The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) released its recommendation for West High Yield Resources' Record Ridge Mineral Mine on August 13, earning a favourable response from Rossland's Mayor and a local action committee.
"The EAO has concluded that Record Ridge is a reviewable project under the Reviewable Project Regulation (RPR) and is required to obtain an environment assessment under the ACT prior to proceeding," read the EAO report.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (The Ministry), based on the information received, the EAO determined that the project located 10-km from Rossland is classified as a mineral mine and therefore, as proposed, already requires an Environment Assessment (EA) and cannot be designated.
"Although this proposal has been in the works for a number of years," said Rossland Mayor Andy Morel. "When push came to shove . . . the community realized the impact it was potentially going to have. And saying that, they came forward and voiced their concern loud and clear that this project didn't fit well with community values."
A notable query came from Save Record Ridge Action Committee (SRRAC) in July asserting that the Record Ridge project is a mineral mine and automatically requires an environmental assessment precisely because its production capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year is over the EA threshold for a mineral mine, which is 75,000 tonnes.
The SRRAC provided over a dozen pages of material to support their claim, including evidence from UBC Professor and professional geologist Dr. Lee Groat, who was engaged by SRRAC to conduct an independent review.
"After more than a year of intensive community effort to prevent this project from going ahead, we are now taking a moment to celebrate," said SRRAC member Elissa Ferguson in a release. "The EAO's decision validates the need to properly categorize the project and carefully consider its impacts, which local residents and organizations have been voicing for some time."
WHY Resources did not agree with the decision or the process.
“We are surprised and deeply concerned with this changing of the goalposts at the eleventh hour,” said WHY’s Chief Executive Officer, Frank Marasco Jr. “We also have significant concerns about the manner in which this decision was reached and we are consulting legal counsel to explore all options.”
WHY also contends that the environmental effects of Record Ridge have been adequately identified and addressed through the Mines Act and EMA permitting process and a full assessment would create unnecessary regulatory burden, costs and delays.
According to the WHY release, the EAO informed the company that if the project were to reduce its production to under 75,000 tonnes per year, an environmental assessment would not be required.
“While this is not a development we expected or wanted, proceeding at a smaller starting scale may ultimately help ensure broad community support, and we can consider expansions in future in accordance with applicable laws,” added Marasco Jr.
A public outcry at an open meeting with WHY Resources in Rossland in May, 2023 greatly accelerated interest in an assessment, and an application submitted in a letter from Wildsight triggered the EAO report for Record Ridge.
Mayor and council on behalf of the City of Rossland also sent a letter to the Environment Minister with concerns over water use and the company's reliance on groundwater for operations and dust mitigation without determining water availability, the economic impacts and the potential effects of the mine on tourism, in addition to traffic management through the Golden City, Sheep Creek, and/or Patterson.
"Our city and residents are a lot wiser today," said Morel. "We don't need the economic values related to the impacts it would bring, that's not what our community is about anymore. Yes, we are built on a heritage of mining but that was 125 years ago, so it's changed, it's changed a lot.
"As you know, we mine tourism mostly up here now a days."
Prior to entering the final environmental assessment process, WHY Resources will need to submit an initial project description, said the Ministry.
"The environmental assessment process takes between three and five years depending on the complexity of the project and how proactive the proponent has been engaging with First Nations."
Once the environmental assessment is complete, the Ministry along with the Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, will make the decision on whether to issue an environmental assessment certificate.
"I am really hoping that the impacts outweigh the economic value of this project," said Morel. "Ultimately it doesn't make economic sense or environmental or social impact sense."
The SRRAC submitted 78 affidavits and 39 impact statements from local residents and business operators to the EAO, along with a petition signed by more than 1,300 people.
