(BRENDAN KERGIN / iNFOnews.ca)
April 11, 2016 - 10:35 AM
KAMLOOPS - It’s the last day for public comments on the proposed copper and gold Ajax Mine.
The federal and provincial government environmental assessment offices are wrapping up the public comment period on the potential mine southwest of Kamloops. Typically held for up to 60 days, the 75-day comment period was the longest one allowed by the provincial Environmental Assessment Act.
The federal and provincial offices will now have about 100 days to continue reviewing the application and the concerns brought forth by the citizens, the city and local First Nations groups. They will then recommend the provincial and federal environment ministers approve the project, reject the project, or ask the mine’s proponent for more information and extend the application review period.
As of Monday morning, April 11, there were roughly 1,400 comments registered on the provincial public comment website. More than 1,000 commenters included names, while more than 300 are posted without names, a choice commenters have when submitting.
The City of Kamloops will vote on whether to offer support for the mine at a special meeting on May 9. Relations between the city and KGHM Ajax Mining Inc. recently soured when KGHM backed out of community benefits negotiations with the city. A community benefits plan would have been an agreement on many aspects of the relationship between the mine and city and seen the city receive some money to help offset costs incurred due to the adjacent mine site, according to Mayor Peter Milobar.
If the mine is approved it may bring hundreds of jobs to the city, but opponents to the mine are concerned about the health and environmental impact of the project, which would be located close to the city.
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