The province's Minister of State for Mining was on the Coast last Friday to meet with the community and tour the land and water where Pan Pacific Aggregates (PPA) is proposing mining operations.
Minister Bill Bennett toured the area with PPA by land and helicopter, then went up Sechelt Inlet by boat with residents.
PPA, which is currently in the pre-assessment stage of the provincial Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) process, showed him the southern and northern mine sites and Wood Bay where it is considering operations.
"I think it is important for people to know that the company is still in the conceptual stage," Bennett said in a phone interview Tuesday. Once government accepts the project it would enter the EAO process and would involve the federal government's Navigable Waters and likely the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, he added.
"But they are not there yet," Bennett said. "It is not a slam dunk. I think it is important for people to know that."
Bennett decided to visit the Coast in response to emails and letters from people asking him to come see the peninsula firsthand.
Although he thinks it is possible to have a quarry operation on the inlet that is not visible to residents, he added that only an EAO can determine whether a mining operation is feasible in the area.
"I think our process is extremely rigorous and I have a lot of faith in the process," he said in response to Sunshine Coast Conservation Association executive director Dan Bouman's comment in last week's Coast Reporter of having little faith in the EAO process.
"PPA is in agreement that, yes, it is a good permitting process and all the appropriate steps will be taken," PPA project manager Cal Mark said this week.
Bennett travelled up the inlet by boat with Bouman and Jan Williams of the Friends of Sechelt Peninsula (FOSP) group, Powell River - Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons and residents. He then visited a home for coffee on the east side of the inlet.
"I think I got a pretty good slice of Sechelt Inlet feedback," Bennett said. "They are very concerned about losing the character of the area that they live in and love and are concerned about the environmental impact of a quarry."
He assured the residents that, "We certainly would not permit an open pit type of operation like what you already have on the east side of the peninsula [Construction Aggregates]."
He heard feedback from Wood Bay residents, where PPA is considering running a conveyor belt to barge out industrial minerals as an alternative to barging out through Skookumchuck Narrows.
"I think that one of the biggest hurdles for the project is determining how to get these materials to salt water," Bennett said.
He noted he has not yet had the opportunity to meet with local government leaders and plans to talk to Regional District directors soon. He encourages the community to stay engaged and promised to continue to listen.
"This is a difficult file," he acknowledged.
Before heading out on the water, Williams presented Bennett with a FOSP-led petition asking for a federal comprehensive study of the project.
"People are justifiably upset," Williams said this week. "Most of us have come here to enjoy the natural beauty of the Sechelt Peninsula and the Sechelt Inlet. This is one of the fastest growing bedroom communities in B.C., with burgeoning tourism and real estate markets."
