The water supply in the Comox Valley will be threatened if the proposed Raven Coal Mine goes ahead, says the University of Victoria’s Environmental Law Clinic, which wants the Vancouver Island Health Authority to step in and halt the project until vital questions are resolved.
Calvin Sandborn, the clinic’s legal director, and law student Megan Seiling have asked VIHA to issue a drinking-water health-hazard prevention order under the Drinking Water Protection Act — legislation brought in after the Walkerton water supply disaster that killed seven people.
The request to VIHA’s drinking water officer, Dr. Charmaine Enns, is being made because the provincial/federal environmental assessment process does not adequately address the risks that Fanny Bay residents will face if their wells or aquifers are contaminated, Sandborn said.
“She has the statutory power to issue an order, so I think she needs to consider the evidence provided,” Sandborn said.
The UVic law clinic is acting on behalf of the Fanny Bay Waterworks Improvement District and Ships Point Improvement District, both water authorities potentially affected by the project.
The request includes a report by hydro-geologist Gilles Wendling, who says the proposed mine poses “a significant risk of an imminent drinking water health hazard.”
Rock disposal is likely to leach toxic heavy metals into groundwater and surface water sources downhill from the project, Wendling’s report says.
“It is vitally important that a comprehensive mapping of aquifers throughout the region takes place before any decisions are made about whether or not to proceed with a coal mine,” Wendling wrote.
“How will the streams fed by groundwater be affected by mining? This needs to be assessed and understood prior to any approval to proceed.”
VIHA spokeswoman Sarah Plank said there has not yet been time to go through the report.
“We have just received the letter and we will need to take some time to carefully review it and consider the request,” she said.
Compliance Energy Corp. wants to build the Raven underground mine five kilometres west of the Buckley Bay ferry terminal.
The company predicts the project will generate $1.1 billion for the north Island economy and create 350 direct jobs.
The company will file an application for an environmental assessment certificate shortly, said Compliance spokeswoman Candy-Lea Chickite.
“We are reviewing the letter and attachments [from the law clinic] and, although we have no comment at this time, we will respond in due course,” she said.
Local councils also want more information about the effect of a coal mine on drinking water and the shellfish industry.
The City of Courtenay, Town of Comox and the Comox Valley Regional District have each passed motions asking for aquifer mapping and that the environmental assessment be referred to an independent review panel with public hearings.
Terry Avery, Fanny Bay Waterworks District trustee, said the potential effects are a huge concern.
“It seems such an assault on our drinking water — and drinking water is the new gold,” she said.
The district has about 80 water connections.
Suzanne Murray, chairwoman of Ships Point Improvement District, which has about 280 connections, said she is concerned about potential water problems as well as with the process.
“There is a watering down of the environmental assessment process both federally and provincially,” she said.
“The mining industry doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to protecting water sources.”
