What kind of environmental assessment do you want?

Public Information Session concerning the Environmental Assessment of the proposed Stillwater-Marathon PGM-Cu mine

May 5, 2011, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm.

St John's United Church

Hosted by Citizens for a Responsible Mine in Marathon

The invitees include: all publicly-funded participants in Phase 1 of the EA including:
Citizens for a Responsible Mine in Marathon, Environment North, Great Lakes
United, Marathon Economic Development Corporation, Métis Nation of Ontario ,
MiningWatch Canada, Northwatch , Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation, Ontario
Coalition of Aboriginal Peoples, Ontario Nature, Pic Mobert First Nation, Pays Plat
First Nation, Red Sky Métis Independent Nation.

The evening will include:

• The opportunity for introductions from all of the funded groups describing their interest in the project
• Q & A session for members of the public to share viewpoints and ask questions of the invited groups.

The Citizens for a Responsible Mine (CRM) supports a rigourous environmental assessment of the proposed mine in which the short- and long-term economic, environmental and social costs and benefits are given careful consideration. Our hope is that an appropriately mandated Review Panel and a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement will lead to the approval of a safe, clean and sustainable mine that benefits this and future generations in our region.

Environmental Assessment takes a big step forward today

Winter hikers/anglers at Bamoos Lake, near proposed mine site, March 2011

The CEAA issued a news release today announcing a harmonized federal-provincial panel review. Entitled "Harmonization Agreement to Establish a Joint Review Panel" the document includes as an appendix the draft "Terms of Reference" for the as yet un-named review panel members. Also made available today are the draft "Environmental Impact Statement Guidelines".

While these documents were being drafted, the Citizens for a Responsible Mine, the Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation and the Lake Superior Binational Forum submitted to the CEAA suggestions for key elements for inclusion.

With the benefit of participant funding from the CEAA, the Citizens for a Responsible Mine has hired an expert consultant to meet with our membership and to review and comment on these documents.

The period for public comment on the draft panel "Terms of Reference" and "Environmental Impact Statement Guidelines" ends on May 9, 2011.

All of the above-mentioned documents, including letters to the CEAA from stakeholder groups, are available through the above link or here:

http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/05/documents-eng.cfm?evaluation=54755

New developments - preparing for the review panel

After reviewing Marathon PGM's Project description, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) advised the Minister of the Environment, the Hon. Jim Prentice, that the project carried with it significant environmental risks.  The Minister then referred the proposed PGM mine  to a review panel of independent experts. One significant factor in this decision was a letter from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The letter can be found here (link to pdf); here is an excerpt:

As requested, DFO has conducted an initial analysis of the potential environmental effects on fish, fish habitat and aquatic species at risk related to the Project. In summary, given the large scale of the Project, the likely impacts to as many as 24 water bodies, and uncertainties with respect to the success of mitigation and compensation for fish habitat impacts, it is DFO’s expert opinion that the Project as proposed in the July 2010 Addendum to the Project Description poses a high risk of potentially significant adverse environmental effects on fish and fish habitat.

As a group, Citizens for a Responsible Mine applied for funding through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s Participant Funding Program. If granted, the funding will be used to hire an independent consultant to review the ‘Terms of Reference’—the guidelines that the panel will need to use to conduct its review of the project.

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We are looking for a few people to put together an informative poster about key concerns related to the proposed mine. We have members willing to provide written content and photos. We need someone with good visual presentation skills (digital or conventional) to create an appealing poster that effectively communicates the information to members of the public who see the poster (at the library or the mall etc.). Can you help out? If so, please send us a message.

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There is a significant amount of concern all around the Great Lakes about the impact of mining on water quality. For more information, check out this excellent series of articles detailing how economic and environmental concerns associated with metal mining are playing out in other jurisdictions in the upper Great Lakes region.

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What questions do you have about the project? Please send them to us and we’ll try to find the answers. Please encourage others to join our Citizens for a Responsible Mine Facebook group so that we can hear from as many people as possible about this project.

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The rights to this project were recently purchased by Montana-based Stillwater Mining Company.

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