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Cape Mudge band appeals coal-burning permit for Elk Falls mill |
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By Grant Warkentin
Mirror Staff (Campbell River)
Dec 02 2005
The Cape Mudge Indian Band has filed an appeal against the Elk Falls paper mill's permit to burn coal.
"The community at Cape Mudge Village suffers from high cancer and
respiratory illness rates and suspects a linkage between mill emissions
and these health problems," said Band Chief Ralph Dick in a news
release. "We are not convinced that the Ministry of Environment is
doing as much as it could to protect the health of our community and
the environment. Our goal is to see a plan for significant reductions
in emissions (from the mill.)"
The band expressed concerns this fall about emissions coming from the
mill, pointing out statistics show a cancer rate significantly higher
among Quadra Island band members than among Campbell River Indian Band
members across the water. The band believes the difference in the
cancer rate could be because the Quadra Island band's village is
directly in the path of the emissions coming from the Elk Falls mill.
They were concerned emissions would have an even more detrimental
effect on the health of band members if Catalyst Paper's Elk Falls mill
was allowed to continue to burn coal as a supplementary fuel in its
main power boiler.
However, despite the band's concerns, at the end of October the
provincial environment ministry granted Catalyst a permanent permit to
burn coal, prompting the band to file an appeal last week with the
Ministry of Environment.
"Their objection is not so much with us burning coal as to us having a
permanent permit," said Carole Dodds, spokesperson for the Elk Falls
mill.
The permit amendment changing the mill's coal-burning permissions from
temporary to permanent was awarded despite the band's request for more
time to review technical information. The band's appeal is based on the
Ministry of Environment's "failure to consult with the band," says the
band's press release, and takes the position that the process followed
by the ministry "did not amount to meaningful consultation."
The band says the environment ministry did not fulfil its obligations
to consult with the band, as laid out in recent Supreme Court decisions
concerning aboriginal rights. The band is also claiming aboriginal
title in areas directly affected by the mill's emissions.
"The Cape Mudge Band is not willing to sit idly by while decisions
affecting its aboriginal rights, including aboriginal title, are made
without meaningful consultation with the band," said band administrator
Brian Kelly in the release.
Dodds said the mill will continue to burn coal - they have not yet been
served with a court injunction - and pointed out that under the terms
of its permit, the mill will be required to build an air quality
monitoring station at the Cape Mudge band's village by April next year.
The monitoring station will be similar to others the mill has already
built, including stations on Dogwood Street, at the Cape Mudge
lighthouse and on the Tyee Spit.
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