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TUESDAY MARCH 20, 2012
420 pot plants seized
Proudly serving Williams Lake and the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 1930
VOL. 82. No. 23
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Spring has sprung? Greg Sabatino
Not quite, judging by the toques and the jackets; however, that didn’t stop two-year-old Lincoln McGuire and his sister, three-year-old Molly McGuire, from enjoying the gorgeous sunny day Sunday at Kiwanis Park.
Police seized 420 marijuana plants and arrested two people at a grow op in 150 Mile House Wednesday. The Williams Lake RCMP executed a search warrant on the property after receiving information there was a marijuana grow operation at that location. One male and one female were arrested at the scene. Charges are being recommended against the 31-year-old male located in the residence.
Inside the Tribune NEWS A3 Signage bylaw may change. SPORTS Smithers wins Coy Cup. COMMUNITY A lakecity currency?
A8 A13
Weather outlook: Flurries/mix of sun and cloud today, high of 4 C. Mix of sun and cloud Wednesday, high of 7 C.
CEAA releases mine guidelines Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer Taseko Mines Limited says the guidelines released by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) Friday identify the nature, scope and extent of the information the company will have to address in its environmental impact statement (EIS) for its New Prosperity gold-copper mine project. “These are our instructions,” says Brian Battison, vice president of corporate affairs for Taseko Mines Ltd. “The government commitment was to focus the EIS on those aspects of the project that have changed, rather than re-examining components of the proj-
ect that have not changed. These guidelines seem clear in this regard and are consistent with the minister’s commitment.” Battison suggests the company hasn’t identified any surprises in the 74-page document. “It’s what you’d expect of environmental assessment guidelines.” Included in the guidelines are a requirement that the findings by the previous panel on the original project regarding significant adverse environmental effects on aboriginal rights and title, current use of the lands and resources for traditional purposes by First Nations and on cultural heritage resources be addressed. Taseko will also be asked to document how it used scientific,
engineering and community and aboriginal traditional knowledge to reach its conclusions. It is expected that the new components of the project and their interaction with those elements and features of the project that have not changed from the previous project proposal will be subject to additional technical studies and inventories. The next step, Battison says, will be to prepare the company’s response. “The federal government made a commitment that it would have their work done in one year. The clock stops while we prepare our environmental impact statement and that is the subject of the environmental assessment, “ Battison
says, adding when the environmental assessment takes place then people will have an opportunity to see what’s behind the company’s plan, the science behind it and how the company plans to do its work. “It will take us some time to put that together,” he adds, saying it’s too early to tell how long that will take. When asked to compare the size of New Prosperity to Gibraltar Mine, Battison explains while Gibraltar presently processes around 55,000 tonnes per day through its concentrator, New Prosperity would aim for 70,000 tonnes a day. See EIS Page A5