Public input session on Ajax process best if closer to application

EDITOR’S NOTE — This is the full text of the letter from Scott Bailey of the B.C. Environmental Assessment office to City Council referenced in our story Monday about public input into the Ajax mine proposal. The letter is dated June 27 and was received at City Hall June 30.

Dear Mayor Milobar:

Thank you for your letter of June 4, 2014, addressed to John Mazure, about KGHM Ajax Mining Inc.’s (the Proponent’s) recent announcement of changes to the proposed Ajax Mine Project (proposed Project) and the implications for the environmental assessment (EA) process. As the Project Lead for the provincial EA, I have been asked to respond. I should let you know that John Mazure has left the Environmental Assessment Office (EA) and that Michelle Car has now taken on the role of Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Assessment Operations on a permanent basis.

Over the next few months, I will be working with my colleagues at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) to clarify next steps in the EA of the proposed Project. Based on my current understanding of the announced changes, I expect that EAO will need to amend the order issued under section 11 of the Environmental Assessment Act (Section 11 Order) and, in cooperation with the Agency, portions of the Application Information Requirements/ Environmental Impact Statement Guidelines (AIR/EIS Guidelines) this fall. To inform those amendments:

• EAO and the Agency met with the technical Working Group including staff from the City of Kamloops, on June 23, 2014 and will be seeking their input through the summer; and

• The Proponent will be updating their First Nations and Public Consultation Plans, conducting additional consultation activities (including three public open houses — two in Kamloops and one in Knutsford — this week), and reporting on the results of those activities to EAO and the Agency.

I anticipate that any changes to the AIR/EIS Guidelines will focus on the project description and study areas proposed for the assessment of various Valued Components.

The Proponent has advised EAO and the Agency that they intend to submit their Application for an Environmental Assessment Certificate/ Environmental Impact Statement (Application/EIS) by early 2015. At that time, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the Application/EIS, consistent with the Section 11 Order for the proposed Project. During the public comment period, EAO and the Agency will host at least one open house in the area to answer any questions the public may have about the EA process.

I would be happy to attend a Council meeting and offer a broad-based public information session to clarify the EA process for the proposed Project, as requested in your letter. If you are able to suggest some possible dates, I would be pleased to come to Kamloops in the early fall to meet with Council. I would suggest, however, that the public information session you request be held closer to the time that the Proponent will be submitting their Application/ EIA and therefore aligned with the official public comment period on that Application/EIS. I think this will help to ensure that the public is well-informed of the EA process, including the timing and purpose of the public comment period, and that they are able to submit meaningful comments that will be considered in the EA.

I would be happy to discuss the approach and specific timing for the Council meeting and information session with you or your staff at any time. You can reach me by phone at 250-356-1124 or by email at Scott.Bailey@gov.bc.ca. Alternatively, you may contact Kristin Worsley, Project Assessment Officer, at 250-0387-7411 or Kristin.Worsley@gov.bc.ca.

Yours truly,

Scott Bailey

Executive Project Director.