Quesnel Cariboo Observer, April 10, 2015

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B.C. Restorations PAGE A3

Friday, April 10, 2015

Final leg of great adventure PAGE A10

VOL. 101 NO. 63

www.quesnelobserver.com

large turnout for barrel racing PAGE A17

PM 40005365

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$ 30

includes GST

CSS Players present fairy tale classic Cinderella The 58th Annual Cariboo Revue is the Rogers and Hammerstein classic and runs April 15 – 18. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., curtain at 7 p.m. with a special matinee performance April 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 (adults) and $8 (students and OAP) and available at Bliss, Bo Peep Boutique, Quesnel Music and the Correlieu box office. Annie Gallant photo

Mount Polley Mine proposes water discharge Mount Polley Mine will need a water discharge management plan regardless if the company gets the go-ahead to restart the mine, Imperial Metals vice-president of corporate affairs Steve Robertson said. “In an average year there are six million cubic metres of water that need to be dealt with,” Robertson told the Williams Lake Tribune during an interview. “Whether or not we get the restart, the rain continues to fall and becomes contact water once it hits

the mine site.” The snow pack is one per cent of normal which could work to the mine’s advantage, he added. That water balance, however, is going to result in the need to release water some time this summer. In the short term, the company is proposing two possibilities for water release. The first would be to release water into Hazeltine Creek, while the second option would be to send the water in a pipeline for release directly into

2014 Quesnel Volunteer Citizen of the Year AWARDS DINNER

April 21st, 2015 ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION Tickets on Sale at City Hall

Quesnel Lake. Restoration work to rebuild the channel of Hazeltine Creek is only nearing completion and is still very fresh, Robertson said. “We are going to start putting the water from Polley Lake into Hazeltine channel, so that’s why we’ve put another option up for discussion to put it in the pipeline. There’s a possibility that putting additional water into Hazeltine Creek could cause additional erosion until it’s fully established.” Before any water is re-

leased to the environment its quality will be monitored for things such as pH and total suspended solids. “Those components will have to be within the parameters that are set by the Ministry of Environment before we can release that water into the environment,” Robertson said. Prior to the Aug. 4, 2014 tailings impoundment breach, Mount Polley had a short-term temporary permit to allow the company to test water for discharging, but it never got

to the point of actually discharging water before the breach. Last week the company presented its start-up plan to the mine review development committee in Williams Lake, and now the public has 30 days to respond to the plan with comments. Hard copies of the plan are available at the Likely Public Library, Williams Lake Public library and on the Ministry of Energy and Mines website. In the temporary restart plan, tailings and wa-

Good day, Quesnel. Thanks for reading — and that includes loyal subscriber P. Siemens! To join the Observer family, please call 250-992-2121 and ask for circulation.

ter will be stored in the Springer pit. The proposed total mine feed of 12,000 tons a day will come from the Caribou pit, adjacent to the Springer pit, from underground which will provide 1,000 tons a day, and from active stock piles on site. As of last payroll period there were still 276 people on the pay roll at the mine, Robertson said. Community meetings are planned in Williams Lake on Wednesday, April 22 and at Sugar Cane on Thursday, April 23.

Deb Quick, Travel Consultant 250-992-5169 in Quesnel

Deb Quick & Flight Centre - Unbeatable! www.AskDeb.ca

BCReg#23929


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