Environmental Assessment Office decision on the Record Ridge proposal
By Sara Golling
Local resident (in Sheep Creek) Rob Murdoch has been following closely the provincial government’s responses to the proposal by West High Yield Resources (WHY) for an open-pit mining operation on Record Ridge, to extract magnesium ore, so he was one of the first to see the decision by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) that the proposed mine will be required to undergo an environmental assessment “prior to proceeding.”
The EAO also determined that the proposed mine would be classified as a “mineral mine” rather than a “quarry.”
The letter from the EAO also stated, “Regardless of the project design that WHY Resources chooses to advance and the required regulatory path for Record Ridge, the EAO recommends that increased consideration be given to identifying and mitigating the impacts of Record Ridge on affected communities.”
Wildsight had applied for the Environmental Assessment for the project, and a group of local concerned citizens — Save Record Ridge Action Committee Society — submitted support for an environmental assessment. Many other residents opposing the proposed mine submitted letters asking that an environmental assessment be required.
The EAO’s decision was delayed until August 13, as they needed more time to study the proposal; the EAO letter explained that they “had considerable difficulty in reaching an understanding of the facts concerning Record Ridge, and the nature of the materials it would be producing.”
