Sukunka Coal Mine Proposal Risks Endangered Caribou

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Glencore Canada’s proposal for the Skunka coal mine, 55 kilometers south of Chetwind, not only threatens caribou herds and grizzly bear habitat, but also impacts Convention 8 First Nations Convention rights. determined by an environmental assessment.

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The $450 million mine proposal is a 10-year undertaking and is among one of the few existing mines in the northeastern BC coal-producing region to employ approximately 250 workers to mine approximately 3 million tons of steel coal per year. create jobs. approved.

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BC’s Department of Environmental Assessment completed an environmental review this week, concluding that the mine “provides residual adverse impacts, including some significant adverse effects.” That assessment is now being passed on to provincial decision makers and Canada’s Federal Impact Assessment Agency.

Energy and Mines Minister Bruce Ralston and Environment Secretary George Heyman will have 45 days to approve or reject the proposal after receiving the assessment on Oct. 17.

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In an unsourced email statement, environment ministry staff said it would be “too early to comment on potential decisions,” but state and federal approval would be required to proceed with Skunka’s proposal. said.

British Columbia has come under fire from federal officials for managing its dwindling caribou population, and the proposed skunka mines are for the South Mountain Caribou and Woodland Caribou, which are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. of the quintet herd both habitats.

Skunka is also central to a Convention 8 Indigenous Territory and stands to lose caribou hunting and fishing opportunities due to the negative impact of the project.

Environmental review of the project, which has been suspended multiple times since it was first proposed in 2013, resumed its final 180-day application review period in July after being last suspended in May of this year. rice field. West Moberly First Nations.

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Convention No. 8 Indigenous Peoples had its own environmental survey and objected to completing it before the state’s assessment was completed.

Thorteau First Nation chief Justin Napoleon was not available for comment, and West Moberly chief Roland Wilson did not respond to a call from Postmedia.

Mitigation measures proposed by Glencore include aboriginal monitoring programs and a caribou mitigation monitoring plan to limit land disturbance in high altitude habitats.

“We understand the importance of caribou to indigenous peoples and have made many changes to the project in response to their feedback,” the company said in an emailed response to a Postmedia question.

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The company said the project is located in an area designated to allow resource development under joint agreements with state and federal governments aimed at caribou recovery.

Changes include reducing the mine’s footprint by almost half to 125 hectares, expanding the zone measuring indirect impacts on caribou by eight times, and the amount of land set aside for animal protection. and increasing the amount of disturbance in existing habitats. Restore from 23 hectares to 1,024 hectares.

The company is also proposing approximately $150,000 annually for a Predator Management Initiative to help cull local wolves, $3.3 million, and $1.5 million for habitat restoration.

“[The state]should approve it,” said Hurley Chinsey, chief of the McLeod Lake Indian Band for Skunka’s proposal, considering three coal mines already operating in the area.

He said his community did not want to “destroy the land”, but argued that concerns about hunting and fishing rights were brought up too often as arguments to block projects.

“When it comes to wildlife, it has to be able to coexist with what exists today,” Chinsey said.

depenner@postmedia.com

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