Fw: KSM mine and tailing ponds & salmon habitat (comments due today)

[Pina Viola]

Hi, 

Something different from dilbit or oil:

After the disaster of the Mount Polley tailing pond, some of you might be interested in this.

Please read below.

Today is the deadline to send written comments (asking for a full assessment process) about the project of the KSM mine, that would be one of the biggest open pit mines in the world and would store enormous quantities of mine waste in tailing ponds upstream of pristine salmon habitat (read below for details, more interesting info clicking the links).

Cheers,

Pina

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Gwen Barlee - Wilderness Committee <gw...@wildernesscommittee.org>
To: Pina <pinavi...@yahoo.ca>
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2014 12:00:06 PM
Subject: Two days left to comment on the massive KSM Mine!

Web Version  | Like Tweet Forward Take Action Today—Call For A Full Panel Review of the KSM Mine! Hi Pina, Just two weeks after one of the world’s largest tailings pond disasters at the Mount Polley Mine, the federal government may approve an open pit mine in northwest BC six times larger than Mount Polley. Seabridge Gold, a Toronto-based North American corporation, proposes to build the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine at the headwaters of the Unuk and Nass rivers in BC. With plans to extract 130,000 tons of ore per day from three giant open pits for 52 years, KSM would be one of the world’s largest open pit copper-gold mines in the world. About 2.3 billion tons of tailings waste would be stored just upstream from critical salmon habitat in the Nass watershed, BC’s third largest salmon system. Two tailings dams as big as the Hoover Dam would be built to contain the mine waste! In the virtually pristine, transboundary Unuk River watershed, the pits and enormous waste rock dumps would be located just upstream from the Misty Fjords National Monument, an immense wilderness area along the stunning inside passage coast in Southeastern Alaska. The KSM deposit is highly acid generating and contains toxic levels of selenium. Seabridge Gold proposes to treat wastewater at the site with an unproven system involving seven of the largest water treatment plants ever built. Despite the risks to downstream water quality and wild salmon in both the Nass and Unuk Rivers, there are no plans or funding to guarantee that the Unuk and Nass Rivers will be protected forever. A catastrophic dam failure like Mount Polley could happen again at KSM, but on a much bigger scale. The final CEAA public comment period on KSM is open for ONLY 2 MORE DAYS. The Federal Minister of the Environment, Leona Aglukkaq, has an opportunity to elevate the assessment process and call for a full Panel Review of KSM, with ample opportunities for expert testimony and wide public participation. A full panel review is imperative for a mega-project the size of KSM. This project cannot be allowed to proceed without the highest possible level of scrutiny. Please send an e-mail now to ksm.p...@ceaa-acee.gc.ca as comments must be received by this Wednesday, August 20th, 2014. Join us in demanding that Canada not approve KSM at this time and convene a full Panel Review. Write your letter today >> Thanks for taking action, Gwen Barlee | National Policy Director Wilderness Committee ------------ Please encourage your friends to sign up for our Action E-alerts. Volunteer | Become a member |    Top photo: Sacred Headwaters (Brian Huntington). The Wilderness Committee is Canada's largest membership-based, citizen-funded wilderness preservation organization. Charitable Registration # 11929-3009-RR0001 We respect your privacy. The Wilderness Committee will never rent, sell, or trade our mailing lists. Wilderness Committee 46 East 6th Ave. Vancouver, BC V5T 1J4 (604) 683-8220 www.wildernesscommittee.org