The Fight for Fish Lake (Teztan Biny) - Round Two: New Prosperity MIne
One of RAVEN’s first projects was supporting the Tsilhqot’in National Government and Xeni Gwet’in First Nation in their legal action against the proposed – and ill-named – Prosperity Mine. The project that Taseko Mines Ltd. wanted to push through would have destroyed the lake and filled the area with toxic waste. The lake is sacred to the Tsilhqot’in and Xeni Gwet’in First Nation and is part of a pristine watershed that runs to the Fraser River.Find out how you can help with the second round. The public hearings could take place as early as April 2013. Read on!
WHEN IS A WIN NOT A WIN - ROUND TWO OF THE FIGHT FOR FISH LAKE aka The Tsilhqot'in Nation versus The New Prosperity Mine
Unfortunately, the celebration of 2010 was a temporary one. Just a few months after the first proposal was given a thumb's down, Taseko Mines Ltd. resubmitted a second plan to get at the gold under Teztan BIny. This time, according to the company, it would not have to drain the lake. However, the second proposal which the company dubbed "New Prosperity" is not new at all. You can read in detail on our Issues of Concern page why this second attempt is flawed, but the short answer is that is was part of the original plan and was rejected by both Taseko and the CEAA panel as being more environmentally damaging than the option it ended up putting forward for full review. In November 2011, the federal government agreed to let the second proposal go to a full environmental review panel hearing.
This issue is making news now around the world. Earth Focus, a program on LinkTV.org, chose it as the focus for an episode on social justice. The Fight for Fish Lake is also part of a larger program on Canada's Rush for Gold.
CURRENT STATUS: The clock has currently stopped on the environmental hearing process, as the CEAA panel rejected Taseko's Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), sending it back with more than 50 major deficiencies to be addressed. In addition, Taseko has still not paid almost $400,000 of its federal bill for the last round!
MiningWatch Canada reported on December 11, 2012: Yesterday the federal Review Panel examining the New Prosperity Gold Copper Mine Project issued a notice to proponent Taseko Mines that the company's environmental impact statement (EIS) is deficient in fifty different ways. This determination follows a scathing review of an earlier draft in July and an initial indication at the end of November that the Panel was not satisfied with how Taseko dealt with cumulative environmental effects.
Taseko rushed to get this application filed after a previous version of the project was rejected by the federal government following a similar review process. One of the most controversial aspects of the previous proposal, but certainly not the only one, was the plan to drain Teztan Biny or Fish Lake - a culturally important and ecologically productive lake full of rainbow trout.
A keystone of Taseko's re-submission is their claim that they can now economically and technically prevent significant negative effects to Teztan Biny, while maintaining access to it for First Nations and recreational purposes. This while the lake is within an industrial mining site sandwiched between a 500m deep open pit, and a 36 storey tailings impoundment. Seems improbable to us and according to various reviewiers and the Panel, Taseko has failed to provide enough information to support the claim. (click on the link to read the rest of MWC's blog)
Taseko rushed to get this application filed after a previous version of the project was rejected by the federal government following a similar review process. One of the most controversial aspects of the previous proposal, but certainly not the only one, was the plan to drain Teztan Biny or Fish Lake - a culturally important and ecologically productive lake full of rainbow trout.
A keystone of Taseko's re-submission is their claim that they can now economically and technically prevent significant negative effects to Teztan Biny, while maintaining access to it for First Nations and recreational purposes. This while the lake is within an industrial mining site sandwiched between a 500m deep open pit, and a 36 storey tailings impoundment. Seems improbable to us and according to various reviewiers and the Panel, Taseko has failed to provide enough information to support the claim. (click on the link to read the rest of MWC's blog)
THE TSILHQOT'IN GO TO OTTAWA
On a side note, but one that will have an impact on the outcome of the mine project, on January 24, 2013 Canada's top court issued a decision granting the Tsilhqot'in First Nation permission to appeal a ruling that rejected its claim to aboriginal title over 440,000 hectares of land. Here is a synopsis of why there was a collective sigh of relief - and the implications.
WHAT DO YOU VALUE MORE - WATER OR GOLD? The Tsilhqot'in Nation is now engaged with a team of experts and lawyers to figure out what is needed and by when. Most certainly the band will need to raise funds to cover more expert reports, science-based evidence, and legal arguments to put the best case forward when the CEAA panel convenes this year. Those costs are not covered by the government.
Although the federal government inititates the process, it does not pay for the work that must be done. That falls to the Tsilhqot'in alone. But one expert report - such as a hydrogeology report examining the impacts on water - can cost $60,000! Without those reports, the band has no facts upon which it can base its adamant refusal to allow this ecologically, permanently destructive mine to proceed.
RAVEN has launched into action. Thanks to Fitzhenry Family Foundation, Donner Canadian Foundation, Sierra Club Canada, Environmental Mining Education Foundation and individual donors, we have raised the $75,000 needed for one crucial study.
There are many ways you can get involved with Round Two:
1. Talk about it. Tell your friends. Have a dinner to share information. Many people don't realize there is a second round of hearings.
2. Write about it. If you have a blog, or feel inspired to write to your local paper, tell others why you feel this issue is important and express your support for the Tsilhqot'in.
3. Hold a screening of Blue Gold It is available online through our website or direct from Vimeo.com.
4. Hold a fundraising event. RAVEN will supply literature, pamphlets.
5. "Like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@RAVENtrust); and share information with friends and colleagues.
6. Please consider donating today!
THE BACKGROUND:
We celebrated with the Tsilhqot’in when the CEAA panel issued its final report. Based on the overwhelming evidence brought forward during public hearings, the independent Panel concluded that mine would have “cumulative high and irreversible impacts” in a number of areas, including Tsilhqot'in people and culture, that the false “Prosperity Lake” could not begin to meet DFO's requirements for “no net loss”, that the impacts on blue-listed (endangered) grizzly bears would also be cumulative and irreversible, and that navigation under the Navigable Waters Protection Act would be impossible.The Panel also clearly described what would be at stake for the Tsilhqot'in people: "The Panel has determined that the loss of Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and Nabas areas for current use activities, ceremonies, teaching, and cultural and spiritual practices would be irreversible, of high magnitude and have a long term effect on the Tsilhqot'in" [Report, p. 203]. The Panel confirmed that "the island in Teztan Biny (Fish Lake), which would be destroyed by the mine waste storage area, is a place of spiritual power and healing for the Tsilhqot'in."
On November 2, 2010, then-Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced that cabinet had rejected the mine! In a news release, the Environment Minister stated, "...the significant adverse environmental effects of the Prosperity project cannot be justified as it is currently proposed."
