{"id":15192,"date":"2020-08-13T10:13:15","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T14:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/?p=15192"},"modified":"2023-01-16T12:18:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T17:18:33","slug":"lacs-menaces-par-une-mine-une-coalition-appelle-quebec-a-agir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fondationrivieres.org\/en\/lacs-menaces-par-une-mine-une-coalition-appelle-quebec-a-agir\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakes threatened by a mine: a coalition calls on Quebec to act"},"content":{"rendered":"

PRESS RELEASE<\/strong>
\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Montreal, August 13, 2020<\/strong> \u2013 <\/b>A coalition of citizen and environmental organizations is calling on Quebec to act to prevent the destruction of 8 lakes and around ten waterways for the storage of mining waste at the Lac Bloom mine, in northern Quebec.<\/p>\n

In letter<\/a> sent at the beginning of the week to the Minister of the Environment, Mr. Beno\u00eet Charette, the organizations affirm that the project of the Australian mining company Champion Iron is unacceptable in its current form. They fear a dangerous precedent, while other solutions exist.<\/p>\n

They call on Quebec to demand modifications to the project and to maintain its historic position of prohibiting the filling of lakes for the storage of mining waste on its territory. Organizations also fear spills of mining residues, water contamination and impacts on biodiversity. The project aims to dispose, in perpetuity, of 872 million tonnes of additional mining waste, almost triple the volume authorized under the current permit.<\/p>\n

Return the residue to the excavated pits<\/h3>\n

\u201cQuebec must demand good environmental practices, in particular the complete backfilling of open pits to reduce the surface footprint. This would prevent the destruction of lakes and would further reduce the risk of accidental spills,\u201d says Ugo Lapointe, co-founder of the Coalition Qu\u00e9bec Meilleur Mine and coordinator at MiningWatch Canada.<\/p>\n

The filling of mining pits is an increasingly widespread practice in Quebec and internationally. The organizations denounce the promoter's current refusal to consider this avenue on the basis of technical and economic considerations. They ask him to reconsider this position. They call on Quebec to require new detailed studies for residue storage scenarios in the pits. They ask that these fundamental studies be submitted before a BAPE is held.<\/p>\n

R\u00e9becca P\u00e9trin from Eau Secours: \u201cNo profit margin justifies sacrificing the lakes to deposit mining waste there. Quebec must intervene to clearly prohibit this type of practice on its territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cQuebec must also require the complete treatment of wastewater while aiming for environmental protection objectives adapted to the environment and available technologies, and obviously prohibit the dilution of pollutants in natural waters,\u201d insists Marc Fafard of SISUR, in Sept-\u00celes, and current president of the Duplessis Watershed Organization.<\/p>\n

Citizens and organizations have until Monday, August 24, 2020, to send\u00a0their request<\/a>\u00a0examination of this project by the Quebec Bureau of Public Hearings on the Environment. The organizations signing the letter have already requested it.<\/p>\n

The signatory organizations include: the Coalition Qu\u00e9bec Meilleur Mine, Eau Secours, Fondation Rivi\u00e8res, David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace Canada, MiningWatch Canada, Nature Qu\u00e9bec, Regroupement vigilance mines de l'Abitibi-T\u00e9miscamingue, SISUR in Sept-\u00celes and the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 pour la nature and parks (SNAP-Qu\u00e9bec).<\/p>\n

-30-<\/p>\n

For information :<\/strong><\/p>\n