Environmental Assessment Bulletin

Environment and Conservation Minister Tom Osborne has announced the following events relative to Part 10 Environmental Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act.

UNDERTAKING REGISTERED:

Angel�s Cove Mink Fur Farm Expansion                                  (Reg. 1214)
Proponent: Riverside Fur Farm Inc.

The proponent plans to expand an existing fox fur farm with the addition of mink for fur breeding on the south side of Angel�s Cove, Placentia Bay. Expansion is to include 800 female (breeder) mink yielding an average of four to five kits per litter producing approximately 4,000 kits annually for fur raising. A two-acre site is planned to be used for mink farm including construction of three sheds/barns (measuring: one shed - 76 by 12 metres and two sheds - 60 by 12 metres) for rearing mink, surrounded by a 1.2 - 1.5 metre high wire fence. The project will take approximately three years to complete, with one mink shed planned to be constructed by late fall. The undertaking was registered on September 29, 2005; public comments are due by November 3, 2005; and, the minister's decision is due by November 13, 2005.

The minister encourages all interested parties to become involved and to make comments known. Comments on submitted documents are invited from the public, addressed in writing to the minister, and are welcome prior to the deadline date shown.

UNDERTAKINGS RELEASED:

(1) Stephenville Sludge Treatment (Abydoz) Wetlands                      (Reg. 1207)
Proponent: Newfoundland & Labrador Consulting Engineers Ltd.

(2) Charlottetown Wood Processing Facility                                      (Reg. 1206)
Proponent: Silas and Selma Noel

The minister has released the Charlottetown Wood Processing Facility from further environmental assessment review subject to outcome of the following matters:

• The Land Management Division of the Department of Environment and Conservation has refused the Crown Land Application due to zoning relative to the Charlottetown Town Plan. The proponent must consult with the Town of Charlottetown and the Department of Municipal and Provincial Affairs in an attempt to resolve the zoning issue.
   
• The Forestry Branch of the Department of Natural Resources have indicated they are not issuing any new commercial sawmill licenses in the region until the results of a study on the Labrador secondary manufacturing of forest products and value-added industry has been completed and reviewed. Once this study is completed, the proponent will have to approach the Forestry Branch to address the issue of a commercial sawmill licence

Further information may be obtained by contacting 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 government Web site at //www.gov.nl.ca/env

2005 09 29                            3:20 p.m.