December 15, 2006

IMPORTANT! Public comment opens January 2 on Lodgepole Coal Mine Project

The British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office announced the opening of a public comment period on the Lodgepole Cole Mine Project "Draft Terms of Reference (TOR)." Here are the highlights:

  • They are soliciting comments from the Montana public.

  • The comment period runs from January 2, 2007 to February 1, 2007.

  • An electronic copy of the draft TOR, as well as information regarding the environmental assessment process, are available at www.eao.gov.bc.ca.

  • Printed copies of the draft TOR are availiable at several Flathead Valley libraries (see below for the list).

  • A series of open houses and public meetings will be held in British Columbia in mid-January (again, see below for details).

We've posted the full text of the announcement following the break. It is also available for download in PDF format, suitable for printing.

Full text of the invitation for public comment . . .

British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office Invites the Montana Public to Comment on the Lodgepole Coal Mine Project Draft Terms of Reference

The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) invites the Montana public to comment on the draft Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Lodgepole Coal Mine Project (Project).

Cline Mining Corporation (Proponent) is proposing to develop a two million tonnes per year open-pit coal mine and process facilities in southeastern B.C., approximately 35 km (22 miles) north of the Canada - U.S. border. Planned mine life is 20 years.

The proposed Project is subject to review under British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Act, S.B.C. 2002, c.43. The purpose of the draft TOR is to identify the information that the Proponent must include in its application for an environmental assessment certificate.

The 30-day public comment period will begin on January 2, 2007 and end on February 1, 2007. Form letters, petitions or other submissions that only state a position for or against a given project cannot generally be considered. Written comments received by midnight on February 1, 2007 will be considered. After taking public comments into consideration, the EAO will finalize the draft TOR and issue it to Cline Mining Corp. Please send your comments to:

Garry Alexander, Project Assessment Director
Environmental Assessment Office
PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC Canada V8W 9V1
Fax: 250 356-6448

Comments by e-mail are encouraged and may be directed to eaoinfo@gov.bc.ca.

An electronic copy of the draft TOR, as well as information regarding the environmental assessment process, are available at www.eao.gov.bc.ca.

Copies of the draft TOR are available to the public at the following libraries in Montana:

  • Missoula Public Library
    301 East Main, Ph: 406 721-2665

  • Flathead County Library in Kalispell
    #247 1st Ave East, Ph: 406 758-5820

  • Flathead County Library in Whitefish
    9 Spokane Ave, Ph: 406 862-6657

  • Polson City Library
    #2 1st Ave East, Ph: 406 883-8225

NOTE: All comments received by the EAO regarding this Project are considered public and will be posted to the EAO website in their original form. Third party material, such as full newspaper or journal articles cannot be posted because of copyright laws. If you do not want to have your address and/or e-mail address and telephone number posted to the EAO website, please indicate this with your comments.

Open Houses & Public Meetings

The British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office invites interested parties to attend open houses followed by public meetings being held in the following communities:

January 16, 2007
Elko Community Hall
Elko, B.C.

January 17, 2007
Sparwood Recreation Centre
367 Pine Ave, Sparwood, B.C.

January 18, 2007
Best Western Hotel
1622-7th Ave, Fernie, B.C.

Open houses at each location will be held between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Public Meetings will be held between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Posted by nfpa at December 15, 2006 07:32 PM