Feds respond to Giant concerns
Closest federal inspector is in Whitehorse, feds plan to have two Yk-based positions in coming months
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Friday, May 23, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
After some groups waited months to find out who is responsible for inspecting Giant Mine during the volatile spring season after all Yellowknife-based federal inspectors devolved to the territorial government, the federal government has disclosed that the closest federal inspector is currently located in Whitehorse.
"I think it is clearly unacceptable that the inspector for the site is located in Whitehorse and that the site will have gone uninspected from January until June sometime without much oversight," Kevin O'Reilly with Alternatives North told Yellowknifer.
"I find it really hard to believe that they did not anticipate this problem before April 1, knowing for almost a year that devolution was in the works."
A letter signed by Stephen Traynor, acting manager of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada's new Lands and Resources Directorate, states that having a federal inspector travel from Whitehorse to Yellowknife to inspect the defunct gold mine is an interim solution.
"Long-term, AANDC will maintain an office in Yellowknife that will manage the remaining federal lands in the NWT," wrote Traynor. "There is currently a job competition underway to staff a Yellowknife-based inspector, and we will be hiring an additional inspector in the coming months.
"In the meantime, we have contingency plans in place to address the freshet season or emergencies that could arise. This plan includes the authorization to call upon inspectors from the Government of the Northwest Territories to conduct site inspections and work with the AANDC inspector to ensure compliance and follow up."
The letter was sent May 20 in response to queries from Alternatives North and uploaded to the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board's public registry the same day.
It also states that the Giant Mine site was last inspected Jan. 31 to ensure it was in compliance with its land-use permit, and that the next inspection is expected to take place in June.
According to the public registry, the last site inspection under the water licence was conducted Dec. 19.
Alternatives North began asking the feds about their plans to inspect the mine site in April, said O'Reilly. Meanwhile, the Yellowknives Dene First Nations have been waiting six months for a response on post-devolution plans to manage and inspect Giant Mine, according to Dettah Chief Ed Sangris.
The delayed response from the federal department "shows a complete lack of planning and no regard for the health and welfare of citizens in this community, when it should have been planned well in advance," said O'Reilly. "Clearly, this had to go through a whole bunch of hoops in Ottawa before Mr. Traynor was allowed to respond to inquiries."
In a written response to Yellowknifer on the subject, Kathryn Bruce, regional director general for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada's new Lands and Resources Directorate's NWT office, states that the federal government is taking its responsibilities for the roughly 10 per cent of NWT land it retained post-devolution seriously.
"I would like to reassure you that the Giant Mine site continues to be inspected as regularly as it was prior to devolution," she wrote. "Furthermore, the site management plans require that the Giant Mine Remediation Project Team reports and addresses any issues that require urgent attention.
"The remediation of the site also involves continued collaboration with the Government of the Northwest Territories. The health and safety of Yellowknife residents remains a joint priority for both governments."
For O'Reilly, the uncertainty over the effectiveness of the federal government's plans to inspect the mine site this spring, coupled with the delay in transparency on the issue, is just another in a long list of examples of why there needs to be independent oversight at the site, which is one of the most contaminated in the country.
Last June, the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board included an arms-length oversight committee as part of its recommendations on the remediation project's environmental assessment.
However, those recommendations remain in limbo as the environmental assessment waits to be signed by federal Minister Bernard Valcourt and Environment and Natural Resources Minister Michael Miltenberger.
"Here we are 11 months later and still waiting. Meanwhile, work is being done at the site and some of it is not being inspected," said O'Reilly. "For all government's talk about regulatory efficiencies and cutting red tape, they can't even respond to an environmental assessment and get this moving in a timely fashion."
