Bring in environmental inspections on NIOBIUM MINE FOR "JOB WELL DONE".
Response of Environment Canada and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to Environmental Petition No. 216, concerning the Niocan Mining Project
Question 1: We are therefore asking Environment Canada and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency to conduct a full environmental study, which is very much desired by the residents of Oka and its allies. If yes, when do you think the decision can be made?
Response: The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency completed analysis of the Niocan project on March 18, 2002, under section 5 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA). The analysis was based on the documents relating to the environmental assessment of the project, as well as the answers to our supplementary requests for information provided by the Niocan company’s consultant (Roche).
The Agency concluded that no environmental assessment was required under the CEAA, because Environment Canada, Health Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission confirmed the absence of a trigger.
Question 2: The Niocan company’s mining project will be on farmland crossed by Rousse Creek, which runs through Parc national d’Oka and empties into Grande Baie of Lac des Deux-Montagnes. The mining will cause Rousse Creek to swell and become warmer. That is on top of the 30 kg of uranium that will flow into it annually. What impact will this have on fauna and flora, particularly the various species of fish and threatened species, such as the Northern Map Turtle (“special concern species” status (2002), Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act) and the Lake Sturgeon (COSEWIC designation (2006) as a threatened species), which live in Rousse Creek and/or Grande Baie?
Response: This mine will be subject to the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (the Regulations), as soon as the total flow of all effluents is greater than 50 cubic metres a day, from the first day of construction work on the main shaft for commercial mining of the ore. The Regulations, made under the Fisheries Act, establish deposit limits for concentrations of certain deleterious substances. They do not establish a limit for uranium, but uranium oxide is the precursor element of the radioactive sequence leading to production of radium-226, for which the Regulations establish a deposit limit.
The Regulations also establish limits for arsenic, copper, cyanide, lead, nickel, zinc, total suspended solids and pH. Moreover, they require that effluents not present any acute lethality for rainbow trout.
The mines to which the Regulations apply are also required to do environmental effects monitoring. The purpose of this monitoring is to assess the impact of mine effluents on the receiving aquatic environment, particularly with regard to fish, fish habitat and use of fishery resources.
As to your concerns about species at risk, it is important to note that all proponents are subject to Canadian federal and provincial laws on species at risk. The federal government is responsible for administration of the Species at Risk Act (SARA), which applies to federal lands.
The Northern Map Turtle, a species to which you refer, has special concern status under SARA, a status that does not necessitate any ban. It also has vulnerable species status under Quebec’s Act respecting threatened or vulnerable species. As the lands identified by the project proponents are not federal lands and the Northern Map Turtle is under provincial jurisdiction, its protection is a provincial government responsibility.
Question 3: This mining project, if it becomes a reality, is sure to have many repercussions, not only in the short and medium terms, but also, and above all, in the very long term. Also, since this mining project will end one day, what repercussions will this post-mining environment have for the flora and fauna in Rousse Creek and in Grande Baie of Lac des Deux-Montagnes?
Response: The Metal Mining Effluent Regulations will apply not only during the construction and mining phase, but also after the commercial mining ceases, for a period of at least three years following the closing of the mine. While the mine is subject to the Regulations, the proponent must comply with all requirements, including those relating to the environmental effects monitoring program as described above.
The mine operator will also have to comply with the regulatory requirements laid down under the provincial certificate of authorization, which includes a mine closing plan and other environmental requirements.
