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Hundreds attend Prosperity open houses
November 12 2008 | News Articles | Williams Lake Tribune
Hundreds attend Prosperity open houses
By Sage Birchwater – Williams Lake Tribune
Published: November 11, 2008 8:00 AM
Around 150 people attended a Friday night public hearing on the proposed Prosperity Mine at Taseko Lake in the Gibraltar Room in Williams Lake.
The following morning, Nov. 8, a further 70 people attended a similar session in the Gibraltar Room.Then later in the day, close to 50 people attended the same presentation in Alexis Creek.
The hearing was jointly hosted by the federal Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) and the provincial Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) to get public comment on the proposed copper and gold mine at the headwaters of the Taseko River.
Also participating in the open house were representatives from the Tsilhqot’in National Government and officials from Taseko Mines Ltd. All three sessions began with the Tsilhqot’in leaders drumming and singing a couple of songs in front of an unfurled banner of Fish Lake (Teztan Biny), the lake the proposed mine will displace.
Steve Chapman of the CEAA explained the federal panel review and public consultation process that will assess the mining proposal.
“Public hearings are always a part of the federal panel review process,” Chapman explained. “We expect to have panel members appointed by the end of December, 2008 and public hearings by the panel in early 2009.”
Following the public hearings the panel will write a report and make recommendations to the federal government.
Chapman noted that the agency is also seeking public comment on the Terms of Reference for establishing a federal review panel for the proposed Prosperity Mine, and along with the provincial government, public comment on the draft federal-provincial Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines for the project.
This first 30-day public comment period is specific, from Nov. 3 to Dec. 3, 2008. Copies of both documents were available at the meetings.
Garry Alexander director of the provincial EAO office, explained how both levels of government are attempting to harmonize their assessment process to avoid duplication. He stressed that First Nations involvement in the process is critical.
“We consult with them to identify potential impacts to rights and interests.”
Alexander said 12 different First Nations are involved with assessment process.
“All have been consulted and they have the opportunity to work with the working group or attend one-on-one meetings.”
Xeni Gwet’in Chief Marilyn Baptiste said at the meeting that the Tsilhqot’in First Nation never surrendered its rights and title to the area the mining company is proposing to extract the copper and gold. She cited the ruling of a court case that concluded a year ago that identified aboriginal rights and title to a vast tract of this region.
“The Prosperity project is in the eastern part of our Trapline Area,” Baptiste said Saturday.
She said Tsilhqot’in involvement in the Prosperity environmental assessment process was derailed last June when the provincial government abandoned a year-long consultation process to establish a Joint Panel Review process that would have included the federal, provincial and aboriginal representation on the panel. “We want to get that process back on track,” Baptiste said.
Former Xeni Gwet’in Chief Roger William, now land and stewardship director for the TNG, said the impasse between the province and the First Nations is about the issue of consultation.
“We want to be involved to create a picture together with the federal, the provincial governments and Taseko Mines to come up with a viable plan we can all agree on,” he said Saturday.
Alexander said the province tried in good faith for a year to come up with a joint panel review model that both the First Nations and Taseko Mines could agree to, but they couldn’t reach a consensus.
The EA process, he said, is one all new mines in British Columbia go through, and is designed to address the needs of everyone.
“There is a joint working group that the First Nations can attend. We think it is a very good process to identify the facts and the effects in a reasonable manner.”
Joe Alphonse, the director of government services for the TNG, said the company has done an excellent job promoting its interests in opening the mine.
“A lot of us in Williams Lake are afraid of losing our mortgages and are hoping the mine will pull us out of economic hard times.”
But Alphonse warned the federal and provincial governments and mining company that if First Nations needs are not addressed, they would be in for a fight.
“We’re not going to allow the draining of Fish Lake and jeopardize the watershed that produces the largest and healthiest salmon runs in North America. We feel we haven’t been given the chance to tell our side of the story. Our grocery store is that river.”
On the other hand Alphonse said the TNG isn’t interested in shutting down Gibraltar Mine.
“We’ve got a lot of our members working there.”
Scott Jones, Taseko Mine’s vice president of engineering, explained the logistics of the mining operation.
“It’s 125 kilometers west of Williams Lake as the crow flies, or 180 kilometres by road. The electrical transmission line from Dog Creek would be about 125 kilometres long.”
He said ore from the open pit mine would be trucked to Williams Lake then up to the rail loading facility at Macalister.
“There will be no discharge of water from the mining footprint for 40 to 45 years.”
He said once the mine is approved it would take two years to construct and would be in operation for 20 years producing 75,000 tonnes of mineral ore per year. Closure of the mine would take 24 years.
Roderick Bell-Irving, the manager of environmental assessment for Taseko Mine, explained how a headwater diversion channel will collect all the clean water draining into the watershed and send it into a newly created Prosperity Lake, upstream from the mining activity. The water would then be diverted directly into the Taseko River via Beese Creek until after the mine has closed down.
He said it would take three to five years before Prosperity Lake would become a fish-bearing body of water, able to contain the fish stocks removed from Fish Lake.
“We’re hopeful the First Nations will participate to design this compensation plan.”
Joe Alphonse said the TNG would be in favour of establishing this new lake prior to the mine going in.
“I’d support that right now,” Alphonse said. “That would eliminate some of our concerns.”
Alphonse said the Tsilhqot’in nation isn’t opposed to mining and isn’t opposed to jobs.
“We’re in the process of creating a Tsilhqot’in power project with Sigurdson’s Mill. We’re open to dealing with anybody.”
But he said whatever development takes place in the Chilcotin, the Tsilhqot’in First Nation needs to be a part of it.
Brian Battison, vice president of corporate affairs for Taseko Mines, said the environmental assessment process will determine whether the proposed use of the land is in the public interest.
“The two governments (federal and provincial) will decide. We’ve been working on this for 15 years and have spent $90 million trying to prove to you and the two governments it is in the public interest to go ahead with the mine.”
He said Taseko has come up with a plan bringing the best science can bring together.
“We’re proud of the work we’ve done. We will spend $800 million and employ 700 people over two years to build the mine. Once it is built, 500 people will run the facility and we’ll spend $200 million per year over 20 years, or $5 billion.”
Battison said the company has started a training and recruiting program called Mining Your Future.
“We’ll need a workforce for this project and our preference is that the workforce is local.”
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