Environmental Assessment Bulletin

The Honourable Terry French, Minister of Environment and Conservation, has announced the following events relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

UNDERTAKINGS REGISTERED:

IOC Explosives Facility (Reg. 1660)
Proponent: Iron Ore Company of Canada

The proponent has submitted a proposal to construct and operate a new explosives facility at their Labrador City mine site in Labrador West. This new facility will address current compliance issues with the old facility and will provide additional capacity required for the current mining activity in Labrador West. The proposed new facility will be located within IOC’s existing property boundaries and will be capable of producing 90,000 metric tons of bulk ammonium nitrate explosive (ANE) annually. The proposed project will include the construction of a process building, an adjacent mobile mixing unit building, as well as associated supporting infrastructure, i.e., a 1,700-metre extension to the existing railway line, a 530-metre long gravel surface access road, and a new one-kilometre long electrical distribution line. Work would commence following release from Environmental Assessment and after all approvals and permits are in place.

The undertaking was registered on July 30, 2012; the deadline for public comments is September 4, 2012; and the minister’s decision is due by September 13, 2012.

Proposed Aspen Brook Sand and Gravel Quarry Expansion (Reg. 1661)
Proponent: Hunt’s Concrete Ltd.

The proponent has submitted a proposal for the expansion of an existing quarry lease located approximately seven kilometres southeast of the Town of Badger, between the Trans Canada Highway and the Exploit’s River. The proposed quarry expansion will extend the quarry approximately 4.2 hectares to the east and approximately 2.1 hectares to the west. Operations will include clearing, grubbing, quarrying, crushing, screening and transporting processed aggregate to Hunt’s Concrete Ltd. Plant at Grand Falls-Windsor. The proposed quarry expansion will provide a long-term aggregate supply for the production of concrete at a plant in Grand Falls-Windsor. The proposed work is scheduled to begin during the fall of 2012.

The undertaking was registered on July 31, 2012; the deadline for public comments is September 4, 2012; and the minister’s decision is due by September 14, 2012.

For further information on the environmental assessment process, please contact the Director of Environmental Assessment at (709) 729-4211 or toll-free: 1-800-563-6181 or by mail to:

Director, Environmental Assessment Division
Department of Environment and Conservation
West Block, Confederation Building
P.O. Box 8700, St. John's, NL A1B 4J6

Environmental assessment information is on the department website - www.gov.nl.ca/env 

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Media contact:
Melony O’Neill
Director of Communications
Department of Environment and Conservation
709-729-2575; 689-0928
moneill@gov.nl.ca 

2012 08 06             3:10 p.m.