Terms of Reference

Sufficiency review of the lake productivity information contained in the Environmental Impact Statement for the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project

Science Special Response Process (SSRP) - Pacific Region

October 22, 2012
Vancouver, BC

Chairperson: Dan Selbie

Context

Taseko Mines Ltd. (the Proponent) proposes to develop and operate the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project (the Project) approximately 125 km southwest of Williams Lake, British Columbia. The Project consists of an open-pit mine development and a 70,000 tonne per day concentrator facility with an average annual production of 108 million pounds of copper and 247 thousand ounces of gold production over a 20 year mine life. The Project also includes support infrastructure, associated tailings and waste rock areas, a 125 km long power transmission line, an existing concentrate load-out facility near Macalister, British Columbia and existing access from Williams Lake with construction of 2.8 km of new mine road.

A previously submitted project by the Proponent, known as the Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project, was subject to an environmental assessment review under British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Act and a review panel under the federal Canadian Environmental Assessment Act in 2009-2010.

In November 2010, in its response to the panel’s report, the Government of Canada indicated that it accepted the conclusions of the panel as presented in its report, and, taking into consideration the report of the panel, implementation of any appropriate mitigation measures, and in weighing the socio-economic benefits and potential significant adverse environmental effects, determined that the significant adverse environmental effects could not be justified under the circumstances. In its response, the Government of Canada also noted that its decision did not preclude the Proponent from submitting a project proposal that addressed the factors considered by the panel.

In August 2011, the Proponent submitted a revised project description and by November 2011, a second environmental assessment panel review was initiated by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency). The process for the environmental assessment is set out in the Amended Terms of Reference for the Federal Panel Reviewing the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project (TOR, August, 2012). The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines were issued to the Proponent in March 2012 which outlines the information required to be submitted in the EIS.

The TOR outlines two opportunities for Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to provide input into an adequacy screening of the EIS. The first, an Agency led screening, concluded on June 27, 2012. As part of this review, DFO’s Pacific Region Environmental Assessment and Major Projects Unit (EAMP) requested that DFO Science Branch provide advice on whether there is sufficient data and analysis within the EIS to permit a proper evaluation of the potential effects to lake productivity. DFO Science Branch answered the following questions to supplement EAMP’s overall screening of the draft EIS for completeness against the EIS Guidelines and comments were sent to the Proponent:

1. Is the information referenced both sufficient and recent enough for Science to model or assess future productivity of Fish Lake and its tributaries?
2. If not, what other information would be reasonable to request to infer future productivity?
3. Is there enough information to make reasonably informed inferences, or to identify risks associated with data gaps?
4. Are the methods used to assess the potential effects on future productivity of Fish Lake appropriate and executed properly?

The second screening of the EIS for adequacy against the EIS Guidelines is a Panel led process. The Proponent submitted a final EIS for the Panel led adequacy screening on September 21, 2012. EAMP is requesting that DFO Science Branch conduct a review of the revised EIS to determine whether it contains sufficient data and analysis to permit a proper evaluation of the potential effects to lake productivity. Specifically, in consideration of the questions above, does the revised EIS adequately address effects of the project on fish and fish habitat and project effects on fisheries resulting from any effects on fish and fish habitat?

Science has advised that it does not anticipate it will conduct modelling of the future productivity of Fish Lake and its tributaries. As such, EAMP requests Science respond to the following revised version of question 1 when conducting the second screening of the EIS:

1. Is the information referenced both sufficient and recent enough for Science to assess the proponent’s predictions for the future productivity of fish lake.

In order to meet process timelines, it is requested that Science’s response be submitted to the Science Coordinator by October 22, 2012. 

Objectives

Based on the information contained in the September 2012 EIS for the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project, the objective of the SSRP is to provide Science advice to determine whether this revised version of the EIS for the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project addresses the questions above regarding the sufficiency of data and analysis to permit a proper evaluation of the potential effects to lake productivity.

Expected publications

• CSAS Science Response

Participation

• DFO Science Branch Pacific Region