Ms. Celine Legault of Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency reports
FIRE LAKE NORTH IRON ORE PROJECT - PUBLIC COMMENTS INVITED
As part of the strengthened and modernized
Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012 (CEAA 2012) put in place to support the government's responsible
resource development initiative, the Canadian Environmental Assessment
Agency has determined that a federal environmental assessment is
required for Champion Iron Mines Ltd.'s proposed Fire Lake North iron ore project located
south of Fermont in Quebec. The agency invites the public to comment on which aspects of
the environment may be affected by this project and what should be
examined during the environmental assessment.
The public can review and comment on the draft environmental impact
statement (EIS) guidelines, a document that identifies the potential
environmental effects to be taken into consideration, and the
information and analysis that need to be included in the proponent's
EIS.
Champion Iron Mines is proposing the construction, operation and
decommissioning of an open-pit mine and an iron concentrate processing
plant on the mine site located near Fermont, Que. The proposed
project consists also of constructing an access road connecting the
site to Route 389, a railway between the mine and the city of
Sept-iles, and a storage site in Pointe-Noire. The proponent predicts
that the mine would generate 650 tonnes to 700 tonnes per day for a period of 25
years.
Written comments must be submitted by Dec. 17, 2012, to:
Fire Lake North iron ore project, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, 901 1550 d'Estimauville Ave., Quebec, G1J 5E9, telephone: 418-649-6444, fax: 418-649-6443.
To view the draft EIS guidelines or for more information, visit the
agency's website (registry reference No. 80014). All comments received will be considered public.
Copies of the draft EIS guidelines are also available for viewing at the
following locations:
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Sept-iles Public Library, 500 ave Joliette, Sept-iles;
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Fermont Public Library, 100 Place Daviault, Fermont.
Consistent with the transparency and public engagement elements of CEAA
2012, this is the second of four opportunities for Canadians to comment
on this project. Following this comment period, the agency will
finalize and issue the EIS guidelines to the proponent. An application
period for participant financing and a future public comment period
related to the EIS will be announced later.
This project will be assessed using a science-based approach. If the
project is permitted to proceed to the next phase, it will continue to
be subject to Canada's strong environmental laws, rigorous enforcement
and follow-up, and increased fines.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency administers the federal
environmental assessment process, which identifies the environmental
effects of proposed projects and measures to address those effects, in
support of sustainable development.
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