A14 www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Terrace Standard
Open letter from Gaby Poirier, General manager, BC Operations
“ I am proud of what we will achieve together as a result of the modernized smelter. ”
Kitimat is a place that I am proud to call home. It’s where I’m raising my family, and because of the new smelter, there will continue to be good jobs and a great place for our employees and their families to thrive. As some of you are likely aware, Rio Tinto Alcan will soon be part of a hearing with the BC Environmental Appeal Board for our amended SO2 permit for the new smelter. This issue has been subject of some press in recent weeks and I think it is important to take this opportunity to speak to you directly about our new smelter and its environmental footprint. You all have seen the level of activity in our community over the past five years, as related to the construction of Kitimat Modernization Project. We are now more than 70 per cent complete with a view to first hot metal in the first half of 2015. You have all heard of our focus throughout construction to keep the jobs and the contracts in the north as a first priority and in BC as a second. We have had great success with that objective and are proud of that fact. This will be a smelter essentially built by British Columbians. We are also very proud that the modernized smelter will reduce the overall emissions’ footprint of the plant. The new technology we have installed will reduce the overall footprint by nearly 50 per cent. Our PAH’s, fluorides, particulates and GHGs, will all go down significantly. The fifth emission, SO2, which is directly related to our production levels, will increase proportionately. In the spring of 2013, Rio Tinto Alcan set about to obtain SO2 permit amendment approval from the BC Ministry of Environment for the new smelter. The Ministry granted us this permit because they were satisfied with our public consultation and the extensive scientific investigation and modeling that was done. Let me put ‘extensive’ into context for you. More science was done to study the potential impacts of SO2 alone than had previously been done at any other smelter in the world. The STAR Report was produced and is available on our website. It is lengthy and very technical. We have provided an executive summary of it as well to help everyone better understand its content. I invite you to take the time to read through it. In April of 2013, the Ministry of Environment’s decision was appealed by a group of local residents. The BC Environmental Appeals Board
is set to begin the hearing of this issue later this month. It is also important to point out that part of our permit is our company’s commitment to a long term Environmental Effects Monitoring program (EEM). Through the EEM, we will continue to monitor the four main areas of study contained within the research undertaken as part of the permit amendment application – human health, vegetation, and terrestrial and aquatic environments. This plan is very detailed and has defined processes to monitor potential impacts and ensure that there is a response framework in place to respond to and address any concerns. As part of this program we will also continue to make information about our environmental performance readily available to the community. In closing, let me say that the health and safety of our employees, their families and the wider community is a priority for Rio Tinto Alcan. And as a member of this community, they are important to me. If you have questions in this time leading up to the appeal hearing, please feel free to contact me through our Kitimat community office and communications team at bcops.communications@riotinto.com. Best Regards,
Gaby Poirier, General manager, BC Operations Rio Tinto Alcan