Environment and Parks
A B.C. environmental assessment certificate has been issued to Teck Highland Valley Copper Partnership for the Highland Valley Copper Mine Life Extension (HVC) project near Logan Lake, following a joint decision by provincial ministers.
Tamara Davidson, Minister of Environment and Parks, and Jagrup Brar, Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals, made their decision after carefully considering the environmental assessment by B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).
The HVC project will extend the life of the operating Highland Valley copper mine from 2028 to 2043. The mine expansion is predicted to produce approximately 900 million additional tonnes of ore and nearly two million additional tonnes of copper.
The ministers noted in their decision that HVC will provide economic benefits to the province, the local community and First Nations. The mine expansion will increase local employment by adding 200 more permanent jobs, along with 500 to 1,250 jobs during construction. The mine currently employs 1,320 people. Without the expansion, the mine would end production in 2028 and wind down its operations.
To streamline and expedite provincial authorizations for this priority critical minerals project, the EAO co-ordinated with permitting agencies to enable Teck to submit a single application for the environmental assessment certificate and all major permits. The EAO and ministries of Environment and Parks; Mining and Critical Minerals; and Water, Land and Resource Stewardship reviewed the application together in the first fully combined review process under the 2018 Environmental Assessment Act.
The co-ordinated review is part of work by provincial regulators to achieve efficiencies in decision-making on priority projects. Conducting the assessment and permit reviews together can save as much as two years on provincial authorizations. Permit decisions are expected soon.
The project assessment involved extensive consultation with technical experts, First Nations, provincial agencies, local governments and the public. In making their decision, the ministers acknowledged that while the HVC project itself would not have significant adverse impacts beyond those of the existing mine, in operation since the 1960s, the expansion would exacerbate the combined impacts from this and other projects in the region on water quantity and First Nations’ access to land and cultural practices.
As a result, the ministers have included 17 legally binding conditions in the environmental assessment certificate, intended to prevent or reduce potential adverse environmental, economic, social, cultural and health effects from HVC, and mitigate impacts to First Nations.
With these legally binding requirements, and requirements applied by other regulatory bodies for other provincial authorizations if granted, the ministers determined that significant adverse effects can be prevented or mitigated. Key requirements include developing plans, subject to EAO approval, to:
- manage and mitigate impacts on surrounding watersheds;
- avoid or reduce the loss of wetlands and riparian ecosystems;
- reduce the impacts of the project on Nlaka’pamux Nation food sovereignty to support food, social and ceremonial needs;
- minimize light pollution prior to and throughout operations; and
- reduce the impact of construction workers on the availability of accommodations in local communities.
Under the Environmental Assessment Act, First Nations participating in the process have the opportunity to provide consent or lack of consent for the project. Of the 17 First Nations that engaged in the environmental assessment, 10 consented to the project and two groups representing six First Nations initiated dispute resolution.
Every project that undergoes an environmental assessment is assessed thoroughly on the specific and individual aspects of that particular project, including its potential environmental, economic, social, cultural and health effects, and impacts on First Nations and their rights.
Learn More:
Ministers’ reasons for decision: https://www.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/api/public/document/6851ab2677f64d00222decb2/download/HVC_Reasons_For_Decision.pdf
Documentation ministers considered in making their decision: https://www.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca/p/5cd9b4b56a15600025df0cc8/documents?keywords=HVC_Decision
For more information on the environmental assessment process, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/environmental-assessments
A backgrounder follows.
