Need more time to study Hants gypsum proposal

Jennifer Hoegg

The Hants Journal/NovaNewsNow.com

Fundy Gypsum’s registration for a provincial environmental assessment of its proposed expansion has some area residents scrambling.

Members of the Avon Penninsula Watershed Protection Society are concerned about how long they have to respond to the proposed Miller’s Lake Quarry expansion. Fundy applied to the Department of Environment and Labour Feb. 21 for a Class One environment assessment. The proposal was available to interested citizens to view Feb. 22. The public has until March 6 to file a written comment.

Reviewing more than 750 pages in less than two weeks is too much to ask, APWPS president Raymond Parker says. “Frankly just to have access to the report, sure they have a copy at the fire hall, a copy at the library and so on, if you really want to work with the report you need to have it in front of you. To copy 800 pages, it would be a serious expense for most people”

The company’s lengthy registration document is not the only thing to review, Parker said. “In order to be able to respond, you also need to review the relevant regulations and legislation. Ideally one would have time to consult experts in the field and somehow have them do a review. It’s clear that all of this can’t happen in the view period. “

Department spokesperson, Jacqueline May, says the time period is normal for Class One assessments because regulations require a decision from the Minister within 25 days of the proponent filing a request. “The standard comment period is set at 10 to 14 days in order that all the comments and submissions can be compiled into a report for the Minister that accurately reflects the comments. In this case, the Fundy Gypsum comment period is 14 days dating from Feb. 21.

Part of the problem, Parker says, is the limited scope of Class One assessments and the lengthy documents proponents register. “If it was a short, say 20-page, description of the project, than it would be a reasonable time.”

Parker and APWPS have expressed their concerns with the process.

In light of the Class One restrictions, APWPS is suggesting a Class Two environmental assessment of the project. A more in-depth study with further public input is one of five options open to Environment and Labour Minister Mark Parent when the review is complete. The others are: approval, rejection, requirement of additional information, or requirement of a focus report on a specific aspect.

Class Two assessments are usually reserved for projects with the potential for widespread environmental affects.