Taseko suffers another setback (Updated)

Update (Fri Nov 30th) - Read the response letter from Taseko Mines to CEAA re: cumulative environmental impacts assessment here as well as the Williams Lake Tribune article on this item here

This past Tuesday - the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency or CEAA sent a letter to Taseko Mines, proponent of the 'New Prosperity' requesting that an assessment of cumulative environmental impacts be completed.

Read the letter from CEAA to Taseko Mines below:



For their part - Taseko Mines said:

Taseko has responded with its own letter expressing both disappointment and disagreement with the panel’s decision.

John McManus, Taseko’s senior vice-president of operations, says it is “discouraging that the panel has used an apparent technicality to stop the timeline remaining for the panel to complete its review.”

He noted that a previous federal panel review of Taseko’s earlier environmental-impact statement in 2009 expressed concerns over cumulative impacts related to fish and grizzly bears but he argued that the company’s revised statement addresses those concerns.

McManus said the company disputes the decision and insists “there is no need to complete additional cumulative-effects assessments....”

Read the full Vancouver Sun article here

Meanwhile - Marilyn Baptiste of the Xeni Gwet'in First Nation Band said:

Long overdue and not surprising whatsoever. the rejection should be enough to put the brakes to the project, “if it does go through to the panel proceedings then people better start seriously questioning the Canadian Government because with that kind of process and those kinds of deficiencies not being addressed it shouldn’t be part of a review.” The proposed mine a very serious threat to her people’s being, their way of life and their future generations.

Finally - Brian Battison, Taseko Mines's VP of Corporate Services said at today's Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce meeting:

"We were surprised, but it's just part of the process. Well we were surprised to receive their letter. What they’re asking for they actually already have so when we responded to them we told them that look what you’re looking for already exists and you have it and we don’t see it as a deficiency.”

For myself - I was very surprised to see this development and hopefully this won't lead to a lengthy delay. At worst, the public hearings should be held not later than March, but I hope to see the public hearings commerce much sooner as in mid to late January or February of 2013.  It was also commented by Walt Cobb (past President of the WL and District Chamber of Commerce) that local MP's Dick Harris (Cariboo-PG) & Cathy MacLeod (Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo) that both were disappointed with Tuesday's letter from CEAA to Taseko Mines and were both committed to get the process moving forward to the Public Hearing Stage...