These letters were published in the Vancouver Sun on August 30, 2010, in response to Stephen Hume's column, Coal mine prompts environmental concerns, on August 18.

Delores Broten, Editor, Watershed Sentinel

John Snyder, Chair, CoalWatch Comox Valley

Marilyn McClelland, Fanny Bay

Lynne Wheeler, Fanny Bay

The Sun received many more letters from people echoing Stephen Hume's criticisms of the proposed Raven mine and the environmental assessement processes. We know this, because some of those letters were copied to CoalWatch. The Sun chose to print only four.

The Sun chose to publish two letters criticizing Hume's column. We'd hazard a guess that these are the only two it received. CoalWatch didn't receive any;)

John Tapics, President and CEO, Raven Underground Coal Project

Pierre Gratton, President and CEO, Mining Association of BC

Island coal mine would create jobs, but residents fear environmental impact
Delores Broten, Vancouver Sun, August 30, 2010

Although, at first glance, the proposed coal mine at Fanny Bay seems like a continuation of historical development, it's history we don't want to repeat. So many miners were killed in the Cumberland mines, just up the road, that their deaths are remembered at Miners' Memorial Day every year. And the Union Bay area has still not been remediated from the toxic waste left by the coal mines.

A new industrial blight up the spine of eastern Vancouver Island is not compatible with the area's concentration of resort, retirement, tourism and fisheries development. It's a major shift in direction and needs to be addressed as the enormous social decision it is. The carbon complicity it carries with it involves all British Columbians. After all, we're the ones paying that carbon tax so Premier Gordon Campbell can look like the green hero he's not.

Delores Broten
Editor, Watershed Sentinel, Comox

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Island coal mine would create jobs, but residents fear environmental impact
John Snyder, Vancouver Sun, August 30, 2010

I applaud this column, in that it brought the Raven coal mine project to the broader public.

The Environmental Law Centre at the University of Victoria filed the letter to which Hume referred on behalf of CoalWatch Comox Valley. CoalWatch is a grassroots organization whose goals are to identify and research issues related to the project and advocate for strong public participation during the entire environmental assessment process.

CoalWatch believes this project ought to have the most rigorous review process possible. Therefore, we have requested that the federal environment minister refer it to a joint federal-provincial independent review panel for public hearings. The residents of the areas affected -- the Comox Valley and Port Alberni -- deserve nothing less.

John Snyder
President, CoalWatch Comox Valley Society, Fanny Bay

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Island coal mine would create jobs, but residents fear environmental impact
Marilyn McClelland, Vancouver Sun August 30, 2010

Re: Coal mine prompts environmental concerns, Aug. 18

I was delighted to see columnist Stephen Hume writing about the Raven mine proposed for Buckley Bay on Vancouver Island and to know that our plight is reaching readers who might not have known about it. Many of us thought the column, full of researched facts, outlined what the negative possibilities would be if a coal mine were established here. Not only would it affect our air, water, the sea and life in it, the animals, birds, the noise level and our roads, but there is also the likelihood of horrific accidents and the ugliness of coal mining for years to come. Not a pretty picture.

Promoters of the project tend to whitewash the facts and pretend nothing will change this pristine area. This head-in-the-sand attitude exists because when people are in pursuit of money, nothing else matters.

Marilyn McClelland
Fanny Bay

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Island coal mine would create jobs, but residents fear environmental impact
Lynne Wheeler, Vancouver Sun, August 30, 2010

I'm writing to ask everyone who appreciates the natural beauty of Vancouver Island to stand up and oppose the Raven Coal Mine proposed for the Fanny Bay area between Qualicum and Comox.

Compliance Energy Corp., owner of Raven Coal, holds coal rights to 29,000 hectares in the Comox Coal Basin. In addition to the underground mines proposed for Fanny Bay, there are plans for an open-pit mine near Cumberland. At stake is the watershed, which supplies drinking water to Comox Valley residents; a shellfish industry worth an estimated $7 million annually; air quality deterioration due to toxic coal dust, and safety on our highways. (Up to 54,416 double trailers a year would rumble through Cathedral Grove and downtown Port Alberni for 20 years.)

Compliance suggests there will be 500 full-time jobs, but company officials have said there would be seven mine workers on a typical shift. If you add a few dozen truck-driving jobs, some mechanics and a few workers at the loading facility, it's difficult to see 500 jobs there.

According to the site map, the tailing piles will be at the headwaters of Cowie Creek. This puts all the waters below the mine at risk of acid mine drainage.

Vancouver Island is a paradise. It would be infamous to let a coal mine put our pristine environment at risk. We need the public to stand up and tell the government our environment is not for sale. Please visit Coalwatch. ca, where you'll find information about the project and links to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, where you can voice your concerns before Sept. 20.

Lynne Wheeler
Fanny Bay

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Island coal mine would create jobs, but residents fear environmental impact
John Tapics, Vancouver Sun, August 30, 2010

As a respected journalist, Stephen Hume is relied on to provide balanced and accurate information about important environmental issues. His column about the Raven Underground Coal Project does the public a disservice because it is neither balanced nor accurate.

Hume relied on a letter provided to him by an environmental advocacy organization and seems to have done little fact-checking on his own. He made no attempt to contact the Raven project. If he had, he would have learned that it is contained in an area of up to 3,100 hectares. It does not "stretch from Buckley Bay to Campbell River," as he stated. Surface facilities will cover about 200 hectares and will be located six kilometres inland from Buckley Bay.

The Raven project is undergoing a joint federal-provincial environmental review by technical and environmental experts to ensure that the environment is protected. The project team is committed to social and environmental responsibility. For more information, please see theravenproject. ca.

John Tapics
President and CEO, Raven Underground Coal Project, Vancouver

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Island coal mine would create jobs, but residents fear environmental impact
Pierre Gratton, Vancouver Sun, August 30, 2010

The Mining Association of B.C. was disappointed to read this column, which reiterated the views of one opponent of the Raven Project and neglected to seek comment from Compliance Energy, Taseko Mines, us or even the provincial government. Had he made an effort for a more balanced perspective, Hume would have learned that virtually all of the topics of concern raised by the UVic Environmental Law Centre are addressed by a comprehensive study, the type of environmental assessment now being undertaken by the B.C. and federal governments -- a very high standard of environmental review.

Pierre Gratton
President and CEO, Mining Association of B.C., Vancouver

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