GETTING BACK TO NATURE A group of 18 Sa-Hali secondary students has returned from a challenging trip to Mount Robson a little stronger, a little wiser and, in some cases, a little kinder. Hiking and camping under the stars with nary a cellphone or iPod among them led to some serious self-discovery.
STORY, PAGE A10, A11
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KAMLOOPS THIS WEEK
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Thursday, June 27, 2013 X Volume 26 No. 51 www.kamloopsthisweek.com X 30 cents at Newsstands
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Mine foes: Letter shows lack of transparency By Andrea Klassen STAFF REPORTER andrea@kamloopsthisweek.com
There’s plenty of ink, but few revelations in the latest release from the Kamloops Area Preservation Society (KAPA). Last night, after KTW’s press deadline, opponents of the proposed Ajax mine released a letter from the BC Centre for Disease Control they say casts doubt on the entire approval process for the controversial open-pit copper and gold mine planned for south of Aberdeen. KAPA spokesman John Schleiermacher would not discuss in detail the contents of the letter, obtained via a freedom of information request from Interior Health. “The Interior Health Authority has sent a letter to the Centre for Disease control in regards to what studies should be done, how they should be done and the format. And this was the response from the CDC,” he said. “You will not believe this letter.”
But, when KTW tracked down the letter, written by Dr. Catherine Elliott on behalf of the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, it appeared the issue was not the letter’s contents so much as the lack thereof. About two-thirds of the letter is blacked out. According to the section of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act cited in the redactions, “the head of a public body may refuse to disclose to an applicant information that would reveal advice or recommendations developed by or for a public body or a minister.” In the remaining portion of the letter, Dr. Elliott recommends having the noise and dispersion models for the Ajax mine reviewed more thoroughly by experts. “There are a number of considerations that could be addressed to more thoroughly assess the potential impacts to air and noise and their effects on human health,” she writes at another point in the letter. Those considerations — which
cover about two pages — are all redacted. Schleiermacher said it’s not clear what was done with the information in the letter or how it will inform the mine’s health impact studies. KAPA has criticized the healthassessment portion of Ajax’s assessment before. Last month, it released a letter from the IHA, asking the assessment office to hire a third-party consultant to help with the health study. It’s not clear whether that ever happened. Schleiermacher said the office has not given its community advisory group any indication it has responded to the IHA request. “We’re not getting anything from the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office. There’s no transparency whatsoever. Whatever we want, we have to go through Freedom of Information,” he said. In response to repeated inquiries from KTW at the time, a spokesman with the office was only able to confirm it was aware KAPA had released the letter.
OAKLEY
25 May 2012 Dear Peter, Thank you for sharing the reports regarding the regarding the Ajax Mine Project: 1. Detailed Noise Modelling Plan 2. Detailed Dispersion Modelling Plan We have reviewed these documents briefly in the short turnaround time and present our initial comments here. A thorough review of these documents should involve experts in the environmental impact assessment and human health risk assessment of noise and air pollution. The approach taken in these reports includes standard environmental impact assessment (EIA) methodology. There are a number of considerations that could be addressed to more thoroughly assess the potential impacts to air and noise and their effects on human health FOIPPA s. 13(1) It is not clear from these reports whether this is meant to feed into a human health risk assessment. Our comments pertain to the assessment of both environmental impacts and human health impacts. FOIPPA s. 13(1) Overall, in both plans the following should be considered: FOIPPA s. 13(1) Ͳ Ͳ
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Environmental Health Services th Main Floor 655 12 Ave W, Vancouver BC V5Z 4R4 www.bccdc.ca Tel 604.707.2443 | Fax 604.707.2441
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This heavily redacted letter from the BC Centre for Disease Control to the Interior Health Authority was the subject of a press conference staged last night (June 26) by the Kamloops Area Preservation Council (KAPA), a group opposed to the proposed Ajax copper and gold mine south of Aberdeen. KAPA spokesman John Schleiermacher argues the fact the letter was obtained via a freedom of information request, and not available for the public to view, casts doubt on the approval process being used. The letter is two-and-a-half pages long, with most of the wording blacked out, and can be viewed online at kamloopsthisweek. com.
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