the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal mine, may push the Crowsnest fishery beyond sustainability. Beyond Crowsnest Lake, our results demonstrate that fish can remain high in selenium long after mountaintop removal coal mines close, which should be considered in assessments of proposed or existing mine developments.

Supplementary Material

es5c10900_si_001.csv (200.1KB, csv)
es5c10900_si_002.pdf (569.1KB, pdf)

Acknowledgments

The authors thank field staff from the Government of Alberta for conducting the survey and collecting the fish used in this study, and Chester Lau for contributions to the laboratory analysis of fish samples. Funding for this work was provided by the Government of Alberta. We thank the five anonymous reviewers and the journal editor for their helpful comments.

The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.5c10900.

  • Supporting data (CSV)

  • Summary of fish netting methods and results; mine photographs; plot of fish stocked in Crowsnest Lake; plots of selenium concentrations in fish tissue versus fish metrics; fish tissue selenium to length ratios; plot of age vs total length in mountain whitefish; tables of reference lake information; Kruskal–Wallis p-values; and Grassy Mountain Mine Environmental Impact Assessment fish muscle selenium results (PDF)

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

References

  1. Bernhardt E. S., Palmer M. A.. The Environmental Costs of Mountaintop Mining Valley Fill Operations for Aquatic Ecosystems of the Central Appalachians. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2011;1223(1):39–57. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.05986.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Palmer M. A., Bernhardt E. S., Schlesinger W. H., Eshleman K. N., Foufoula-Georgiou E., Hendryx M. S., Lemly A. D., Likens G. E., Loucks O. L., Power M. E., White P. S., Wilcock P. R.. Mountaintop Mining Consequences. Science. 2010;327(5962):148–149. doi: 10.1126/science.1180543. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Lindberg T. T., Bernhardt E. S., Bier R., Helton A. M., Merola R. B., Vengosh A., Di Giulio R. T.. Cumulative Impacts of Mountaintop Mining on an Appalachian Watershed. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2011;108(52):20929–20934. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1112381108. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Storb M. B., Bussell A. M., Eldridge S. L. C., Hirsch R. M., Schmidt T. S.. Growth of Coal Mining Operations in the Elk River Valley (Canada) Linked to Increasing Solute Transport of Se, NO 3–, and SO 42– into the Transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (USA–Canada) Environ. Sci. Technol. 2023;57(45):17465–17480. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c05090. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cooke C. A., Emmerton C. A., Drevnick P. E.. Legacy Coal Mining Impacts Downstream Ecosystems for Decades in the Canadian Rockies. Environ. Pollut. 2024;344:123328. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123328. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Wellen C. C., Shatilla N. J., Carey S. K.. Regional Scale Selenium Loading Associated with Surface Coal Mining, Elk Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Sci. Total Environ. 2015;532:791–802. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.06.040. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Clark E. V., Zipper C. E., Daniels W. L., Keefe M. J.. Appalachian Coal Mine Spoil Elemental Release Patterns and Depletion. Appl. Geochem. 2018;98:109–120. doi: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2018.09.016. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  8. Brandt J. E., Roberts J. J., Stricker C. A., Rogers H. A., Nease P., Schmidt T. S.. Temporal Influences on Selenium Partitioning, Trophic Transfer, and Exposure in a Major U.S. River. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2021;55(6):3645–3656. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c06582. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Day N. K., Schmidt T. S., Roberts J. J., Osmundson B. C., Willacker J. J., Eagles-Smith C. A.. Mercury and Selenium Concentrations in Fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin, Southwestern United States: A Retrospective Assessment. PLoS One. 2020;15(1):e0226824. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226824. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Lemly A. D.. Symptoms and Implications of Selenium Toxicity in Fish: The Belews Lake Case Example. Aquat. Toxicol. 2002;57(1–2):39–49. doi: 10.1016/S0166-445X(01)00264-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lemly A. D.. Environmental Hazard Assessment of Benga Mining’s Proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project. Environ. Sci. Policy. 2019;96:105–113. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2019.03.010. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  12. Chapman, P. M. ; Adams, W. J. ; Brooks, M. L. ; Delos, C. G. ; Luoma, S. N. ; Maher, W. A. ; Ohlendorf, H. M. ; Presser, T. S. ; Shaw, D. P. . Ecological Assessment of Selenium in the Aquatic Environment. 2010.
  13. Janz, D. ; DeForest, D. ; Brooks, M. ; Chapman, P. ; Gilron, G. ; Hoff, D. ; Hopkins, W. ; McIntyre, D. ; Mebane, C. ; Palace, V. ; Skorupa, J. ; Wayland, M. . Selenium Toxicity to Aquatic Organisms. In Ecological Assessment of Selenium in the Aquatic Environment; CRC Press, 2010; pp 141–231. [Google Scholar]
  14. Covington S. M., Naddy R. B., Prouty A. L., Werner S. A., Lewis M. D.. Effects of in Situ Selenium Exposure and Maternal Transfer on Survival and Deformities of Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta) Fry. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2018;37(5):1396–1408. doi: 10.1002/etc.4086. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Lemly A. D.. A Teratogenic Deformity Index for Evaluating Impacts of Selenium on Fish Populations. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 1997;37(3):259–266. doi: 10.1006/eesa.1997.1554. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Pilgrim, N. Multigenerational Effects of Selenium in Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, and Cutthroat Trout; PhD Thesis, University of Lethbridge: 2012. [Google Scholar]
  17. Pilgrim N. L., Royer R., Ripley L., Underwood J., Rasmussen J. B., Hontela A.. Multicompartment Gravel Bed Flume to Evaluate Swim-Up Success of Salmonid Larvae. North Am. J. Fish. Manag. 2013;33(1):71–78. doi: 10.1080/02755947.2012.741556. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kuchapski K. A., Rasmussen J. B.. Food Chain Transfer and Exposure Effects of Selenium in Salmonid Fish Communities in Two Watersheds in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2015;72(7):955–967. doi: 10.1139/cjfas-2014-0484. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  19. Arnold M. C., Lindberg T. T., Liu Y. T., Porter K. A., Hsu-Kim H., Hinton D. E., Di Giulio R. T.. Bioaccumulation and Speciation of Selenium in Fish and Insects Collected from a Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining-Impacted Stream in West Virginia. Ecotoxicology. 2014;23(5):929–938. doi: 10.1007/s10646-014-1236-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Hitt N. P., Smith D. R.. Threshold-Dependent Sample Sizes for Selenium Assessment with Stream Fish Tissue. Integr. Environ. Assess. Manag. 2014;11(1):143–149. doi: 10.1002/ieam.1579. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Cooke C. A., Emmerton C. A., Donahue W. F., Kerr J. G.. Downstream Water Quality Impacts Persist despite Mountaintop Coal Mine Reclamation in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Environ. Pollut. 2025;383:126841. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.126841. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Schaffer C. R., Cravotta C. A., Capo R. C., Hedin B. C., Vesper D. J., Stewart B. W.. Multi-Decadal Geochemical Evolution of Drainage from Underground Coal Mines in the Appalachian Basin, USA. Sci. Total Environ. 2024;947:174681. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174681. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Cianciolo T. R., McLaughlin D. L., Zipper C. E., Timpano A. J., Soucek D. J., Schoenholtz S. H.. Impacts to Water Quality and Biota Persist in Mining-Influenced Appalachian Streams. Sci. Total Environ. 2020;717:137216. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137216. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Piper L., Green H.. A Province Powered by Coal: The Renaissance of Coal Mining in Late Twentieth-Century Alberta. Can. Hist. Rev. 2017;98(3):532–567. doi: 10.3138/chr.4248. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  25. Clarke, G. ; Northcote, B. ; Corcoran, N. ; Heidarian, H. ; Hancock, K. . Exploration and Mining in British Columbia, 2023.
  26. Goverment of Alberta . Environmental Quality Guidelines for Alberta Surface Waters Edmonton, Alberta; 2018. [Google Scholar]
  27. Fitch, L. ; Kneteman, J. ; Quinlan, R. ; Smith, K. ; Sterling, G. . Insights on Coal Development from Five Retired Fish and Wildlife Biologists: Submission to the Alberta Coal Policy Committeee. 2021.
  28. Mitchell, P. ; Prepas, E. . Atlas of Alberta Lakes; The University of Alberta Press: Edmonton, 1990. [Google Scholar]
  29. Government of Alberta . Fish Stocking Report, Edmonton, Alberta; 2025. [Google Scholar]
  30. Radford, D. S. ; Graveland, D. . The Water Quality of Some Coal Mine Effluents and Their Effect on Stream Benthos and Fish, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; 1973. [Google Scholar]
  31. Fitch, L. A Report on Biological Inventories of 11 Streams in the Crowsnest Drainage District of Alberta. Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; 1978. [Google Scholar]
  32. Fitch, L. A Summary of Biological Surveys of Crowsnest Lake 1979, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada; 1981. [Google Scholar]
  33. Government of Alberta . Fish consumption advisory. https://mywildalberta.ca/fishing/advisories-corrections-closures/fish-consumption-advisory.aspx (accessed October 17, 2025).
  34. Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes; Bonar, S. A. ; Hubert, W. A. ; Willis, D. W. , Eds.; American Fisheries Society, 2009. [Google Scholar]
  35. Government of Alberta . Standards for the Ethical Use of Fishes in Alberta 2013. https://open.alberta.ca/publications/standards-for-the-ethical-use-of-fishes-in-alberta (accessed March 23, 2026).
  36. Donadt C., Cooke C. A., Graydon J. A., Poesch M. S.. Mercury Bioaccumulation in Stream Fish from an Agriculturally-Dominated Watershed. Chemosphere. 2021;262:128059. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128059. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Donadt C., Cooke C. A., Graydon J. A., Poesch M. S.. Biological Factors Moderate Trace Element Accumulation in Fish along an Environmental Concentration Gradient. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2021;40(2):422–434. doi: 10.1002/etc.4926. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Scudder, B. C. ; Chasar, L. C. ; Wentz, D. A. ; Bauch, N. J. ; Brigham, M. E. ; Moran, P. W. ; Krabbenhoft, D. P. . Contaminated Fish: Chemical Residues and Mercury, Mercury in Fish, Bed Sediment, and Water from Streams across the United States 1998–2005, 2011.
  39. Hammer Ø., Harper D. A. T., Ryan P. D.. PAST: Paleontological Statistics Software Package for Education and Data Analysis. Palaeontol. Electron. 2001;4(1):9 [Google Scholar]
  40. Government of British Columbia . Ambient Water Quality Guidelines for Selenium. 2014.
  41. Environment and Climate Change Canada . Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 - Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines - Selenium. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/evaluating-existing-substances/federal-environmental-quality-guidelines-selenium.html (accessed April 1, 2026).
  42. Hatfield Consultants . Grassy Mountain Coal Project: Aquatic Ecology Effects Assessment Addendum Consultant Report #6 2016. https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80101. (accessed March 23, 2026).
  43. Environment and Climate Change Canada . Teck Coal Limited ordered to pay $60 million under the Fisheries Act and must comply with a Direction requiring pollution reduction measures. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2021/03/teck-coal-limited-ordered-to-pay-60-million-under-the-fisheries-act-and-must-comply-with-a-direction-requiring-pollution-reduction-measures.html. (accessed October 15, 2025).
  44. Lemly, A. D. Review of Environment Canada’s Teck Coal Environmental Assessment and Evaluation of Selenium Toxicology Tests on Westslope Cutthroat Trout in the Elk and Fording Rivers in Southeast British Columbia. 2014.
  45. Hocking, M. ; Tamminga, T. ; Arnett, M. ; Robinson, M. ; Larratt, H. ; Hatfield, T. . Subject Matter Expert Report: Calcite. Evaluation of Cause–Decline in Upper Fording River Westslope Cutthroat Trout Population. 2021.
  46. Molbert N., Dunnigan J. L., Schmidt T. S., Selch T. M., Balmer B. C., Moloney M. A., Brandt J. E.. Selenium and Mercury Tissue Partitioning and Trophodynamics in the Lake Koocanusa (USA–Canada) Fish Community. Environ. Pollut. 2026;392:127623. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2025.127623. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Detering C. A., Brix K. V., Adzic M., Fulton B. A., DeForest D. K.. Relationships in Selenium Concentrations among Fish Tissues to Support Selenium Assessments and Regulations. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2025;44(6):1742–1757. doi: 10.1093/etojnl/vgaf045. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Brandt J. E., Bernhardt E. S., Dwyer G. S., Di Giulio R. T.. Selenium Ecotoxicology in Freshwater Lakes Receiving Coal Combustion Residual Effluents: A North Carolina Example. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017;51(4):2418–2426. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.6b05353. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  49. Lemly A. D.. Ecosystem Recovery Following Selenium Contamination in a Freshwater Reservoir. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 1997;36(3):275–281. doi: 10.1006/eesa.1996.1515. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  50. James C. T., Veillard M. F., Martens A. M., Pila E. A., Turnbull A., Hanington P., Luek A., Alexander J., Nehring R. B.. Whirling Disease in the Crowsnest River: An Emerging Threat to Wild Salmonids in Alberta. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 2021;78(12):1855–1868. doi: 10.1139/cjfas-2020-0484. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  51. Government of Alberta . Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations, Edmonton; 2024. [Google Scholar]
  52. West Virginia DNR . Fishing Regulations Summary. https://dhhr.wv.gov/News/2024/Pages/2024-Sport-Fishing---New-Change-to-the-2023-West-Virginia-Fish-Consumption-Advisories.aspx. (accessed 202 −02–13).
  53. Newton B. W., Farjad B., Orwin J. F.. Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Historic and Future Temperature and Precipitation Patterns Related to Snow Accumulation and Melt Regimes in Alberta, Canada. Water. 2021;13(8):1013. doi: 10.3390/w13081013. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  54. Cooke C. A., Drevnick P. E.. Transboundary Atmospheric Pollution from Mountaintop Coal Mining. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2022;9(11):943–948. doi: 10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00677. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  55. Cooke C. A., Holland K. M., Emmerton C. A., Drevnick P. E., Criscitiello A. S., Newton B. W.. Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Contaminates Snowpack across a Broad Region. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2024;58(26):11718–11726. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.4c02596. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

es5c10900_si_001.csv (200.1KB, csv)
es5c10900_si_002.pdf (569.1KB, pdf)

Articles from Environmental Science & Technology are provided here courtesy of American Chemical Society

RESOURCES