by - Delores Broten

The letter below has been sent to Compliance Coal from Comox Valley Water Watch Coalition, calling for an cessation of the environmental assessment process until the aquifers in and adjacent to the coal tenure have been mapped by the University of Vancouver Island.
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Compliance Coal Corporation, dba Comox Joint Venture
550-800 West Pender St.,
Vancouver BC V6C 2V6

Dear John Tapics, President:

Compliance Coal has asked the community to submit questions that need to be covered in your environmental Assessment. We have decided that we should inform you that the Comox Valley Water Watch Coalition feels strongly that there is insufficient information to proceed with an environmental assessment at all now.

Why? Because the aquifers in and adjacent to your coal tenures have not been mapped. Without knowing where the underground water is, its relation to streams and wetlands, its nature and composition, and its relationship to other aquifers from which drinking water is currently drawn for the communities, it is impossible to assess the impact the mine might have on that water.

Of course, this would seem to be necessary to predict the impact of the water on the mine too!

As you are well aware, British Columbia at this time has no legislation governing groundwater and its treatment, so environmental assessment is the only tool to protect that water. In order to make the assessment, independent and professional mapping must be the first order of the day.

We strongly suggest that Compliance undertake discussions with the Vancouver Island University Aquifer Vulnerability mapping project (http://web.viu.ca/groundwater/Library/Project%20Charter1.htm) so that you could fund such a study before proceeding with other environmental studies.

We hope that you find this suggestion the simple common sense it is, and look forward to the benefits such aquifer mapping will generate for the Valley. We await your reply.

Thank you,

Kathleen Kinasewich,
Delores Broten,
Linda Safford
Dawn Christian,
Steering Committee for Comox Valley Water Watch Coalition

CC:
Rachel Shaw, Environmental Assessment Office Project Assessment Manager, Raven Underground Coal Project, eaoinfo(at)gov.bc.ca, Environmental Assessment Office, PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt Victoria BC V8W 9V1

Gordon Campbell, Premier 604 660-3202 premier(at)gov.bc.ca

Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources 250-387-5896, EMPR.Minister(at)gov.bc.ca

Randy Hawes, Minister of State for Mining 250-953-4100 SMIN.Minister(at)gov.bc.ca

Barry Penner, Minister of Environment 250 387-1187 env.minister(at)gov.bc.ca

Don McRae, Comox Valley MLA 250-703-2422 don.mcrae.mla(at)leg.bc.ca

Bruce Jolliffe, Area A Director, Comox Valley Regional District 250-335-1275 bjolliffe(at)comoxvalleyrd.ca

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Fax: 613-941-6900 pm(at)pm.gc.ca

Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources 613-996-7046 Raitt.L(at)parl.gc.ca

Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment 613-992-4275 PrentJ(at)parl.gc.ca

Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health 613-992-2848 Aglukkaq.L(at)parl.gc.ca

John Duncan, North Island MP 1-800-667-8404 250-338-9381 Duncan.J(at)parl.gc.ca

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