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Call for Delegates - Consultations in Progress
ENGO participation in Consultations on Proposed Amendments to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER – Schedule 2)
When: First consultation is scheduled for May 14, 2008 and others to follow at various undetermined times until March 31, 2009 (see Background Info for more details)
Where: May 14 consultation in Ottawa/Gatineau and others in various other locations across Canada (see Background Info for more details)
Number of ENGO Delegates sought: a roster of delegates will be established from which 4 will be selected to participate in each consultation
Deadline to apply: March 31, 2009
The RCEN has been invited to select a roster of ENGO delegates from which 4 will be selected to participate in each of several consultations on proposed amendments to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER) to add lakes as tailings impoundment areas (TIAs) to Schedule 2 of the Regulations.
Environment Canada (EC) anticipates that there will be several consultations during this fiscal year in conjunction with proposed amendments to the MMER. These will be national consultations; most of these amendments will focus on the addition of one or two bodies of water to Schedule 2 of the regulations. RCEN delegates are invited to participate in a consultation session for each amendment proposal and will receive background information on the tailings impoundment area proposal for the mining project in question, along with technical documentation developed as part of the environmental assessment, where applicable. RCEN delegates will be expected to provide comments either at the consultation session or in written form following the consultation session.
The first consultation session is scheduled for May 14, 2008 with several others to follow at various undetermined times through til March 31, 2009 (see Background Info for more details). These consultation sessions will take place in various locations across Canada including the Ottawa/Gatineau area (see Background Info for more details). Environment Canada will provide additional details on the exact dates and location of each of these consultation sessions as soon as the information is available.
Environment Canada would pay travel costs (when incurred), and up to four days of time at $350 per diem for each TIA under consideration, plus an additional day of travel as appropriate.
If you are interested in participating, please complete the online application form.
Selection Criteria
- Experience and proven ability to work professionally, constructively and collaboratively in a multi-stakeholder setting;
- Good understanding of the MMER, including the multi-stakeholder advisory group (MMER-MAG) in which four members of the RCEN Mining Caucus participated
- Ability to bring a national and strategic perspective to the Table;
- Senior representative of an ENGO
- Ability to represent constituent community;
- RCEN member in good standing; and
- Commitment to the process.
Delegate Expectations
- Participate in an RCEN teleconference
- Review necessary preparatory and background material in advance of the teleconference and consultation
- Prepare for and gather information during the teleconference and consultation
- Provide comments either at the consultation session or in written form following the consultation session
- Prepare a report on the workshop for the RCEN following the consultation
Background Information and Selected Delegates
Carol and Scully Mines – Newfoundland and Labrador (May 14)
Delegate Submissions to Environment Canada:
Delegate Consultation Reports to RCEN:
The proposed amendments will be associated with the designation of water bodies associated with the Carol and Scully mines near Labrador City as TIAs. These iron ore mines have been in operation since the early 1960s and have been depositing tailings into water bodies since that time. Both mines have amended their approach to tailings management in conjunction with advice and feedback provided by federal officials within EC and DFO, and both have completed the negotiation of habitat compensation plans in consultation with DFO. Consultations with potentially affected Aboriginal communities on the proposed designation of the water bodies as TIAs, and the associated habitat compensation plans, were undertaken and completed in 2007.
A national consultation session is planned for these proposed TIAs and is scheduled for May 14, 2008. This consultation session will take place in advance of the anticipated publication of the proposed amendments in the Canada Gazette Part I. The session will consist of a meeting in the Ottawa area for participants in the Ottawa area plus the two company representatives, with those in other locations participating by teleconference.
Proposed Hydrometallurgical Facility - Newfoundland and Labrador (June 10 in Long Harbour, NL; June 12 in Ottawa, ON)
Alternates:
Originally selected delegates who were unavailable to attend:
The Voisey’s Bay Nickel Company (VBNC) is proposing to establish a hydrometallurgical processing facility in Long Harbour Newfoundland and Labrador. An environmental assessment (EA) for the project is underway.
This facility would produce a potentially acid generating waste material, and VBNC is proposing to dispose of this material in natural water body called Sandy Pond that would be developed as a TIA and listed on Schedule 2 of the MMER. In the event that a decision is made by DFO upon completion of the EA to recommend that the proposed use of Sandy Pond as a TIA proceed, arrangements would be made to propose amendments to the MMER to: a) expand the scope of the Regulations to include this type of facility; and b) designate this water body as a TIA.
For these anticipated MMER amendments, two national consultation sessions will be held. The consultation sessions being planned by EC in conjunction with DFO will take place in June 2008, prior to the completion of the federal EA for this project. One session will be held in Long Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador and the other in Ottawa. The ENGO representatives chosen can participate in either one or both of these sessions. EC is prepared to cover the costs associated with travel and per diem preparatory time to attend either one of these sessions, but not both.
Bucko Lake and Ruby Creek Projects – Manitoba and British Columbia
The proposed amendments would designate two water bodies associated with the Bucko Lake project in Manitoba and the Ruby Creek project in British Columbia as TIAs.
Crowflight Minerals Inc. is proposing to establish the Bucko Lake mine in northern Manitoba and to dispose of tailings in a natural, fish-bearing water body. An EA for the project is currently underway. If a decision is made to recommend that the water body be accepted for use as a TIA, the MMER would need to be amended.
Adanac Molybdenum Corp. is proposing to establish the Ruby Creek mine in northern British Columbia and to dispose of tailings in a natural, fish-bearing water body. An EA for the project is currently underway. If a decision is made to recommend that the water body be accepted for use as a TIA, the MMER would need to be amended.
Two national consultation sessions will be held in conjunction with these proposed amendments in June or July 2008, and both will occur prior to the completion of the EAs for the projects. The Bucko Lake session will take place in Manitoba and Ruby Creek session will be held in British Columbia.
Other Projects – British Columbia
Environment Canada expects that other mining projects in British Columbia, all of which are currently undergoing EAs, will lead to the need for further proposals to amend Schedule 2 of the MMER in 2008. The projects that are of specific interest at this time are Kutcho, Red Chris, and Mt. Milligan.
Imperial Metals Corp. is proposing to establish the Red Chris mine in northern British Columbia and is proposing to dispose of tailings in a natural, fish-bearing water body. A comprehensive EA for the project is currently underway.
Terrance Metals Corp is proposing to establish the Mt. Milligan mine in central British Columbia and is proposing to dispose of tailings in a natural, fish-bearing water body. An EA for the project is currently underway. If a decision is made to recommend that the water body be accepted for use as a TIA, the MMER would need to be amended.
Western Keltic Mines Inc. is proposing to establish the Kutcho mine in central British Columbia and is proposing to dispose of tailings in a natural, fish-bearing water body. An EA for the project is currently underway. If a decision is made to recommend that the water body be accepted for use as a TIA, the MMER would need to be amended.
National consultation sessions will be held in conjunction with each of these projects, and all will occur during the EA process. The exact timing of these consultations will be determined as the EAs progress, but it is expected that the consultations will take place in the fall of 2008 in British Columbia.
Additional information on the MMER amendment process and the RCEN’s involvement in the MMER-MAG can be consulted on the Mining Caucus webpage.
For more information, please contact Dan Casselman, National Caucus Coordinator, at tel: (613) 728-9810 ext. 236.
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