West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast - Sea to Sky Country MP Blair Wilson has called this week for a federal environmental review of Pan Pacific Aggregates Limited's (PPA) proposed carbonate rock quarry in Sechelt.
Wilson wrote to the Hon. Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, to request the initiation of a federal environmental assessment at the comprehensive study level of the project.
"My constituents have clearly expressed their concerns about the environmental impact of the mine," Wilson said this week in a news release. "They have written letters, sent emails and raised the matter at the town hall meetings I held this summer and in other public forums. As their MP, I heard their message, spoke with all the parties involved and concluded that there should be a federal environmental review."
According to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Section 3 of the Comprehensive Study List Regulations and subsection 18 (i) of the associated schedule, the project will require a comprehensive federal study.
"The review should address the project's impact on water and air quality, local animal and plants populations and noise levels," Wilson said. "It is important to support business projects that create jobs and wealth, but it is equally important to ensure that they do not compromise the environment for future generations."
PPA is proposing to construct and operate a carbonate rock quarry on a 15-hectare area of the Sechelt Peninsula, along with a processing plant, conveyer system and marine barge load-out facility approximately 15 km north of Sechelt. The project investment is estimated at $100 million and would create about 100 operating jobs. The project has begun environmental impact studies in preparation of the submission of an environmental assessment application to the Environmental Assessment Office of B.C. A comprehensive federal study will take approximately 18 months to complete and will include a public consultation at several steps in the process.
