Keri Sculland, Alberni Valley Times, July 5, 2011

The public comment period for the Raven Underground Coal Project has come to an end, and Compliance Energy president and CEO John Tapics is pleased with the results.

He's seen a number of positive comments and a few new key points the project will have to investigate before it can go ahead to the next step. Tapics and his crew at Compliance Energy are sifting through the thousands of comments and responding to each. The next step, he explained, is for the federal and provincial government to incorporate any new issues into their guidelines for the company to meet.

"We've heard from people who want to make sure they're interests are included, related both to the potential jobs and ensuring that there aren't any environmental impacts of the project," Tapics said about the comments he's reviewing. "The comments I have noted are ones that recognize the opportunity for social-economic benefits that will come from 350 new jobs and spinoff benefits."

People from all over Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands expressed their comments and concerns on the proposed coal project online, through the mail and via e-mail.

Quoting from one positive comment, Tapics said he is particularly interested in one that says the project "is needed so our children can remain on Vancouver Island, rather than going to Fort McMurray for work," and "many local tradesmen would be thrilled to have this opportunity to be home ever night for their families."

A number of public anti-coal groups have voiced their concerns that jobs may not be readily available in Port Alberni and might require specialized training, but the company does estimate a few hundred jobs will be created from the project in Fanny Bay to the export terminal in Port Alberni.

"I think they've identified a series of issues," Tapics said. "What we're doing at this point in time is working through the comments to see if any new issues have been identified so we can ensure the project is developed in a socially and environmentally respectful manner."

While a few new issues have risen out of the public comment period, Tapics said the majority of them have been heard before in public meetings and previous comments.

"We've heard the issues that are raised by the comments. The vast majority of these issues, we have heard before, and have been included in the Draft AIR/EIS Guideline documents," Tapics said.

"But, we are being sure to identify any new issues that have been raised," Tapics added.

Compliance Energy must meet all of the requirements set out by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Act under the Draft Application Information Requirements and Environmental Impact Statements.

The next step is for the EAO and CEA to finalize the AIR/EIS guidelines in an approved form.

Once that is complete, the company will have 180 days to make their application for the project, which will be followed by another 30-day public comment period.

The proposed project would see coal mined from Fanny Bay and transported along Highway 19 to Highway 4 and into a port in Port Alberni, where it would be exported overseas. Port Alberni would see an increase in trucks on the surrounding roads and a new facility at the harbour.

ksculland@avtimes.net

© Alberni Valley Times 2011

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