Five Weeks Left for Public Comments

Posted by Stop Ajax Mine on March 7th, 2016 1:34am

There are only 5 weeks left to participate in the Public Comment period of the Ajax environmental assessment process. The deadline is April 11.

By now, hopefully you will have sent in a comment about the proposed Goose Lake Road closure with no KGHM plans to replace the road.  This public road has been maintained by taxpayers’ money for many years, provides access to the Lac Le Jeune Road with its many recreational opportunities, and provides a country experience for bikers, runners, motorcyclists, and birdwatchers. As described in our previous email (3/03/16), it’s important to point out your objection to the Ministry of Transportation as well as submitting it to the Public Comment website of the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).

If you have already submitted a comment and want to do another ( or more !), or are looking for inspiration, look at the EAO website.

https://ajax.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/public/project/569d3edbbfa11d0c009f92ee

Here, on the right side of the page, you can read through other submissions for ideas, but please do not copy them directly. You can also search by topic, e.g. “water”, “human health”, “air quality,”  if you are looking for specific comments already submitted.

On the left side of the page, you can click on Application Main Report or Application Appendices to have a look at the studies themselves.  Look at the Table of Contents first to focus on your main concern(s). Note the chapter and page in the right column. Then pull up that chapter.  At the top left of the page type in the page #.  This will bring you to the section, though usually at the end of the section so you have to hunt around a bit.

If the Ajax mine is approved, there are certain things that WILL happen, regardless of what is said in the Application. Here are some examples (to give you some inspiration for writing a comment or 2 or 3 !):

*there WILL be dust and diesel fumes generated by the mining activities
*there WILL be prevailing winds to carry the dust and diesel fumes into our valley
*watering to mitigate dust cannot occur in the winter; grading with snow will not help if there is no snow
*there WILL be temperature inversions to hold and concentrate dust and diesel fumes in the valley
*there WILL be a wet tailings storage facility (tailings pond), in spite of recommendations from the Mining Code Review Committee which reviewed the Mount Polley disaster that future mines move to dry tailings storage
*there WILL be beaches around the wet tailings storage facility which WILL generate dust during the life of the mine and long after closure
*the wet tailings storage facility WILL be located above the City of Kamloops with direct access to the Peterson Creek watershed which runs right into the heart of our city
*fish populations and habitat in Jacko Lake WILL be impacted
*6.8 km of Goose Lake Road WILL be closed forever
*aboriginal interests and title to Pipsel (Jacko Lake and environs) WILL be impacted

We hope that you are inspired to submit  personal and thoughtful comments that express your concerns about the proposed Ajax mine project. We all have to step up to the plate here, so please give it your best shot!

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