CDN. CHAIRMAN U.S. CHAIRMAN · PDF fileCarlene Nimlos Hon. Benjamin Cohen Hon. Mary Ellen Connelly Kenneth Krueger ... Otis Robbins 149 Lex Blood 151 Wayne Herman Gordon Hall Karen

CDN. CHAIRMAN

U.S. CHAIRMAN

COMMISSIONER

COMMISSIONER

COMMISSIONER

ALLWEST REPORTlNG LTD. 1193 KINGSWAY,

VANCOUVER, B.C.

E.M. Clark

Sophie Clark

Elwin Bennington

Wayne Choquette

Pa t Lefthand

R. V i c Far ley

Sandra Key

Dave White

7

Governor Ted Schwindon

J i m Posowitz

Carlene Nimlos

Hon. Benjamin Cohen

Hon. Mary E l l e n Connelly

Kenneth Krueger

Robert W a l t m i r e

Jack S tanford

Karen M c N e i l

Fred Meiners

D r . Jessie M. Bierman

D r . Boren Kreck

Robert Schumacher

Thurman Trosper

Elna Darrow

Bruce Young

Monty Long

H a l S t ea rns

Michael Pablo

Roger Hopkins

Sandy McIntyre

James Conner

Alan M c N e i l

Robin Magadinno 130

George Darrow 131

G i l Lusk 134

E. B. Brannon 141

Senator Ray Lybeck 148

O t i s Robbins 149

Lex Blood 151

Wayne Herman

Gordon H a l l

Karen Reaves

Teal Reaves

Richard Kuhl

John Freder ick

Sharon Castant ino

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F, NO,

Lauren McKinsey

Michael D. Enk

Dick Wollin

Brace Hayden

Nick Haren

Diane S tee l e

Gordon Stewart

Sharlon L. Willows

ALL= RBPORTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C. Page: 1

CRANBROOK, B. C.

September 21, 1988

1 THE CHAIRMAN: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is

B i s s o n n e t t e , B i s sonne t t e , Pierre-Andre, I ' m a Canadian

and I a m chairman, t h e r e f o r e , o f t h e Canadian s e c t i o n of

t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o i n t Commission.

W e are h e r e t o d a y i n Cranbrook t o l i s t e n t o

your views concerning t h e Commission's s t u d y on t h e

impac t s o f a proposed c o a l mine a t Cabin Creek i n

B r i t i s h Columbia on t h e F l a t h e a d R i v e r and i t s uses . I n

p a r t i c u l a r w e are c o n s i d e r i n g t h e r e c e n t r e p o r t of our

F l a t h e a d River I n t e r n a t i o n a l Study Board, and I

unders tand t h e r e p o r t is a v a i l a b l e w i t h t h e S e c r e t a r y .

The Board, which I w i l l i n t r o d u c e i n a

moment, began i t s work i n 1985, s h o r t l y a f t e r t h e

Commission r e c e i v e d a r e q u e s t from t h e governments o f

Canada and t h e Uni ted S t a t e s t o examine and r e p o r t on

t h e p r e s e n t water q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y , t h e f i s h

r e s o u r c e s and p r e s e n t u s e r s i n t h e F l a t h e a d Basin and

t h e expec ted effects on them o f t h e proposed mine. The

Commission w a s asked t o make recommendation a s t o how

government can e n s u r e t h a t t h e p r o v i s i o n s of t h e

boundary water treaties are honoured. It is important

t o n o t e t h e s p e c i f i c f o c u s of t h e Commissionls and,

t h e r e f o r e , t h e Board ' s s t u d y on water and water u s e s .

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The t e r m s of r e f e r e n c e a r e p r i n t e d i n t h e Board r e p o r t ,

a t page 181.

I hope t h a t a l l o f you have seen and perhaps

r e a d the r e p o r t and t h e r e l a t e d t e c h n i c a l appendices .

If no t , I r e p e a t a g a i n , t h e y ' r e a v a i l a b l e a t t h e door .

Following a l o n g s t u d y and many hours o f

d e l i b e r a t i o n t h e Board h a s reached a number of

conclus ions , b u t a l s o i d e n t i f i e d many u n c e r t a i n t i e s . It

is o u r job now, w e t h e Commission, t o e x p l o r e t h e

s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e s e conc lus ions and u n c e r t a i n t i e s and

t o d e c i d e what can be s a i d about t h e mine and i t s impact

on water q u a l i t y and water q u a n t i t y and t h e r e l a t e d

consequences. The e x p l o r a t i o n o f such q u e s t i o n s , of

your views on t h e adequacy of t h e Board 's r e p o r t and

f i n d i n g s and o f r e l a t e d in fo rmat ion i s t h e purpose o f

t h i s h e a r i n g and a similar one tomorrow i n t h e United

S t a t e s a t K a l i s p e l l .

W e a p p r e c i a t e your t a k i n g t i m e t o be wi th u s

today and w e a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n your views. They, a long

w i t h t h e t e c h n i c a l r e p o r t s and o u r own unders tand ings of

t h e i s s u e s , w i l l form t h e b a s i s f o r t h e Commission's

r e p o r t t o t h e governments of t h e Uni ted S t a t e s and

Canada.

I must s a y a few words about procedure .

These are i n t e r n a t i o n a l h e a r i n g s and r e s i d e n t s o f e i t h e r

c o u n t r y can t e s t i f y today o r tomorrow i n K a l i s p e l l . So

I

C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving L Retrieval System

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t h a t w e can proceed i n an o r d e r l y way, w e ask t h a t you

fill o u t an appearance c a r d a t t h e door . I f you have

s p e c i f i c t i m e c o n s t r a i n t s p l e a s e le t u s know and w e w i l l

t r y t o accommodate them.

A verbat im r e p o r t i s b e i n g kept of t h e

p roceed ings and it w i l l be on t h e p u b l i c record . If you

have a copy o r cop ies of your remarks t h a t w i l l b e v e r y

h e l p f u l . P lease hand them t o t h e S e c r e t a r y , who is

s e a t e d t h e r e a t t h e table t o my r i g h t .

It may b e n e c e s s a r y for m e , depending on t h e

number of speakers and t i m e , t o restrict your remarks i n

advance t o t e n minutes, b u t t h e f u l l t e x t o f p repared

remarks can be f i l e d w i t h t h e S e c r e t a r y .

One a d d i t i o n a l p o i n t ; i f anyone i s unable t o

speak today o r h a s f u r t h e r t h o u g h t s t o convey t o u s

af ter t h i s hea r ing you may send them t o t h e Commission

S e c r e t a r i e s i n Washington o r O t t a w a . The r e c o r d w i l l be

kep t open f o r t h a t purpose u n t i l t h e end of October .

I would a l s o l i k e t o mention t h a t w e have

r e c e i v e d a w r i t t e n r e p r e s e n t a t i o n from t h e Government o f

Canada. I t ' s be ing t y p e d now. T h i s document w i l l be

w i t h t h e S e c r e t a r y i n a f e w minutes , I g a t h e r , who i s

s e a t e d t o my r i g h t , aga in , he j u s t r a i s e d h i s hand.

I would now l i k e t o i n t r o d u c e my f e l l o w

Commissioners who are h e r e today; Bob McEwen, t o my

l e f t , t h e U . S . Chairman, Commissioner Fu l ton , a g a i n t o

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my left, Commissioner Totten and Commissioner Welch.

Now it is my pleasure to introduce the chairmen, the two

chairmen of the Flathead River International Study

Board, Mr. E.M. Clark and Mr. Jim Posewitz, who will

introduce in turn their board members.

MR. CLARK: On my right, Abe Horpestad and Dan Kimball,

members of the United States section; on my immediate

right, John O'Riordan from the Province of British

Columbia and Peter McCart from McCart Biological

Consultants as Canadian members.

THE CHAIRMAN: The Board will then make now, will make a

brief summary presentation of its report to begin the

proceedings, and this will, then the floor will be

yours.

MR. CLARK: With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I have some

overheads for this; if we could have those shown.

As the Chairman has noted, the results of the

Board's report are summarized in voluminous material, in

committee reports and in the Board's report. I will

only attempt to touch the highlights.

The Board was supported in doing its work by

a number of committees and I would like to recognize

those committees. First was a Mine Development

Committee, members Jake McDonald and Neil Harrington,

neither of whom are with us today; a Water Quality and

Quantity Committee, Diana Valiela, Canadian chairperson

ALLWEST RElQRTINC LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 5

and Jim Thomas from the U.S.B.R.; the Biological

Resources Committee, A1 Martin from the B.C. Ministry of

the Environment and Loren Bahls from the Montana

Department of Health and Environmental Sciences; Water

Uses Committee, Sandy DIAquino from Environment Canada

and John Wardell from U.S.E.P.A.; Water Quality Criteria

Sub-committee, again Diana and Tom Willingham from the

U.S.E.P.A.; Limnology Task Force, Ralph Daley from

Environment Canada and Walter Rast from the U.S.G.S.

Neither of those gentlemen are here but they are

represented, Ralph is represented by Colin Gray.

Finally, for the beginning of the study we had a

representative from Sage Creek Coal Company, Mr.

Magnusson, as representative of that group.

The study approach 1'11 outline very briefly.

The Board set up the group of committees and the purpose

of those committees was for the Mine Development

Committee to estimate the proposed mine's discharges and

effects; for the Water Quality and Quantity Committee to

apply the mine's discharges and estimate the consequence

to the water quality and quantity; a Biological

Resources Committee to determine the consequence of the

altered water quality and quantity to fish, habitat and

aquatic biological resources; a Water Use Committee to

describe present uses of water and the influence of

those uses on water quality and quantity and to


ALLWEST REPORTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 6

determine t h e effects on uses , i n c l u d i n g f i s h i n g , of

a l t e r e d w a t e r q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y ; a Water Q u a l i t y

Criteria Sub-committee t o develop cr i ter ia f o r v a r i a b l e s

l i k e l y t o be affected; and f i n a l l y a Limnology Task

Force t o de termine t h e effect on F la thead Lake.

The Board encountered some problems i n t h e

s tudy and I t h i n k t h e main problems a r e worth

mentioning. F i r s t , t h e mine p l a n i s a t a conceptual

l e v e l , which i s adequa te f o r Approval- in-Principle,

known i n t h e B r i t i s h Columbia p rocess a s t h e S tage I1

l e v e l o f development. Second, t h e b a s e l i n e d a t a t o

assess t h e impacts was incomplete, hence some r e s u l t s

had t o b e based on judgment. I d o n ' t t h i n k t h a t i n

i tself is p a r t i c u l a r l y unique i n a n impact assessment ,

b u t t h e problem t h e Board had was u s i n g S t a g e I1

in fo rmat ion t o t r y t o o b t a i n S tage I11 r e s u l t s .

I n conduct ing t h e s t u d y t h e Board used two

cases, t h e op t ima l case where t h e assumption was made

t h a t t h e s t a g e of t h e a r t envi ronmenta l c o n t r o l

technology would apply, t h a t t h e mine would o p e r a t e i n

compliance w i t h a l l l e g i s l a t i v e requi rements and t h a t

some m i t i g a t i v e measures n o t i n use a t o t h e r mines i n

B r i t i s h Columbia would b e a p p l i c a b l e . The adverse case ,

d e s p i t e b e s t p r a c t i c a l technology b e i n g a p p l i e d , t h e r e

would b e f a i l u r e s t o meet requ i rements . Both c a s e s

assume compliance wi th S tage 11.


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The Bio log ica l Resources C o m m i t t e e had

t r o u b l e w i t h some of t h e s e cases a n d made modified

p r e d i c t i o n s o f impacts f o r t h e o p t i m a l and adverse c a s e s

b a s e d on i t s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f coal mining p r a c t i c e s i n

s o u t h e a s t B.C. , and secondly, i t s o b s e r v a t i o n t h a t

s t r ic t adherence t o a mine p l a n a t S t a g e I1 i s wi thout

p r e c e d e n t . This caused t h e Board some concern i n going

t h r o u g h and developing i t s r e p o r t , b u t I t h i n k i n t h e

f i n a l a n a l y s i s t u r n e d o u t t o be a n advantage t o t h e

Board because it p o i n t e d o u t t h e importance of g i v i n g

envi ronmenta l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s s p e c i a l t r e a t m e n t .

Now f o r t h e r e s u l t s : on wa te r q u a n t i t y , a t

the i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary t h e Board r e p o r t f i n d s t h a t

n e i t h e r case, n e i t h e r t h e o p t i m a l n o r t h e adverse , h a s

s i g n i f i c a n t effect. I n Cabin and H o w e l l Creeks

r e l a t i o n s h i p between ground and s u r f a c e wa te r was

d i f f i c u l t t o p r e d i c t . I n t h e pre-mining phase it was

c o n s i d e r e d t h e r e ' d be a n i n c r e a s e due t o l a n d c l e a r i n g

and a d e c r e a s e due t o a r e d u c t i o n i n ground-water flow;

i n t h e e a r l y mining phase less t h a n t e n p e r c e n t n e t

change; and i n t h e l a t e r mining phase, when t h e p i t s

would ex tend below t h e v a l l e y f l o o r , t h e r e would be a

p o t e n t i a l f o r a r e v e r s a l i n ground-water f low from t h e

c r e e k s t o t h e p i t s .

Stream morphology: a p p l i e s o n l y t o Cabin and

Howell Creeks and t h e p r e d i c t i o n would be no s i g n i f i c a n t


A L L m REPORTING LTLh VANCOUVER B.C Page: 8

change. This was based on t h e S tage I1 l e v e l of

information, which s p e c i f i e d t h a t t h e e x t e n t o f r i p - r a p

i s l i m i t e d , secondly t h a t t h e s t r eams meander i n an

u n a l t e r e d b u f f e r s t r i p . And i t ' s no ted t h a t t h e

s p e c i f i e d 90-meter b u f f e r s t r i p is b a s i c a l l y wi thout

precedent a t any c o a l mine i n B r i t i s h Columbia.

Water q u a l i t y , f o r sedimenta t ion: a t t h e

i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary - t h e op t ima l c a s e - t h e i n c r e a s e

i n sediment l o a d s and c o n c e n t r a t i o n s would be

i n s i g n i f i c a n t . I n t h e a d v e r s e case , t h e i n c r e a s e i n

loads and c o n c e n t r a t i o n s , abou t f i v e p e r c e n t . For

Cabin and Howell Creeks - t h e op t ima l c a s e - t h e

i n c r e a s e i n c o n c e n t r a t i o n s would n o t be g r e a t e r t h a n t h e

B.C. o b j e c t i v e s buy t h e y may exceed what ' s d e s c r i b e d

h e r e as t h e NEL or n o - e f f e c t - l e v e l cr i ter ia a t t i m e s .

I n t h e adverse c a s e , t h e r e would be d e p o s i t i o n d u r i n g

t h e pre-mining and l a n d c l e a r i n g and i n t h e mining phase

c o n c e n t r a t i o n s greater t h a n t h e B.C. ambient o b j e c t i v e

of 10 mg/l i n c r e a s e and g r e a t e r t h a n t h e no-e f fec t - l eve l

c r i t e r i a f o r i n s t a n t a n e o u s c o n c e n t r a t i o n s d u r i n g f r e s h e t

and i n summer s to rms . I n b o t h c a s e s it was cons ide red

t h a t most o f t h e sediment would be f l u s h e d o u t d u r i n g

f r e s h e t and t h a t t h e r e would be some d e p o s i t i o n i n low-

v e l o c i t y a r e a s and t h a t t h e y may exceed t h e no-ef fec t -

l e v e l c r i t e r i a .

T u r b i d i t y : B a s i c a l l y t u r b i d i t y i n c r e a s e s


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w i t h sediment c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n c r e a s e . A t t h e

i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary, for t h e o p t i m a l case it was

c o n s i d e r e d t h e change would n o t b e v i s i b l e ; f o r t h e

a d v e r s e c a s e t h e r e would be a maximum i n c r e a s e of about

t e n p e r c e n t and t h a t would occur mainly i n t h e f r e s h e t

p e r i o d s and i n summer s torms when t u r b i d i t y was a l r e a d y

h igh . The Board could no t t e l l i f t h a t change would be

v i s i b l e t o t h e naked eye.

Temperature: A t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary,

b o t h cases n o t expected t o be any s i g n i f i c a n t change.

I n Cabin and Howell Creeks t h e o p t i m a l c a s e would va ry

from -1 degree Cent igrade t o +1 d e g r e e Cen t ig rade and i n

t h e a d v e r s e c a s e from -2 degrees Cen t ig rade t o +3

d e g r e e s Cen t ig rade . The e x t e n t would depend on ground-

w a t e r upwell ing, and ground-water keeps c ropp ing up

r e p e a t e d l y through t h i s d i s c u s s i o n , on pond d i s c h a r g e s

and on l o s s o f s u r f a c e water. The changes exceed t h e

B.C. o b j e c t i v e s o f p l u s o r minus one degree Cent igrade

under t h e a d v e r s e case .

For n u t r i e n t s and t o x i c n i t r o g e n compounds:

t h e concerns t h a t t h e Board dealt w i t h w e r e b a s i c a l l y

phosphorus i n i t s b i o l o g i c a l l y a v a i l a b l e form, and

secondly n i t r o g e n , i n t h e form of n i t r a t e and i n t h e

t o x i c forms o f ammonia and n i t r i t e . A t F l a t h e a d Lake

f o r b o t h c a s e s t h e Board found t h a t t h e t o t a l i n c r e a s e

i n b i o l o g i c a l l y a v a i l a b l e phosphorus l o a d would be less

I C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving & Retrieval System

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t h a n one p e r c e n t and t h a t t h e r e would be no measurable

i n c r e a s e i n l a k e enr ichment .

A t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary f o r bo th c a s e s

phosphorus, t h e B.C. o b j e c t i v e s and t h e no-ef fec t - level

cr i ter ia w i l l l i k e l y be exceeded s i n c e t h e zero- increase

o b j e c t i v e -- s i n c e t h e r e i s a ze ro - inc rease o b j e c t i v e

f o r ambient water a t t h e boundary. For n i t rogen , t h e

B.C. o b j e c t i v e s would n o t be exceeded and t h e no-effect-

l e v e l c r i t e r i a s u b s t a n t i a l l y exceeded. For n i t r i t e and

ammonia, it was c o n s i d e r e d t h a t t h e y would probably

o x i d i z e t o non-toxic n i t r a t e .

Cabin and Howell Creeks, f o r bo th c a s e s , f o r

phosphorus t h e Board c o u l d n o t e s t a b l i s h where t h e

phosphorus e n t e r e d t h e c reeks , t h e r e f o r e i t ' s ve ry ha rd

t o i d e n t i f y t h e e f f e c t s . For n i t r o g e n t h e B.C.

o b j e c t i v e s would n o t b e exceeded and t h e no-e f fec t - l eve l

cr i ter ia would b e s u b s t a n t i a l l y exceeded. For n i t r i t e

and ammonia, t h e r e cou ld be a s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e from

b l a s t i n g r e s i d u e s t h a t would exceed t h e B.C. o b j e c t i v e s

and t h e c r i t e r i a , wi th t o x i c l e v e l s i n spawning a r e a s

p r o v i d i n g t h a t ground-water connected from t h e sources

t o t h e s t reams, and t h a t a g a i n was n o t a b l e t o be

i d e n t i f i e d .

For b i o t a , a l g a e , a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l

boundary t h e op t ima l c a s e would p rov ide c o n c e n t r a t i o n s

t h a t would i n c r e a s e s i g n i f i c a n t l y a t t h e boundary and


Page: 11

f o r some d i s t a n c e downstream. It would be less t h a n a t

t h e mine s i te . Under t h e adverse case t h e effect would

be g r e a t e r w a s n o t a b l e t o be q u a n t i f i e d . A t t h e mine

s i te f o r t h e op t ima l case t h e r e would b e a s i g n i f i c a n t

i n c r e a s e i n growth o f a l g a e on t h e streambed, a dec rease

i n d i v e r s i t y o f s p e c i e s , a change t o more f i l amentous

t y p e a l g a e and t h e criteria would b e exceeded more o f t e n

t h a n t h e y are now. For t h e adverse case t h e r e would be

g r e a t e r effects b u t t h e y cou ld n o t be q u a n t i f i e d .

There would probably b e an i n c r e a s e i n

b e n t h i c b i o f i l m s d u r i n g low f lows from t h e mine s i t e t o

some unknown d i s t a n c e downstream o f t h e boundary. The

Board cou ld n o t e s t a b l i s h whether t h a t c o u l d be seen by

peop le .

The nex t group i s b e n t h i c macro inver tebra tes ,

t h o s e an imals wi thout any backbone t h a t l i v e on t h e

bottom o f t h e s t ream. A t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary

under t h e op t ima l c a s e a m a j o r change i n p o p u l a t i o n

s t r u c t u r e would be u n l i k e l y . Detectable change

downstream o f t h e boundary would be u n l i k e l y . Under t h e

a d v e r s e c a s e t h e r e would be s l i g h t t o moderate effects

a t t h e boundary.

A t t h e mine s i t e i n t h e o p t i m a l c a s e t h e r e

would d e t r i m e n t a l impact on p o p u l a t i o n s b u t t h e s e could

n o t be q u a n t i f i e d . Under t h e a d v e r s e case t h e impact

would b e more severe , b u t a g a i n u n q u a n t i f i e d . The

, C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving dc Retrieval System

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g e n e r a l comment is t h a t t h e s e v e r i t y of impact v a r i e s

w i t h l o c a l i t y and d iminishes i n t h e downstream

d i r e c t i o n .

For t h e b u l l and c u t t h r o a t t r o u t , p o t e n t i a l

impac t s cou ld be caused by t h e t o x i c l e v e l s of n i t r o g e n

compounds i n t h e ground-water, t h e i n c r e a s e d growth of

a l g a e , i n c r e a s e d suspended sediment concen t ra t ions ,

i n c r e a s e d depos i t ed sediment, a r e d u c t i o n of d i s s o l v e d

oxygen, a l t e r a t i o n s t o ground or s u r f a c e water f low and

changes t o water t empera tu re .

The effects, under t h e case assumed by t h e

B i o l o g i c a l Resources Committee, b o t h c a s e s , i n o t h e r

words b o t h t h e opt imal and t h e a d v e r s e case a s

i n t e r p r e t e d by t h a t committee, t h e r e would be an

e l i m i n a t i o n of b u l l t r o u t i n Cabin and Howell Creeks.

For b o t h t h e opt imal and t h e a d v e r s e cases, as

i n t e r p r e t e d by t h e Board, t h e r e would b e a r e d u c t i o n of

t h e p o p u l a t i o n s of b u l l t r o u t and o t h e r f i s h species b u t

t h e Board cou ld n o t q u a n t i f y what t h o s e r e d u c t i o n s would

be, o t h e r t h a n t o comment t h a t it would be less i n t h e

o p t i m a l c a s e t h a n it would i n t h e a d v e r s e c a s e .

Water use : based on t h e BRC s t a t ement and

case t h a t t e n p e r c e n t of t h e b u l l t r o u t p o p u l a t i o n

would be l o s t as a r e s u l t o f t h e e l i m i n a t i o n i n Cabin

and H o w e l l Creeks, t h e mine may cause an annual economic

l o s s t o Montana of t h r e e t o e i g h t hundred thousand


ALLwEsrRBH)RlINc LID. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 13

dollars.

The second point is that a l i t e r a l

interpretation of the special designations would

prohibit any ac t iv i ty tha t would impact on water. The

Board f e l t tha t the pr i s t ine nature of the Flathead has

been affected t o some degree by his tor ical and ongoing

ac t iv i t ies i n both countries. It also f e l t that any

additional development i n e i ther country can affect the

intent of the special designations, and it recognized

that the greatest potential for adverse impact i s

associated w i t h fishery resources.

The Board was not able t o determine the

extent of the f i sh loss but it noted that any loss of

f i sh habitat would be contrary t o the intent of the

special designations. Finally, it noted that there

would be less r i s k t o other water uses associated w i t h

designations; example, recreation, esthetics, integrity,

e t cetera.

The f ina l part of the Board's report dealt

w i t h extreme events. These a re things such as major

dump failures, major floods, earthquakes, e t cetera.

The Board recognized there is a potential but an unknown

r i s k of pond and dump fai lures . If these occurred they

could impact on water and biological resources a t and

below the boundary. Some of the effects could be long

term, some could be possibly i r revers ible . The


ALL- REXQR'IlNC LTD. VANCOUVER B.C. Page: 14

probability of fa i lure i s low but it does ex i s t .

The Board also produced a supplementary

report a t the request of the Commission, and tha t report

includes suggestions for mitigative measures, data

collection and further research. The Board notes that

the effectiveness and need for these studies has not

been assessed. The Board a lso notes t h a t not a l l of

these are advocated, that they mus t be reviewed on the

basis of the Board report and the r e su l t s of further

studies required a t Stage 111. I believe the s l ide

shows Stage 11, it should read Stage 111.

The report includes ident i f icat ion of the

most important data gaps that need t o be f i l l ed , both

for developing mitigation plans and fo r assessing

impact. Also, suggestions fo r biological information

needed t o lessen the adverse e f fec ts on f i s h habitat or

populations both on-site, i . e . , on the mine s i t e i t s e l f ,

and of f - s i te in adjoining sections of the basin. I t

provides suggestions for physical mitigation a t the mine

s i t e t o lessen impacts of developmental o r operational

ac t iv i t i e s , and f inal ly , it ends up w i t h some

suggestions for additional regulatory controls t o ensure

compliance w i t h the optimal mine design case.

I think, M r . Chairman, tha t sums up both the

reports. The only other comment I ' d l i ke t o make i s

tha t the committees, a l l the committees and the Board

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were able to achieve consensus on their respective

reports and we did not have any minority reports or

dissension with the products that were provided to the

Commission. Thank you.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Do the

Commissioners have any questions? If not we'll just

proceed to hear those who indicated that they would like

to say something. The first one I have is Anne Edwards,

who is the MLA for Kootenay.

MS. EDWARDS: Sorry Mr. Chairman, I didn't put down that I

was going to address the meeting right now. I'll be at

the meetings tomorrow and if I want to make a

presentation I will do that tomorrow.

THE CHAIRMAN: So you would rather speak tomorrow?

MS. EDWARDS: Yes.

THE CHAIRMAN: We're disappointed. Then may I go to Sophie

Pierre, Kootenai Indian Area Council.

CHIEF PIERRE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm Chief Sophie

Pierre, representing the Kootenai Indian Area Council.

The Kootenai Indian Area Council is made up of five

Indian communities in Canada. Kootenai Indian five of

the seven Kootenai communities, the other two

communities are in Idaho and Montana.

The concerns that were raised just in the

last few minutes and that the hearing is about, are

concerns that we have as Kootenai people, because our

ALLWEST REPORTING LTD. VANCOWER B.C Page: 16

t r a d i t i o n a l t e r r i t o r y does no t s t o p a t e i t h e r Canada o r

t h e U . S . boundaries. That boundary i s a boundary t h a t

i s no t recognized by t h e Kootenai Indian people. Our

1 t r a d i t i o n a l t e r r i t o r y goes from t h e b i g bend of t h e

Columbia River t o Missoula, Montana, from t h e e a s t of

t h e Rocky Mountains t o t h e Arrow Lakes.

We a r e concerned with t h e r epo r t f o r a number

of reasons but I th ink mainly because i n B r i t i s h

Columbia, I don ' t t h ink t h a t t h i s province has a very

good record about t h e t ypes o f a c t i v i t i e s t h a t it does

c a r r y on. I am not convinced t h a t we have enough

r egu la to ry sec t ions wi thin our province t h a t a r e

mainta ining t h a t t h e p re sen t mining t h a t i s going on i s

a c t u a l l y following t h e r e g u l a t i o n s t h a t are t h e r e . I

suspec t t h a t t h e people who are respons ib le f o r t h e

r e p o r t have run i n t o t h a t , because they do make t h e

suggest ion t h a t t h e r e be s p e c i a l , it w a s on page 21,

t h a t t h e r e be environmental superv isors h i red ,

independent engineers h i r ed , a l l independent of t h e

people t h a t are p r e s e n t l y wi th in t h e government

s t r u c t u r e .

The o t h e r concern t h a t we have i s t h e present

proposal f o r Cabin Creek may a l l look very n i c e t h a t

i t ' s no t going t o a f f e c t , i t ' s poss ib le , you can do

anything with a r epo r t and say t h a t i t ' s not going t o

affect t h e environment, make a l l t hose kinds of

> C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving & Retrieval System

ALLWE5C RER3RllNC LTD. VANCOUVER B.C. Page: 17

s ta tements , b u t r e a l l y when you cons ider , when you

combine a l l of t h e a c t i v i t y t h a t i s going on i n t h e

t r a d i t i o n a l l a n d s o f t h e Kootenai people, w e a r e v e r y

concerned because w e have never had a c o n s o l i d a t e d o r a

comprehensive r e p o r t o f t h e environmental impacts t h a t

are going on i n o u r l a n d r i g h t now. W e have a l l k inds

o f logging and mining g o i n g on, and i n d i v i d u a l l y t h e y

look l i k e t h e y ' r e n o t hav ing a b i g impact, b u t you p u t

a l l o f t h o s e t o g e t h e r and t h e y do have a b i g impact .

That has never been done, t h a t h a s never been s e r i o u s l y

looked a t , and I t h i n k t h a t t h a t i s something t h a t w e

are recommending t o t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o i n t Commission,

t h a t t h a t is t h e t y p e o f comprehensive r e p o r t t h a t you

shou ld be look ing a t .

Another concern t h a t w e have is, it i s my

unders tand ing on a v e r y i n f o r m a l way t h a t t h e r e w e r e

some a r c h e o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s done w i t h t h e area t h a t w i l l

be a f f e c t e d by t h e Cabin Creek mining p r o p o s a l . I f t h a t

i s t h e c a s e I, a s t h e a d m i n i s t r a t o r f o r t h e Kootenai

I n d i a n Area Council and Chief o f t h e S t . Mary's Band,

have never seen any o f t h e s e s t u d i e s . I feel t h a t t h o s e

a r c h e o l o g i c a l r e p o r t s would affect my h i s t o r y , t h e y

affect my t r a d i t i o n a l l a n d s , and y e t I have n o t been

made p a r t y t o t h o s e r e p o r t s . I d o n ' t know who c a r r i e d

on t h o s e s t u d i e s . We do have w i t h i n o u r e x i s t i n g

s t r u c t u r e , w i t h i n t h e Area Counci l , w e have the f a c i l i t y


ALLWEST RBPORTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 18

t o c a r r y on t h a t type of r e p o r t . W e have our own people

t h a t we've been t r a i n i n g t o work wi th a rcheolog is t s t o

determine t h e impacts of t h i s t ype of development on our

t r a d i t i o n a l lands. So again, t h a t is another concern

t h a t w e have.

In c los ing, M r . Chairman, tomorrow you w i l l

be hea r ing from t h e Confederated S a l i s h and Kootenai

Tr ibes , and I want t o pu t on record t h a t t h e f i v e bands

of t h e Kootenai Indian Area Council a r e i n f u l l support

of t h e statement t h a t w i l l be made by t h e Kootenai and

S a l i s h i n t h a t t hey are opposed t o t h e development of

t h e Sage Creek coa l mine f o r many of t h e reasons t h a t

I ' v e po in ted out and many o t h e r reasons t h a t they w i l l

be b r ing ing forward tomorrow. Thank you very much.

THE CHAIRMAN: I thank you f o r both your comments and your

recommendations.

Would any chairman o r m e m b e r of t h e Board

have any comment to make? No?

COMMISSIONER WELCH: I ' d be p a r t i c u l a r l y concerned about t h e

a rcheolog ica l , t h e comments made about a rcheolog ica l

s t u d i e s ; is t h e r e not a response from t h e Board on t h a t ?

MR. O'RIORDAN: M r . Chairman, l e t m e .

My name i s John O'Riordan, with t h e Ministry

of t h e Environment f o r B r i t i s h Columbia. I ' d l i k e t o

make two comments. One i s t h a t t h e Minis t ry of

Environment f o r B r i t i s h Columbia has prepared a r epo r t


Page: 19

which w e w i l l b e p l e a s e d t o make a v a i l a b l e t o t h e

Kootenai Tr ibal Nat ion on t h e cumulat ive e f f e c t s of

logging and mining i n t h e F la thead and Elk Bas ins of t h e

Eas t Kootenays. W e d i d t h i s r e p o r t about f o u r y e a r s

ago, s o i t ' s a l i t t l e b i t o u t of d a t e i n terms of t h e

c u r r e n t a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e bas in , b u t a s o f f o u r y e a r s

ago it w a s t h e , I t h i n k i t ' s s t i l l t h e on ly s t a t ement

which looks a t t h e combined effects of f i v e o p e r a t i n g

mines and t h e f o r e s t i n d u s t r y and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n i n t h i s

p a r t o f t h e world. I ' d l i k e t o t a l k t o you a f t e r w a r d s

and w e can a r r a n g e t o have a copy o f t h a t r e p o r t s e n t t o

you.

The second comment I ' d l i k e t o make i s t h a t

i n t e r m s of a r c h e o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s , i t ' s my unders tanding

t h a t t h e y w e r e commissioned by Sage Creek as p a r t of t h e

r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of Sage Creek under t h e c o a l

development g u i d e l i n e s p r o c e s s and t h e r e p o r t t h a t would

have been prepared would be one of t h e r e p o r t s t h a t ' s i n

t h e , shou ld be on t h e record f o r t h e Sage Creek

p roposa l , it w a s i n c l u d e d i n t h e S t a g e I1 set of

documents. Thank you.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, M r . O'Riordan.

Our nex t speaker is Elwin Bennington,

F l a t h e a d Bas in Commission.

MR. BENNINGTON: M r . Chairman and Commission members, my

name i s Elwin Bennington. I l i v e a t t h e sou th end o f

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A U r n RHPORTING LID. VANCOUVER B.C. Page: 20

F l a t h e a d Lake i n Lake County, Montana, which is some 200

m i l e s s o u t h of u s here . I speak t h i s a f t e rnoon on

b e h a l f o f t h e F la thead Bas in Commission.

The Commission w a s c r e a t e d t o p r o t e c t t h e

e x i s t i n g h i g h q u a l i t y o f F l a t h e a d Lake 's a q u a t i c

environment and t h e wa te r s t h a t f low i n t o and o u t of o r

a r e t r i b u t a r y t o t h e l a k e . The 17 members of t h e

Commission i n c l u d e s t a t e , f e d e r a l and t r i b a l l a n d

managers i n t h e Basin, and t h r e e c i t i z e n s appointed by

t h e governor. The Province o f B r i t i s h Columbia has a

l i a i s o n t o t h e Commission, a p o s i t i o n t h a t i s c u r r e n t l y

h e l d by M r . Robert Fa r l ey , who i s a s p e c i a l a d v i s e r on

c o n s t i t u t i o n a l affairs, f e d e r a l , p r o v i n c i a l and

i n t e r n a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s and t h e officer o f t h e P r e m i e r .

M r . F a r l e y i s p r e s e n t h e r e t o d a y .

The Commission's d u t i e s i n c l u d e moni tor ing

t h e Bas in ' s n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s , encouraging t h e

coopera t ion among Basin l a n d managers, s u p p o r t i n g

economic development wi thou t compromising t h e B a s i n ' s

n a t u r a l r e source systems, and promoting coopera t ion

between Montana and B r i t i s h Columbia on r e s o u r c e

development i n t h e F l a t h e a d Bas in .

An under ly ing reason f o r adding t h e last

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y was a n awareness on t h e p a r t o f t h e

Montana L e g i s l a t u r e t h a t a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e Canadian

p o r t i o n o f t h e F l a t h e a d d r a i n a g e can have a s i g n i f i c a n t


ALLWEST RH#)RTlNC LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 21

effect on t h e q u a l i t y of t h e F la thead River system,

i n c l u d i n g F l a t h e a d Lake. The Commission welcomes a c t i v e

p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n i t s affa i rs by t h e Province o f B r i t i s h

Columbia and by a l l Canadians, and it is g r a t e f u l f o r

t h e w i s e counse l t h a t h a s been provided by V i c F a r l e y

and h i s p r e d e c e s s o r as l i a i s o n , M r . P e t e r Heed.

Las t Thursday t h e Commission agreed t o go on

r e c o r d i n o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e proposed Cabin Creek c o a l

mine. Our reasons a r e t h a t w e do n o t b e l i e v e t h a t t h e

water and f i s h e r y impacts of t h e proposed mine as

detailed i n t h e i n v e s t i g a t i v e b o a r d ' s r e p o r t are

s u f f i c i e n t l y m i t i g a b l e and t h a t placement o f t h e mine i n

such c l o s e p rox imi ty t o t h e Waterton Glacier

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Peace Park v i o l a t e s impor tan t economic and

e c o l o g i c v a l u e s t h a t t h i s a r e a r e p r e s e n t s t o b o t h t h e

Uni ted S t a t e s and Canada. A f u l l e x p l a n a t i o n o f o u r

r e a s o n i n g f o r t h i s recommendation w i l l b e p r e s e n t e d t o

t h e IJC a t tomorrow's a f t e r n o o n meeting i n K a l i s p e l l .

L e t m e add one f u r t h e r comment. The

Commission i n i t s r e s o l u t i o n is a l s o encouraging t h a t

t h e I J C o r o t h e r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of t h e two governments

b e g i n formal d i s c u s s i o n s r e g a r d i n g a l t e r n a t i v e s t o

c o n s t r u c t i n g t h e proposed mine. These d i s c u s s i o n s

shou ld a l s o i n c l u d e o t h e r North Fork i s s u e s o f i n t e r e s t

t o b o t h c o u n t r i e s , i n c l u d i n g p r o t e c t i o n o f a i r q u a l i t y

and p r o t e c t i o n o f a r e a s i n r i c h t o u r i s m inves tment .


AILWEST RWORTING LTD. VANCOWER B.C Page: 22

Thank you f o r t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o comment.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you ve ry much, M r . Bennington.

Any q u e s t i o n s or comments f r o m t h e Board o r

members o f t h e Board?

Can I ca l l on M r . Wayne Choquette?

COMMISSIONER FULTON: I wondered i f M r . Bennington -- M r .

Bennington, I wondered i f you would be p repared t o

e n l a r g e a l i t t l e b i t on what you have i n mind by way of

d i s c u s s i o n o f a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e proposed mine.

MR. BENNINGTON: Governor Schwinden p l a n s t o d e a l with t h a t

tomorrow, s o i n our d i s c u s s i o n s w e j u s t t a l k e d about ,

you know, what was p r e s e n t b e f o r e u s and p a r t i c u l a r l y

t h e comment o f t h a t supplementary r e p o r t . We've a l l ,

we're m o s t concerned abou t some of t h e u n c e r t a i n t i e s

t h a t M r . Chairman, you've r e f e r r e d to . There a r e a

whole h o s t o f u n c e r t a i n t i e s r e g a r d i n g t h i s mine i n t h e

p r o p o s a l and i n view of a l l o f t h a t w e f e l t t h e

Commission, t h a t w e had no a l t e r n a t i v e b u t t o oppose a t

t h i s t i m e . Governor Schwinden w i l l d e a l wi th t h a t

q u e s t i o n tomorrow.

THE CHAIRMAN: M r . Choquette , one more t r y . M r . Choquette

is a t Kootenay C u l t u r a l H e r i t a g e Cen t re .

MR. CHOQUETTE: I ' d l i k e t o thank t h e Board for t h e

o p p o r t u n i t y t o be a b l e t o a d d r e s s t h e h e a r i n g on t h i s

matter.

A l i t t l e b i t o f background on myself; I ' v e


ALLWJST REPORTING Lm. VANCOWER B.C Page: 23

been a r e s i d e n t o f t h e Kootenay reg ion for most o f my

l i f e and I ' v e been t h e foremost r e s e a r c h e r i n t h e

archeology and pa leoeco logy o f t h i s r eg ion f o r a t l e a s t

t h e l a s t 20 y e a r s . I t 's been p a r t of my work t o s t u d y

human l a n d and r e s o u r c e u s e i n t h i s r eg ion s i n c e t h e

t i m e t h a t humans first e n t e r e d it, a t least 11,000 y e a r s

ago. P a r t o f what I want t o a d d r e s s t h e h e a r i n g today

about has t o do w i t h t h e ve ry broad c o n t e x t t h a t t h i s

mine f i t s i n t o , b u t first o f a l l I ' l l j u s t a d d r e s s t h i s

m a t t e r o f t h e a r c h e o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s .

I t ' s a matter o f p r o f e s s i o n a l e t h i c s t h a t any

a r c h e o l o g i c a l s t u d i e s conducted w i t h i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l

t e r r i t o r y o f a n a t i v e group shou ld invo lve t h a t n a t i v e

group. That w a s n o t done. Secondly, o r t o move on I

guess t o t h e c o n t e x t o f t h e mine, i t ' s my o b s e r v a t i o n

t h a t t h e F l a t h e a d Va l l ey i n Canada i s one o f t h e most

abused p i e c e s o f l a n d i n t h i s r eg ion . I t ' s d i s g r a c e f u l

what ' s happened i n t h a t v a l l e y a l r e a d y . To do more t o

t h a t poor v a l l e y ' s ecology I t h i n k needs a tremendous

amount o f j u s t i f i c a t i o n . The c r e a t u r e s t h a t l i v e i n

t h a t v a l l e y have g o t a r i g h t t o l i v e t h e r e i r r e g a r d l e s s

o f a n y t h i n g t h a t w e do o r a n y t h i n g t h a t w e t h i n k .

T h i s i s a p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o i n t of view b u t

i t ' s one t h a t ' s , I t h i n k , 50 y e a r s from now maybe w e ' l l

look back and w e ' l l r e a l i z e t h a t we're n o t immune from

t h e workings of t h e ecology o f t h e world, t h a t we're a



p a r t of it too, and w e c a n ' t c o n t i n u e t o t h i n k t h a t w e

can j u s t move i n and f o o l a round w i t h it, make some

money and t h e n leave, and t h e n maybe f i x t h i n g s on a

v e r y s h o r t t e r m .

I don ' t t h i n k anybody needs t o be brought t o

t h e i r awareness about t h i n g s l i k e t h e greenhouse effect

and t h i n g s l i k e t h a t , and we've g o t t o t a k e very, ve ry

s e r i o u s looks a t any major e c o l o g i c a l d i s t u r b a n c e s , and

from t h a t p e r s p e c t i v e I r e a l l y c o n g r a t u l a t e t h e

Americans f o r having such h i g h q u a l i t y concerns about

t h e environment compared t o B r i t i s h Columbia. B r i t i s h

Columbia i s a very p r i m i t i v e p l a c e i n t h a t r e g a r d .

Now, as f a r a s t h e b r o a d e r c o n t e x t goes,

Sophie brought up t h e v e r y good p o i n t t h a t maybe one

more mine i n i t se l f , i n i s o l a t i o n , d o e s n ' t r e p r e s e n t a

major impact, e s p e c i a l l y if t h e r e ' s l o t s of t h i n g s p u t

i n t o effect t o t r y and c o n t a i n t h e impacts t h a t t h i s

mine m i g h t have, b u t t h e cumula t ive effects are

d e v a s t a t i n g t o t h e ecology, b o t h s o c i a l and n a t u r a l , of

t h i s r e g i o n .

Now, I d o n ' t know what t h e need f o r t h i s mine

i s . I d o n ' t know what t h e j u s t i f i c a t i o n i s f o r it.

Presumably t h e r e ' s going t o b e some men, whi te men from

somewhere else probably, make a l o t o f money o u t of it,

bu t as f a r a s t h e l o c a l community goes, socio-economic

concerns a r e n ' t r e a l l y addressed t o o much i n t h i s

C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving dr Retrieval System

ALLWEST REFQRTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 25

r e p o r t , b u t I u n d e r s t a n d i t ' s for the rmal coal. I ' d

l i k e t o know where t h e the rmal g e n e r a t i o n i s go ing t o

be. There a r e t w o o t h e r mining companies a l r e a d y i n t h e

Elk River V a l l e y themse lves proposing the rmal c o a l

g e n e r a t i o n for t h e Elk River Val ley . B.C. Hydro i s

i n t e r e s t e d i n p ropos ing the rmal c o a l g e n e r a t i o n f o r t h e

Elk River Va l l ey as w e l l .

The c o n t e x t of t h i s mine as a producer of

the rmal c o a l t h e n I t h i n k i s a r e a l l y impor tan t t h i n g .

I f t h i s c o a l i s g o i n g t o be shipped back e a s t and used

t o g e n e r a t e t h e r m a l e l e c t r i c i t y back t h e r e , t h e n t h a t ' s

a p r e t t y good t h i n g because i t ' s c l e a n c o a l and i t ' s

going t o reduce a c i d r a i n and we've g o t t o b e s e r i o u s

about a c i d r a i n . I f we're t a l k i n g about u s i n g t h i s c o a l

t o g e n e r a t e t h e r m a l e l e c t r i c i t y i n t h e E lk River Va l l ey

on t h e o t h e r hand, I d o n ' t see any j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r

t h i s a t a l l .

I n p a r t i c u l a r I ' l l j u s t draw everyone ' s

a t t e n t i o n t o page 38 i n t h e r e p o r t where t h e y t a l k about

t h e climate and t h e y s a y tha t i n v e r s i o n s are a

s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t o f t h e climate b u t t h e r e i s n ' t any d a t a

f o r t h i s . I would d i s p u t e t h a t one hundred p e r c e n t .

A l l you have t o do i s t a k e a look a t t h e v e g e t a t i o n and

t a k e a look a t t h e animal behaviour i n t h e E l k River

Va l l ey and you can see t h a t t h e r e i s tremendous

in fo rmat ion t h e r e and i t ' s of a v e r y long t e r m . I t ' s

1 C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving & Retrieval System

AILWEST REPORTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 26

t h e k i n d o f a long t e r m t h i n g t h a t w e d o n ' t have t h e

c a p a b i l i t y o f having w r i t t e n r e c o r d s go ing back t h a t

far, w e ' r e t a l k i n g about v e g e t a t i o n p a t t e r n s t h a t a r e

hundreds i f no t thousands o f y e a r s o l d . Our c l i m a t i c

r e c o r d s are on ly about a hundred and some odd yea r s o l d .

A s f a r a s c o u n t r i e s l i k e Canada and t h e

Uni ted S t a t e s goes i n v e r s i o n s a r e d e f i n i t e l y a f a c t of

l i f e i n t h e Elk River Va l l ey . You've g o t an a r e a where

you've g o t w e t f o r e s t s , c o n i f e r o u s f o r e s t s underneath

g r a s s l a n d s . You a l s o have a s i t u a t i o n where mountain

sheep a r e adapted i n t h e i r behav iour t o going t o t h e

p l a c e s where t h e i n v e r s i o n s are l i k e l y t o occur .

So i f t h i s mine i s t o produce thermal c o a l

for a c o a l - f i r e d electrical g e n e r a t i n g p l a n t i n t h e Elk

River Va l l ey I t h i n k w e ' r e j u s t a s k i n g for t r o u b l e

because t h a t ' s a v a l l e y where a i r q u a l i t y i s a n extreme

concern , and i t ' s j u s t n o t stated i n t h a t r e p o r t where

t h i s the rmal c o a l is go ing t o go and what i t ' s going t o

be used f o r and I t h i n k t h a t t h e b road c o n t e x t of t h i s

mine h a s t o be looked a t ve ry , v e r y s e r i o u s l y .

I ' l l j u s t conclude by p o i n t i n g o u t t h a t

c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e b road consequences a r e a concern

and a l s o c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t t h e r e p o r t i s l a c e d wi th

s t a t e m e n t s t h a t s a y w e d o n ' t have enough d a t a t o be a b l e

t o q u a n t i f y t h i s impact o r t h a t impact, it makes

h e a r i n g s such a s t h i s one a k i n d of a waste of t i m e and


Page: 27

energy because t h i s i s a l o t o f peop le ' s t r o u b l e , t o g e t

t o g e t h e r t o do t h i s , and i f w e don ' t have t h e answers,

a r e w e going t o have a n o t h e r one of t h e s e t h i n g s a t

S tage 111, o r i s t h i s j u s t a rubber stamp s o t h a t w e

address our concerns and t h e n t h o s e concerns g e t p u t

i n t o t h e mine p l a n s o t h e mine i s a l r e a d y p u t i n and w e

a l l t a k e t h e b i g gamble t h a t maybe i t ' s r e a l l y no t going

t o be such a bad t h i n g af ter a l l .

Thank you v e r y much.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you v e r y much, M r . Choquette .

No comment or no q u e s t i o n ?

COMMISSIONER TOTTEN: You mentioned a l l t h e abuses o f t h e

F l a t h e a d Basin on t h e Canadian s i d e wi thout enumerating

t h o s e . Can you c i t e some o f them?

MR. CHOQUETTE: Oh, i n d i s c r i m i n a t e road c o n s t r u c t i o n , very

poor s i t e of roads , d u p l i c a t i o n o f roads, roads

everywhere, a l l o v e r t h e p l a c e , some o f them no longer

usab le , no rec lamat ion and huge areas of c l e a r - c u t

l o g g i n g wi th no r e p l a n t i n g , l o t s o f ground d i s t u r b a n c e .

I f you drive i n t h e r e and you a p p r e c i a t e even good land-

u s e p r a c t i c e s , I ' m n o t a g a i n s t logging, I ' m n o t a g a i n s t

mining, I ' m j u s t a g a i n s t abuse of t h e l a n d

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you.

MR. CHOQUETTE: Also I guess I shou ld mention too , c o a l

e x p l o r a t i o n too , i n t h e h i g h e r a r e a s , b u t t h e

e x p l o r a t i o n f o r c o a l seems t o be conducted wi th


ALL- m R T l N G LTD. VANCOWER B.C Page: 28

b u l l d o z e r s . I mean, t h e y j u s t d r i v e around, breaking

open t h e ground s u r f a c e t o expose t h e bedrock, and a s

far as I ' v e seen t h e y ' r e no t reclaimed af te rwards , t h e y

j u s t s t a y t h e r e and e v e n t u a l l y maybe t h e y ' l l , n a t u r e

w i l l r e c l a i m them b u t maybe n o t .

THE CHAIRMAN: Commissioner Welch.

COMMISSIONER WELCH: M r . Chairman, two p r e s e n t e r s have made

r e f e r e n c e t o t h e need f o r some a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e

cumula t ive effect of a number o f a c t i v i t i e s . There was

a response a f t e r , i f I might c a l l h e r Sophie, made h e r

p r e s e n t a t i o n from B r i t i s h Columbia t h a t t h e r e was a

r e p o r t o f some months o r y e a r s ago. What I ' d be

i n t e r e s t e d i n , s i n c e M r . Choquette h a s raised it aga in ;

d i d t h e Board t a k e i n t o account t h e r e p o r t t o which

r e f e r e n c e i s made? Has t h e r e been some c a u t i o u s a t t empt

t o see t h i s a s p a r t of t h e cumula t ive effect o r a r e t h e

impac t s we're be ing t o l d about done i n i s o l a t i o n w i t h

respect t o o t h e r ac t iv i t i e s i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r a r e a ? I

d o n ' t know t h a t we've c lar if ied t h a t .

MR. CLARK: J u s t two o r t h r e e p o i n t s t h e r e . Number one, I

t h i n k t h e a r e a t h a t t h e y w e r e t a l k i n g about ex tends from

t h e , i f I r e c a l l c o r r e c t l y , from t h e t o p of t h e Big Bend

down t o t h e border .

CHIEF PIERRE: A r e you r e f e r r i n g t o t h e Elk Val ley?

MR. CLARK: O f t h e Elk Va l l ey . Our a c t i v i t i e s were

restricted t o water and t h e e f f e c t s of any a c t i v i t y on


ALLWEST REX)RTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 29

w a t e r . W e simply were n o t able t o e s t a b l i s h t h e s o r t of

p r e - a c t i v i t y and p o s t - a c t i v i t y d a t a t h a t would l e t u s

assess t h e effect o f t h a t on wa te r .

THE CHAIRMAN: The nex t s p e a k e r w i l l be P a t Lefthand,

Kootenai Tribe, Kootenai Tribe i n t h e U.S.A.

MR. LEFTHAND: Thank you, M r . Chairman, members o f t h e

Commission.

My t r u e name is Myuknana I ' m a m e m b e r o f

t h e Tanooka Tr ibe , known i n t h e s e days and age as t h e

Kootenai Tr ibe . I have a draf t t e s t imony which I w i l l

r e a d p a r t o f , which I gave a copy t o your S e c r e t a r y , and

I t h i n k it i s going t o be expounded on a g a i n tomorrow

evening i n K a l i s p e l l , Montana. Testimony o f t h e

Confederated S a l i s h and Kootenai T r i b e s for t h e proposed

hea r ing , t h e proposed c o a l mine a t Cabin Creek.

The Confedera ted S a l i s h and Kootenai Tribes

a g a i n s tate f o r t h e r e c o r d w e oppose development o f t h e

Sage Creek c o a l mine. Numerous social and c u l t u r a l

i s s u e s a r e a t r i s k and unreso lved . The T r e a t y o f

H e l l g a t e guaran tees t h e r i g h t o f t h e tribes t o hunt ,

f i s h i n r u r a l and accustomed p l a c e s . The North Fork of

t h e F l a t h e a d and a r e a s w i t h i n Canada are w i t h i n o u r

a n c e s t r a l homeland and a r e c u l t u r a l l y impor tant t o t h e

tribes. W e are n a t u r a l l y concerned and opposed t o t h e

a c t i v i t i e s which w i l l r e s u l t i n s i g n i f i c a n t impacts on

n a t u r a l r e s o u r c e s w i t h i n t h e s e a r e a s , e s p e c i a l l y when

C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving dr Retrieval System

ALLWEST RE#)RTINC LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 30

these impacts are irreversible and irretrievable.

I think tomorrow evening our chairman of the

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes will be in

attendance at Kalispell, Montana to talk further on

these issues. Thank you.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much. I guess all questions

are reserved for Kalispell, to Mr. Lefthand.

Our next speaker, and this is the last one, I

don't know if anybody of you think hard, see if you,

maybe you want to come forward, is Mr. Vic Farley. Vic

Farley is an official of the Government of British

Columbia.

MR. FARLEY: Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, ladies

and gentlemen, my name is Farley, Vic Farley. I'm the

Constitutional Affairs Adviser for the Federal,

Provincial and International Relations branch of the

Government of British Columbia. I am as well, I have

the privilege of being British Columbia's observer on

the Flathead Basin Commission, as Mr. Bennington has

already indicated, and I've enjoyed their hospitality on

my visits to Kalispell. I'm here to make only a brief

statement on behalf of the Province of British Columbia,

if I may.

Canada's Constitution confers upon the

provinces proprietary rights over public lands and their

resources, as well as legislative jurisdiction over


ALLWEST REEQRTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 31

them. A fundamental a s p e c t of t h e e x e r c i s e of both

p r o p r i e t a r y r i g h t s and l e g i s l a t i v e a u t h o r i t y i s

decision-making r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . I d o n ' t b e l i e v e t h a t

t h a t i s a m a t t e r o f d i s p u t e i n t h i s proceeding, I d o n ' t

b e l i e v e it e v e r h a s been. T h i s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n c l u d e s

t h e a b i l i t y t o choose whether t o develop n a t u r a l

r e s o u r c e s , and i f s o how t h a t development is t o occur .

B r i t i s h Columbia main ta ins i t s p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e answers

t o t h e s e q u e s t i o n s a r e p r i m a r i l y answers t o be given by

t h e government and peop le o f B r i t i s h Columbia.

The Government o f B r i t i s h Columbia has and

w i l l c o n t i n u e t o make t h e s e d e c i s i o n s i n a manner s o a s

n o t t o impair t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e Government of Canada t o

comply w i t h i t s i n t e r n a t i o n a l o b l i g a t i o n s under t h e

Boundary Waters T r e a t y o f 1909 and a l s o i n a manner t h a t

w i l l r ecogn ize t h e concerns o f o u r neighbours i n Montana

and e l sewhere i n t h e Uni ted S t a t e s . A s w e a l l know, i n

1984 t h e Government of British Columbia granted

Approval- in-Principle t o t h e Sage Creek Coal Company

L i m i t e d f o r t h e the rmal c o a l mine t h a t we're c o n s i d e r i n g

he re , a mine l o c a t e d on t h e Cabin and Howell Creeks i n

B r i t i s h Columbia.

The Province a t t h a t t i m e f u l l y recognized

and c o n t i n u e s t o r ecogn ize t h a t t h e Sage C r e e k Mine

p r o p o s a l is unique. Not o n l y is t h e proposed

development s i t u a t e d i n c l o s e proximi ty t o t h e


ALLWEST RExnC'nNC LTD. VANCOUVER 8.C Page: 32

i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary, l e a d i n g of course t o t h i s

r e fe rence , b u t t h e envi ronmenta l s t a n d a r d s set by t h e

United S t a t e s and Montana governments for t h e North Fork

of t h e F l a t h e a d R i v e r i n Montana a r e t h e most s t r i n g e n t

anywhere i n t h e Uni ted S t a t e s . Therefore, when

Approval- in-Principle was g iven t o t h i s p r o p o s a l i n 1984

t h e B r i t i s h Columbia government s u b j e c t e d t h e proponents

t o t h e most r i g o r o u s envi ronmenta l c o n d i t i o n s p laced on

anyone i n B r i t i s h Columbia.

These c o n d i t i o n s inc luded a requirement t h a t

t h e proponent under take a d d i t i o n a l s t u d i e s on ground-

water f lows t o de termine t h e l i k e l i h o o d and magnitude of

r e d u c t i o n i n ground-water in f lows t o Howell and Cabin

Creeks when t h e mine p i t s ex tend below t h e v a l l e y f l o o r .

F u r t h e r s t u d i e s w e r e a l s o r e q u i r e d t o e v a l u a t e t h e

impacts on f i s h r e s o u r c e s on Howell and Cabin Creek p l u s

t h e need t o i d e n t i f y m i t i g a t i v e measures t o d e a l wi th

t h o s e impacts . The proponent was a l s o directed t o

main ta in a 90-meter b u f f e r s t r i p , a s we've h e a r d from

M r . Clark , a l o n g b o t h sides o f Howell and Cabin C r e e k s

t o p r o t e c t s t r eam morphology, and a s M r . C la rk has

i n d i c a t e d t o you, t h a t requi rement i s wi thout precedent

f o r any mine i n B r i t i s h Columbia.

I n a d d i t i o n , t h e B r i t i s h Columbia government

h a s set ambient o b j e c t i v e s f o r water q u a l i t y i n Howell

and Cabin C r e e k s below t h e mine s i t e for suspended

C A A R S Computer Aided Archiving 6s Retrieval System


sed iments and n u t r i e n t s . These o b j e c t i v e s w e r e

e s t a b l i s h e d t o p r o t e c t a q u a t i c l i f e i n t h e s e c reeks and

w i l l be used t o guide t h e M i n i s t r y of t h e Environment i n

r ev iewing waste management pe rmi t a p p l i c a t i o n s r e q u i r e d

by t h e proponent b e f o r e it can o b t a i n f i n a l approval t o

p roceed w i t h t h e mine.

S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h e s e o b j e c t i v e s would be

a p p l i e d t o Howell and Cabin Creeks t o p r o t e c t b u l l t r o u t

spawning a r e a s and i n t h e F l a t h e a d River nea r t h e

i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary t o minimize t rans-boundary water

q u a l i t y degrada t ion . F u r t h e r , t h e proponent would a l s o

b e r e q u i r e d t o under take a r i g o r o u s envi ronmenta l

moni to r ing program t o e n s u r e t h a t a l l environmental

o b j e c t i v e s are mainta ined. The M i n i s t r y of t h e

Environment under t h e Environment Management A c t has

f u l l a u t h o r i t y t o c l o s e t h e mine if environmenta l

q u a l i t y c o n d i t i o n s a r e n o t m e t .

Having reviewed t h e f i n a l r e p o r t of t h e

F l a t h e a d River I n t e r n a t i o n a l Study Board i n some d e t a i l ,

t h e Government of B r i t i s h Columbia a d h e r e s t o t h e

e a r l i e r p o s i t i o n wi th r e s p e c t t o t h e mine p r o p o s a l . It

n o t e s t h a t t h e Board had concluded t h a t t h e proposed

mine would have l i t t l e s i g n i f i c a n t effect on e x i s t i n g

water u s e s a t and below t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l boundary wi th

t h e impor tan t excep t ion o f f i s h i n g .

I n response t o concerns about t h e p o t e n t i a l


ACLrnREmRTINCLTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 34

impact o f t h e mine on f i s h h a b i t a t and p r o d u c t i v i t y i n

Cabin and Howell Creeks, t h e Province reiterates i t s

requi rements of t h e proponent t h a t t h e s e impacts be more

p r e c i s e l y p r e d i c t e d and t h a t a l l p r a c t i c a l and f e a s i b l e

m i t i g a t i v e measures t h a t w i l l reduce t h e impacts t o an

a c c e p t a b l e l e v e l b e c o m m i t t e d p r i o r t o f i n a l approva l

be ing ga ined .

I n managing i t s n a t u r a l r e sources , B r i t i s h

Columbia h a s and w i l l c o n t i n u e t o recognize t h e concerns

of r e s i d e n t s and governments i n our ne ighbour ing

j u r i s d i c t i o n s , t h e envi ronmenta l s e n s i t i v i t y of t h e a r e a

and t h e f a c t t h a t t h i s p r o p o s a l is unique . I n

e x e r c i s i n g i t s p r o p r i e t a r y r i g h t s and l e g i s l a t i v e

a u t h o r i t y , o u r government w i l l con t inue t o act i n a

r e s p o n s i b l e manner.

I ' d l i k e t o thank t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o i n t

Commission and members of t h e p u b l i c h e a r i n g f o r t h e

o p p o r t u n i t y t o speak.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you v e r y much, M r . F a r l e y .

MR. FARLEY: M r . Chairman.

THE CHAIRMAN: Commissioners? Ladies and gentlemen? No

q u e s t i o n s .

W e l l , t h a t concludes o u r proceeding f o r t h i s

a f t e r n o o n b u t w e a r e meet ing a g a i n a t 7:30 t o n i g h t . You

may come back i f you wish, o r i f you know anybody who

would l i k e t o a t t e n d t h e h e a r i n g w e ' l l be h e r e a t 7:30,



and t h a n k you again for your p r e s e n t a t i o n and for your

a t t e n d a n c e .

(PROCEEDINGS ADJOURNED)


ALLWEST ItEmRrnC LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 36

I I (PROCEEDINGS RESUMED PURSUANT TO ADJOURNMENT AT 7:30 P.M.)

THE CHAIRMAN: W e a r e go ing on wi th o u r h e a r i n g t h a t

s t a r t e d a t two o ' c l o c k t h i s a f t e rnoon b u t I t h i n k t h a t I

should, f o r t h o s e who are new, I should r e p e a t b r i e f l y

what i s t h e purpose o f it and how w e would l i k e t o

handle it; how w e propose it would be a better way of

say ing t h i n g s .

My name i s Bissonne t t e , Pierre-Andre. I am

t h e Chairman o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o i n t Commission, t h e

Canadian Chairman o f t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o i n t Commission.

The U.S. Chairman is now s t a n d i n g and walking t h i s way

wi th two c o f f e e s , one f o r m e , by t h e way.

W e are today i n Cranbrook t o l i s t e n t o your

views concerning t h e Commission's s t u d y on t h e impacts

o f a proposed c o a l mine a t Cabin Creek i n B r i t i s h

Columbia on t h e F l a t h e a d River , and a l s o i t s u s e s . I n

p a r t i c u l a r w e a r e c o n s i d e r i n g t h e r e c e n t r e p o r t o f o u r

F l a t h e a d R i v e r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Study Board. The Board,

s i t t i n g on my l e f t and which I w i l l i n t r o d u c e i n a

moment, began i t s work i n 1985 s h o r t l y a f t e r t h e

Commission r e c e i v e d a r e q u e s t from t h e governments o f

Canada and t h e United S t a t e s t o examine and r e p o r t on

t h e p r e s e n t water q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y , t h e f i s h

r e s o u r c e s and p r e s e n t u s e s i n t h e F l a t h e a d Basin and t h e

expec ted e f f e c t s on them o f t h e proposed mine. T h a t ' s

t h e purpose of t h e meeting.



The Commission w a s a sked t o make

recommendation a s t o how governments can e n s u r e t h a t t h e

p r o v i s i o n of t h e Boundary Waters T r e a t y between Canada

and t h e U.S. a r e honoured. I t is impor tan t t o no te t h i s

is a s p e c i f i c focus of t h e Commission's and t h e r e f o r e

t h e Board ' s s t u d y on water and w a t e r u s e s . The t e r m s of

r e f e r e n c e are p r i n t e d i n t h e Board r e p o r t , which i s t h a t

book t h e r e which i s a v a i l a b l e t o a l l o f you, t h e terms

o f r e f e r e n c e a r e p r i n t e d i n t h a t book a t page 181, and I

hope a l l of you have seen and pe rhaps r e a d t h i s r e p o r t

and t h e related t e c h n i c a l append ices .

Following a long s t u d y and many hours o f

d e l i b e r a t i o n , t h e Board h a s reached a number o f

c o n c l u s i o n s b u t a l s o i d e n t i f i e d many u n c e r t a i n t i e s . I t

i s o u r job now t o e x p l o r e t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e s e

conc lus ions and u n c e r t a i n t i e s and t o d e c i d e what can be

s a i d abou t t h e mine and i t s impact on wa te r q u a l i t y and

q u a n t i t y and t h e r e l a t e d consequences. The e x p l o r a t i o n

o f such q u e s t i o n s , o f your views on t h e adequacy of t h e

Board ' s r e p o r t and f i n d i n g s and o f r e l a t e d informat ion

i s t h e purpose o f t h i s meet ing and a s i m i l a r one

tomorrow i n t h e Uni ted S t a t e s , i n K a l i s p e l l .

W e a p p r e c i a t e your t a k i n g t i m e t o be wi th us

today and w e a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n your views. They, along

wi th t h e t e c h n i c a l r e p o r t and o u r own unders tanding of

t h e i s s u e s , w i l l form t h e b a s i s f o r t h e Commission's



r e p o r t t o t h e governments of t h e Uni ted S t a t e s and

Canada.

I must s a y a f e w words about procedure.

These a r e an i n t e r n a t i o n a l h e a r i n g s and r e s i d e n t s of

e i t h e r country can t e s t i f y t o d a y o r tomorrow a t

K a l i s p e l l . So t h a t w e can proceed i n an o r d e r l y way, we

a s k you t h a t , w e a s k t h a t you f i l l an appearance ca rd ,

t h e s e are t h e t h i n g s a t t h e door . I f you have s p e c i f i c

t i m e c o n s t r a i n t s p l e a s e l e t u s know and w e w i l l t r y t o

accommodate them.

A verbat im r e p o r t i s b e i n g kept of t h e

proceedings and it w i l l be on t h e p u b l i c r ecord .

I f you have a copy o r c o p i e s o f your remarks

t h a t w i l l be ve ry u s e f u l . P l e a s e hand them t o t h e

S e c r e t a r y , who i s s e a t e d t h e r e a t t h e table t o my r i g h t .

I t may be necessa ry f o r m e , depending on t h e number of

s p e a k e r s and t i m e , t o restr ict your remarks i n advance

t o t e n minutes, b u t I d o n ' t t h i n k it w i l l happen t o n i g h t

because s o f a r w e have o n l y two r e q u e s t s .

One a d d i t i o n a l p o i n t ; i f anyone i s unable t o

speak today o r t o n i g h t o r h a s f u r t h e r though t s t o convey

t o u s a f ter t h i s hea r ing , you may send them t o t h e

Commission S e c r e t a r i e s i n Washington o r Ottawa. The

r e c o r d w i l l be kept open f o r t h a t purpose u n t i l t h e end

o f October .

I would now l i k e t o i n t r o d u c e my f e l l o w


ALLWlEXREPORTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 39

Commissioners who are h e r e today. Chairman McEwen, who

w e a l r e a d y in t roduced ; Commissioner Fu l ton , Commissioner

To t t en and Commissioner Welch. It i s my p l e a s u r e now t o

i n t r o d u c e t h e Chairmen o f t h e F l a t h e a d R i v e r

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Study Board, t h e Chairmen, t h e y ' r e p l u r a l ,

t h e r e a r e two, M r . E.M. Clark and M r . J i m Posewitz, who

w i l l i n t r o d u c e i n t u r n t h e i r Board members.

MR. CLARK: For t h e Uni ted S t a t e s s e c t i o n o f t h e Board

t h e members a r e Abe Horpestad and Dan K i m b a l l . For t h e

Canadian s e c t i o n , P e t e r M c C a r t on my le f t , and John

O'Riordan, r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e Province o f B r i t i s h

Columbia.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. I t h i n k I shou ld now p a s s t o

t h o s e , g i v e t h e f l o o r t o t h o s e who want t o speak, want

t o make a s t a t e m e n t t o n i g h t . The f irst one on my l i s t

i s Sandra Key, Sandra Key from t h e G l a c i e r N a t i o n a l

Park .

M S . KEY: Thank you f o r t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o comment on t h e

r e p o r t s p repared f o r t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l J o i n t Commission

on t h e i s s u e o f t h e proposed Cabin Creek c o a l mine

l o c a t e d on Crown l a n d s i n t h e p rov ince of B r i t i s h

Columbia.

The F l a t h e a d R i v e r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Study Board

i s t o be commended f o r t h e g r e a t amount of work and t h e

commitment expended on t h i s p r o j e c t and on t h e q u a l i t y

o f i t s r e p o r t . Because of t h e complexity of t h i s i s s u e ,



Glacier Nat ional Park i s s u b m i t t i n g w r i t t e n test imony

f o r t h e r e c o r d a l s o . Hence I w i l l o n l y b r i e f l y

summarize our p o s i t i o n f o r t h e members and t h e p u b l i c

p r e s e n t .

W e have f u l l y reviewed t h e m a t e r i a l s and

a p p r e c i a t e d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r some of our own

p e r s o n n e l t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e s e

s t u d i e s . G l a c i e r N a t i o n a l Pa rk i s s e n s i t i v e t o t h e f a c t

t h a t t h e i s s u e b e f o r e u s i s a Canadian i s s u e ,

s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a t it is p lanned f o r t h e Crown lands of

B r i t i s h Columbia. W e a l s o recogn ize t h a t symmetry i s a

concept of concern t o Canada, and I would n o t e t o many

o t h e r s as w e l l . But even i n s a y i n g t h i s I want t o make

t h e case f o r t h i s i s s u e a s a North American one, t o

e l e v a t e it t o a p l a c e o f e x c e p t i o n .

The a r e a o f t h e C o n t i n e n t a l Divide from

J a s p e r Na t iona l Park i n Canada t o t h e Grand Tetons i n

Wyoming has been recogn ized by t h e people o f North

America, and indeed t h e world, a s a s p e c i a l zone,

p r o t e c t i n g one of t h e wor ld ' s f i n e s t ecosystems, a zone

which i s i n c r e a s i n g l y c r i t i c a l t o t h e economy, no t f o r

m i n e r a l e x t r a c t i o n a lone , a l though b o t h c o u n t r i e s have

e x i s t i n g mines and o p e r a t i o n s w i t h i n t h i s zone, b u t

r a t h e r f o r tour i sm. There a r e 4 5 s p e c i a l d e s i g n a t i o n s

f o r t h i s zone. I n Canada t h e r e a r e 2 3 and i n t h e United

S t a t e s 2 2 .


ALLWEST REKlRTPJC LTD. VANCOUVER B.C Page: 41

I n g e n e r a l t h e n w e can see t h a t t h e r e has

been a c o n c e r t e d e f f o r t i n both c o u n t r i e s t o recognize

and i n some way p r o t e c t t h e resources a l o n g t h e

Cont inen ta l Divide , i n c l u d i n g Waterton G l a c i e r

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Peace Park, t h e first such pa rk i n t h e

world.

The world community and North America has

made clear i t s s u p p o r t f o r t h e s e a c t i o n s and h a s used

t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l forum t o add t o and expand b o t h

r e c o g n i t i o n and p r o t e c t i o n of t h e a r e a . While some o i l

and gas , t i m b e r o p e r a t i o n s , and o t h e r such i n d u s t r i e s

may b e a p p r o p r i a t e t o p o r t i o n s of t h i s r eg ion , a

development o f t h e s i z e o f Cabin Creek and t h e degree of

i ts impact i s n o t . Minera l r e s o u r c e s have v a l u e and

t h e i r p ruden t development i s no t n e c e s s a r y b u t a l s o

h i g h l y d e s i r a b l e . However, t h e economic v a l u e of t h i s

a r e a t o t h e t o u r i s m and r e c r e a t i o n i n d u s t r y must a l s o be

w e i g h e d . A m i n e as m a s s i v e as C a b i n C r e e k by i t s very

n a t u r e w i l l b r i n g changes t o t h e a r e a t h a t w i l l

n e g a t i v e l y impact t o u r i s m and r e c r e a t i o n . A d e c i s i o n t o

develop t h i s mine i s a d e c i s i o n t o a c c e p t l o s s e s t o both

of t h o s e i n d u s t r i e s .

However, a d e c i s i o n n o t t o develop t h e mine

l e a v e s t o t h e f u t u r e t h e economic v a l u e o f t h a t c o a l and

t h a t m i n e r a l s found i n t h a t r e g i o n . W e recognize t h a t

world energy r e s e r v e s and m i t i g a t i o n technology may i n


ALLWEST REK)RTING LTD. VANCOUVER B.C. Page: 42

t h e f u t u r e make t h e Cabin Creek coal mine accep tab le ,

b u t f o r t o d a y t h a t m i t i g a t i o n t echno logy simply is no t

i n p l a c e f o r an under taking o f t h i s magnitude.

Furthermore, even i f t h e m i t i g a t i o n cou ld be

achieved, t h e informat ion and d a t a gaps t h a t e x i s t f o r

t h i s p r o j e c t a r e a l s o o f such a magnitude and s o

i n t e g r a l t o our unders tanding of t he ecosystem, of which

G l a c i e r i s o n l y a p a r t , t h a t t h e o n l y r e a s o n a b l e

c o n c l u s i o n i s t h a t unknown and, t h e r e f o r e , unmit igable

impacts w i l l occur .

Simply p u t , t h e magnitude of t h i s p r o j e c t i s

s o l a r g e t h a t even wi th g r e a t c a r e and concern it cannot

be imposed on t h i s r e s o u r c e zone i n a way t h a t is

a c c e p t a b l e t o G l a c i e r Na t iona l Pa rk . W e f i n d no o t h e r

p o s i t i o n a v a i l a b l e b u t t o s t r o n g l y oppose t h e p r o j e c t .

W e r e s p e c t f u l l y r e q u e s t t h a t B r i t i s h Columbia r e c o n s i d e r

i t s d e c i s i o n t o permi t development of t h i s mine s i t e a t

this time.

Thank you. And I w i l l be s u b m i t t i n g a

w r i t t e n s t a t e m e n t .

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you ve ry much.

No q u e s t i o n s ? Then I go t o t h e nex t speaker ,

who i s from t h e Eas t Kootenay W i l d l i f e Assoc ia t ion , M r .

Dave White.

MR. WHITE: Good evening, l a d i e s and gentlemen.

I r e p r e s e n t t h e Eas t Kootenay Wildl i fe



Assoc ia t ion here , a s w e l l a s t h e province-wide B.C.

Wi ld l i fe Federa t ion . I have a s h o r t s ta tement , t h a t we

a t t h i s t i m e would l i k e t o restate our t o t a l o p p o s i t i o n

t o t h e Cabin C r e e k c o a l mine f o r t h e same reasons w e d i d

a t p rev ious meetings h e l d .

Although o u r government has seen f i t t o

approve t h i s p r o j e c t , w e l e n d o u r suppor t t o a l l o t h e r

o p p o s i t i o n t o it. W e a s k t h e B.C . government t o

r e c o n s i d e r t h e i r p o s i t i o n and recognize t h e t r u e va lue

of t h e F la thead . Thank you.

THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, M r . White.

W e l l , l a d i e s and gentlemen, i f you a r e a l l

v e r y s u r e t h a t nobody else wants t o t a l k , w e l l t h e n I

have t o cal l t h i s meeting, t o ad journ t h i s meeting,

w e ' l l ad journ u n t i l tomorrow a t two o ' c l o c k i n

K a l i s p e l l , i n Montana, where w e s h a l l resume t h e

h e a r i n g .

Again thank you v e r y much f o r your

a t t endance , and thank you a l s o , t h e members o f t h e

Board.

The meeting i s adjourned.

(PROCEEDINGS ADJOURNED)


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