Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist, May 17, 2013

Plans for a massive underground coal mine south of Courtenay, near Buckley Bay, suffered a major blow Friday with provincial rejection of Compliance Coal Corp.’s application for the Raven Underground Coal Project.

John Harding, Parksville Qualicum Beach News, May 17, 2013

The B.C. Environmental Assessment Office announced Thursday it rejected the application for Compliance Energy's proposed Raven Coal Mine near Buckley Bay.

Comox Valley Record, May 17 2013

The provincial Environment Assessment Office (EAO) has decided not to accept a Raven coal mine application for detailed review.

CBC News, May 17, 2013

B.C. Environmental Assessment office highlights [hundreds of*] deficiencies in report

A controversial application to open a coal mine in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island has been rejected as inadequate by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office.

Tracy James, BC Environmental Assessment Office, May 16 2013
  Letter to John Tapics, Compliance Coal Corp.
  Regarding the Application for the Raven Underground Coal Project

"EAO has decided that the Application does not contain the required information and has decided not to accept the Application for detailed review."

"EAO has prepared a summary document that identifies the major information requirements that EAO considers not to have been adequately addressed as per the approved AIR (Attachment A). Should Compliance wish to revise and resubmit its Application to EAO for evaluation, we request that Compliance first incorporate into the Application the information identified in Attachment A."

Click here for this letter from Tracy James to John Tapics concerning the requirements which have not been adequately addressed.

Click here for Appendix A to the letter, detailing the requirements which have not been adequately addressed.

Click here for the letter from Tracy James to John Tapics concerning the adequacy of the public consultations.

Bloomberg News, May 13 2013

China has ordered production suspended at all coal mines in the southwestern province of Sichuan after a blast on May 11 killed 28 workers.

Arthur Caldicott, Comox Valley Record, May 9 2013

Why are we continuing with this Raven mine farce?

Compliance Energy, the company behind the proposed Raven coal mine, has been pitching a doomed project since the beginning.

Scott Learn, The Oregonian, May 8 2013

Terminal developer Kinder Morgan on Wednesday dropped its proposal to export coal to Asia from a Columbia River port near Clatskanie.

The company's decision means three of the six coal export terminals originally proposed in Oregon and Washington have gone by the wayside. It also significantly reduces the potential for coal train traffic through Portland.

2012 Annual Financial Statements for Compliance Energy, April 25 2013

Deloitte LLP added this unprecedented "Emphasis of Matter" at the end of its note to shareholders of Compliance Energy Corporation at the beginning of the 2012 Annual Financial Statements.

Emphasis of Matter

Without qualifying our opinion, we draw attention to Note 1 in the consolidated financial statements which indicates that the Company has incurred losses from inception and does not currently have any revenue generating operations. Moreover, the Company has an accumulated deficit of $6,929,000 as at December 31, 2012 and incurred an operating loss of $1,255,000 for the year ended December 31, 2012. These conditions, along with other matters as set forth in Note 1 indicate the existence of a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt about Compliance Energy Corporation’s ability to continue as a going concern.

(signed) “Deloitte LLP”
Chartered Accountants
April 25, 2013
Vancouver, British Columbia

David L. Chandler, MIT News Office, May 8 2013

Steelmaking, a major emitter of climate-altering gases, could be transformed by a new process developed at MIT.

Media Release, CoalWatch Comox Valley, May 8 2013

CONSIDER CANDIDATE POSITIONS WHEN MARKING YOUR BALLOT

This upcoming provincial election will be a pivotal one on the very important Raven Coal Mine issue. Recently all of your local governments in the Comox Valley passed motions requesting:

1. The Province of BC conduct comprehensive aquifer mapping of the aquifers that could be affected by the Raven Coal Mine Project.
2. The Province of BC conduct an independent baseline study of Baynes Sound adjacent to the proposed Raven Coal Mine Project.
3. The environmental assessment of the Raven Coal Mine Project be referred to an independent review panel with public hearings.

Make no mistake, the party that forms the next BC Government will be the final decision maker on the Raven Coal Mine. Having an MLA who will support and advocate for the motions passed by our local governments is crucial.

CoalWatch Comox Valley Society fully supports our local government motions and their requests. Please consider each candidates position on these requests when marking your ballot. Our precious drinking water and world renowned shellfish industry are at stake.

Authorized by CoalWatch Comox Valley Society, registered sponsor
under the Election Act 250-335-2246

What is Wrong with the Raven Underground Coal Mine Environmental Assessment Process

by Alice de Wolff, Mike Morrell, Patti Willis, 05May2013

Click here to download the PDF

Edward Homer, Comox Valley Arts and Life, May 2 2013

Carmine Elia, Comox Valley Record, May 1 2013

I worked for 25 years in the Coal Mining industry in a variety of different positions and with different companies and for the life of me, I just do not understand why we are considering a coal mine anywhere near the Comox Valley.

Vancouver Island Water Watch Coalition, April 30 2013

TO THE NDP AND THOSE WHO CAN AFFECT CHANGE

I am writing on behalf of the Vancouver Island Water Watch Coalition (VIWWC), a group comprised of Community Coalitions from Victoria to Courtenay and including Port Alberni. Please refer to our website at www.vancouverislandwaterwatchcoalition.ca to view the groups involved.

The goal of VIWWC is to inform citizens of the dangers of privatizing water and the watersheds that sustain our Island communities and to monitor development within our communities, plus challenge the misconceptions around the quantity and quality of water on our Island. VIWWC believes that a well-informed public has the capacity to make the right choices for themselves, the communities they live in and the generations who will follow. Fresh water is a finite and declining resource, water equates to life, and without it our planet will perish.

Click here to download the complete letter.

John Snyder, Comox Valley Echo, April 30 2013

During provincial Liberal leader Christy Clark's recent campaign stop in the Comox Valley, she made some reported comments on the Raven Coal Mine that I thought were quite interesting. While Ms. Clark and MLA Don McRae continue to defend the current environmental assessment as thorough and adequate, they seem to be tone deaf to the recent requests for a more rigorous review process including a review panel with public hearings made in the motions by the CVRD, Courtenay, Comox, and Cumberland Councils.

Beverley Smith, Comox Valley Record, April 30, 2013

Dear editor,

We in the Fanny Bay-Buckley Bay areas of the Comox Valley are living with the threat of an invasive coal mine coming into our midst.

Paul Manly has released his latest documentary to the public thru various sites on the official Earth Day, April 22, 2013

John Vidal, The Guardian, 10 March 2013

Environmental group's report on pollution in the country warns emissions may cause 20m new asthma cases a year

Mike De Souza, Postmedia News, April 28, 2013

OTTAWA — Building a diamond mine, expanding an oilsands mine, offshore exploration or an interprovincial bridge could soon require a federal environmental review under proposed additions and subtractions to the Harper government’s new environmental rules.But provincially regulated pipelines, facilities used to process the heavy oil from the oilsands, pulp and paper mills as well as chemical explosive plants are among those being deleted from a list of projects requiring federal environmental investigations prior to approval.

On The Island, April 24 2013

NDP candidate Scott Fraser and BC Liberal candidate Darren Deluca discuss the issues in the Alberni-Pacific Rim riding.

Created for CoalWatch Comox Valley by Edward Homer. See more of Edward's work at www.http://comoxvalleyartsandlife.com/.

Michael Briones, Comox Valley Echo, April 23, 2013

Compliance Coal Corporation's 12,000-page document it submitted in its application for an environmental assessment certificate for its proposed Raven underground coal mine was expected to require some hard-core reading.

It turned out to be just that.

Michael Briones, Comox Valley Echo, April 23 2013

The advent of email has made it easier for people to express concerns and opposition to issues that may affect them. With one click of the button, the message is delivered in an instant.

But last weekend, a group opposed to the proposed Raven Underground Coal Mine went old school. Instead of the computer, they used pencil and paper, and mailed their letters via the post office.

Mark Hume, The Globe and Mail, Apr. 15 2013