Public Comment and Open House for new Elk Valley mines

[rudy-admin]

The public is invited to obtain information about and comment on the draft Application Information Requirements which will specify the studies to be conducted and the detailed information to be provided in the application for an environmental assessment certificate for the proposed project. Open houses will be held in Elkford and Sparwood BC. A 30 day public comment period on the draft Application Information Requirements will start on March 16, 2010 and end at midnight April 14, 2010. All comments received during this comment period in relation to the Application Information Requirements will be considered.

For details on this Environmental Assessment project:

http://a100.gov.bc.ca/appsdata/epic/htm … e_352.html

[imported_ryland]

RECCOMENDED COMMENTS TO MAKE:

More analysis of potential increased release of Selenium is needed before new mining should proceed. The impact of increased levels of selenium in the Elk River watershed from existing operations must be more fully understood prior to environmental certificates being awarded to any new mining operations.

More emphasis should be placed on evaluating the cumulative effects that these proposed mines will add to the watershed in the context of the ongoing impact from all of Teck’s existing operations and taking into account other proposed and planned forestry, mining and oil and gas extraction and exploration activities in the Elk River watershed. This study should be co-sponsored by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

In Section B2.8 wildlife connectivity impacts MUST be assessed. Special considerations must be made for listed (SARA and COSEWIC) species, especially Canadian Lynx and Grizzly Bear as well as Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep.

This project should be required to undergo a complete full panel review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

The public comment form is here – http://www.eao.gov.bc.ca/feedback/LineC … tions.html

[mikes]

The land of milk, honey, and puppets!

[imported_ryland]

you can see the comments made during this round of public input on the Application Information Requirements.

http://bit.ly/ao5inT

[young_local]

Really? You guys are going to "suggest" comments for people to make. Do you really think the bc gov’t/tech coal is going to take any of the 100 comments made that are worded the EXACT same as wildsight’s comments? Why not tell people to research the facts and come up with their OWN opinion.. rather than setting out "suggested comments that will save the world". I mean, come on guys… as someone stated on ourfernie "why don’t you tell me what to think, too". You lose your legitimacy in my opinion when you have everyone posting the exact same comments. For all anyone knows, these people just support wildsight so they took two minutes to copy-paste the comments rather than actually look up some facts.

Sorry, but I’m just getting sick of wildsight’s (ryland and casey’s?) opinions being shoved down my throat, and if I don’t agree then I am an oil-loving, big corporation supporting s.o.b…

[imported_ryland]

Thanks for your feedback young local.

We offered these (pretty generic) comments as a suggestion of what people could offer as comments if they didn’t have the time to review the hundreds of pages of documents. Those who do trust wildsight could choose to use our suggested comments, and anyone was free to make their own comments.

[andyh20]

To our friends at Wildsite, maybe you should look at this from a different perspective. Modern society has been build solely on the worlds resources. Coal, base metals, fuel, electricity, plastics, fertilizer even large scale agriculture depends on the resources that are extracted from the Earth. First how will the world maintain social cohesion when the resources cannot keep up with the exponential growth of humans on planet Earth? Second, he without sin may cast the first stone! If you don’t want a coal mine don’t use steel! If you don’t want an oil sands mine don’t use fuel! If you don’t want a copper mine don’t use electricity! Until I see you guys walking around in loin cloths and eating birch bark you can be considered nothing more than a self righteous hypocrite!!!!

[imported_ryland]

If you read our comments you will see that we are not opposing this new mine. We have commented that more studies need to be done to understand the potential cumulative effects that this mine will have in relation to existing operations, specifically how selenium levels may increase.

Wildsight understands that the coal that is mined from the elk valley is primarily metallurgical coal used to make steel. And we know that there is not alternative. Which is why we aren not outright opposing mining in the Elk Valley…. only asking for stricter environmental protections be in place.

If this were a thermal electrial coal mine it would be a totally different ball game. I don’t know about you but I don’t want our mountains ripped down to be burned to create dirty power when there are so many other clean options.

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