 |
|
|
|
|
  
|
De Beers Canada holds Gahcho Kue workshop
Environmental impact statement for what could be Yellowknife's fourth diamond mine reviewed by regulatory and community representatives last week Thandie Vela Northern News Services Published Wednesday, November 2, 2011
The three-day workshop for what could be Yellowknife's fourth diamond mine, was held in the Museum Cafe at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre to review the 11,000 page document with regulatory and community representatives. "The environmental impact statement is quite a substantial document," De Beers spokesperson Cathie Bolstad said. "It's a significant amount of information and the purpose of our sessions last week was for the company to take time with communities and with communities and regulators together, to go through the environmental impact statement, provide an overview of what's in it, help them understand things, and to give them an opportunity to ask questions." The statement was submitted to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board in December 2010, after the terms of reference were shaped in 2007 for the diamond project located 180 km northeast of Yellowknife. The first day of the workshop was to discuss the statement with First Nations and Metis communities that are close to the site, Bolstad said. Attendants included representatives from the Yellowknives Dene, Lutsel K'e Dene, and Deninu Kue First Nations, the North Slave Metis Alliance, and the Tlicho government. "We've come away knowing we have some additional work to do when we go into communities to make sure they understand what our plans are with respect to protecting the land and ensuring that fish and wildlife are all considered and that they are important to the community," Bolstad said. "Those are common concerns for everybody, the company included." The goal of the workshop was for the company to find out if there are unanswered questions about the project, she added, as encouraged by the review board-appointed Gahcho Kue Environmental Impact Review Panel. "It's helpful if they want to make sure that parties understand the materials they've put out," said panel manager Alan Ehrlich. "We believe that is a positive effort. "The better informed that the parties are, the more useful information they can provide for the review and that will help lead to a wise decision." The panel of five, which includes individuals nominated by different organizations including the federal, territorial, and First Nations governments,will host its environmental impact statement analysis session from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2, in the Chateau Nova Commissioner's Room, where De Beers will present sections of its statement, followed by a facilitated discussion, Ehrlich said. Planning for the analysis stage began when De Beers was informed in July that the statement conformed to the terms of reference, after the review board identified deficiencies in the original document. The workplan says a decision and report of the environmental impact review is expected to be issued around July 2013.
|
