(February 25, 1994) Late on December 23 the Saskatchewan provincial government severely damaged the credibility of the federal and provincial environmental review processes.
(407.4034) WISE Amsterdam - After 2 years the joint federal-provincial environmental review panel completed reviews of 3 proposals comprising 7 uranium deposits. The proposals concerned the McClean Lake project (5 uranium deposits just west of Wollaston Lake), the Cluff Lake deposit (open pit mine), and the Midwest Joint Venture, underground, deposit 25 kilometers north of Wollaston Lake.
- The panel recommended no new uranium mining without a form of revenue sharing acceptable to the impacted (northern) communities. The government announced it would not be following this recommendation.
- The panel recommended approval of the Cluff Lake mine, but under stringent conditions. The government approved the Cluff Lake mine dropping many of the stringent conditions. This means that radioactive waste rock can be disposed by Cogema in to Cluff Lake.
- The panel recommended the Mc-Clean Lake project to be delayed "by at least five years" and outlined 16 conditions to be achieved before allowing the project to proceed. The panel noted that "almost 400 kilo-grams each of arsenic and nickel, more than 2,000 kilograms of uranium, and more than 13,000 tonnes of dissolved solids would be released on the average each year..." The Saskatchewan Surface Water Quality Objectives would be exceeded in Sink Lake, Vulture Lake and part of McClean Lake. The lakes flow into Wollaston Lake....
- The panel also condemned the tailing containment methods as "has not yet been adequately tested." The provincial government chose to approve the Mc-Clean Lake project, few critical conditions from the panel are put into effect.
- The panel recommended against flooding the open pit mines and suggested they be filled with waste rock instead and capped by clean overburden. The province does not require this option. - The panel advised several more years of testing of tailing containment at Rabbit Lake, the province did not accept this advice.
- The panel also addressed the wider issues of military use of Saskatchewan uranium and advised discussion of the larger issues, the government rejected this advice as well.
The Midwest Joint Venture project, which is much smaller then the other approved projects, was turned down by the provincial government, following the panels recommendation.
Would the panels recommendations have been followed, except for the Cluff Lake project, there would not have been new uranium mines without a form of revenue sharing of the northerners.
In taking these actions the provincial government comprised the credibility of the environmental review process in Saskatchewan. Premier Romanow promised in November 1992 that no new uranium mine developments would proceed without approval from the environmental review panel....
Sources:
- The Saskatchewan Environmental Society Newsletter, Jan./Feb. 1994
- WISE NC 400/1.3895
Contact: Inter-Church Uranium Committee, P0 Box 7724, Saskatoon, 5K, S7K 4R4, Canada. Tel. + 1-306- 934-3030, Fax. + 1-306-652-8377, E- mail icuc@web.apc.org