Panel Report

In August, 1991, the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan appointed a joint federal-provincial environmental assessment panel to review several proposed uranium mining developments in northern Saskatchewan. Membership of the joint panel is summarized in Section 1.2.1 and its mandate is found in Section 1.2.2 and Appendix B. This is the fifth report submitted by the joint panel.

After consultation with interested stakeholders, the joint panel issued Guidelines for the Preparation of Environmental Impact Statements and Government Information Requests for the Cigar Lake and McArthur River Projects, in September of 1992. Responding to these Guidelines, the Cigar Lake Mining Corporation (CLMC) submitted its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on October 4, 1995. Additional information was received on April 1, 1996, July 12, 1996, December 12, 1996 and May 2, 1997.

This report is based on information that was obtained from reading the entire Environmental Impact Statement; from an information meeting with CLMC in La Ronge on January 23 and 24, 1996; from nineteen days of public hearings in Pinehouse, La Ronge, Saskatoon and Regina; and from written reports submitted by individuals, organizations and government departments or agencies. The major recommendations are identified in Chapter 4. The rationale for the recommendations and the attendant conditions may be found in Chapters 5 - 14.

Developments, even if located in the sparsely populated northern regions of our country, do not occur in isolation. People, as well as the environment, are affected by the opening of a new mine such as the one proposed at Cigar Lake. Our philosophy in completing this review has, therefore, been to assess as thoroughly as possible the impacts of the project on northern people, as well as on the northern environ-ment. In our view, impacts on the vitality of northern communities, for example, are as significant as impacts on the biota. Both are important; both must be protected and, if possible, enhanced by the deve-lopment of this project.

Approval of the Cigar Lake Project is recommended with certain reservations. The reservations are asso-ciated primarily with the use of the proposed JEB Tailings Management Facility where the tailings produced from the milling of the Cigar Lake ore would be stored and with the selection of a site for disposal of mine waste rock.

It is recommended that approval for mining, as described in the Environmental Impact Statement, be granted subject to the ability of the proponent to locate an environmentally acceptable place to dispose of mine waste rock. Disposal in an existing lake should be avoided if other acceptable sites, such as a mined-out pit, are available.

CLMC proposes to custom mill its ore at the JEB mill, operated by Cogema Resources Inc., at McClean Lake. We recommend approval of the concept for tailings disposal represented by the JEB Tailings Management Facility (TMF), but with major site-specific reser-vations. The proposed JEB TMF, to be constructed using natural surround technology, is an attractive option for tailings disposal because it provides an opportunity to realize several environmental benefits relative to other methods for tailings disposal. Among these benefits are an increase in worker protection through the use of subaqueous deposition; reduction of environmental disruption at several locations, as a result of combining deposition of tailings from many ore bodies at one site; the avoidance of engineered barriers which may fail in the long term; the minimization of weathering problems; and the protection of the contents of the pit from scarification by glaciers during the next ice age. Because of these potential advantages, the concept for tailings disposal represented by the JEB TMF proposal is recommended. However, there are critical site-specific technical and managerial concerns that must be resolved before this particular tailings management facility can be recommended. Chief among the technical concerns is the need for convincing evidence that operation of the TMF would not result in the contamination of Fox Lake in the long term. This concern is exacerbated by a lack of confidence in the managerial and scientific competence of the operator, Cogema. In addition, the obvious dismissive attitude of this company for the regulators and their concerns suggests that it would not be appropriate for Cogema, as currently managed, to be given responsibility for constructing and managing this very dangerous radioactive waste disposal facility.

We are aware that resolution of these concerns, likely to cause a long delay in the licensing process, would have fiscal implications. The wish to maximize immediate economic benefits from the development of these resources does not, however, justify the approval of this facility until it has been demonstrated that all reasonable environmental safeguards are in place.

It is recommended that long-term monitoring be introduced to protect future generations from unacceptable impacts. This is particularly important if approval is eventually given for the tailings management facility. Arrangements should be made to monitor this site in perpetuity, and resources retained to mitigate any undesirable impacts. It is for this reason that we reiterate our previous recommendation for the establishment of the Uranium Mining Contingency Fund, and an authority to oversee it.

Local participation in the monitoring protocols is essential. The Environmental Quality Committees and the Athabasca Working Group provide good vehicles for local participation. It is recommended that their participation be enhanced by the provision of adequate financial support and, in the case of the Athabasca Working Group, by the adoption of measures that will give it a more formal, permanent status.

A number of initiatives, described in greater detail in the body of the report, have recently been undertaken to monitor different aspects of community and worker health. It is recommended that sufficient funds be made available to ensure that these initiatives are able to continue until the completion of their mandate.

The Cigar Lake Project, if approved, will provide much-needed opportunities for some northern people to find employment and to benefit from business contracts. The EIS indicates that CLMC expects to reach an employment level of 50 per cent northerners within five years of operations start-up. This is an unacceptably low expectation in light of the funds that have been spent and the efforts that have been made to prepare northerners for employment through the Multi-Party Training Plan and other programs. We are recommending a minimum of 50 per cent northerners in the CLMC workforce from the beginning of the project with an increase in northern participation of 1 per cent per year until it reaches at least 67 per cent. We are also recommending that an objective of obtaining at least 35 per cent of all required goods and services from northern suppliers be established for the Cigar Lake Project.

We are pleased to note the progress that has been made on the formation of a Fiscal Table that will permit a tripartite negotiation between Saskatchewan, Canada and FSIN of fiscal matters, including revenue sharing, that are related to northern development. We urge that programs arising from these initiatives be implemented in a timely fashion, before the resource is further depleted.