Revised Final Environmental Study Report (24 MB) - Gold Canyon ...

Comments Received at Open Houses conducted on May 27, 28 and June 11
Concern / Question Mitigation / Response Raised by
concern about decommissioning of the
road if GCU does not go ahead. What if
another party wants the road to
remain?
Only the north portion of the road, beyond the FMP-approved section would be
decommissioned by GCU, and even then, if someone requested that the road remain,
they could complete their own EA to take over responsibility for any portions they
wanted to remain.
SFFN community member
asked if GCU would connect to a road
coming from Vermillion Lake (Polar
Road)
concern with the road options and
alternatives, interest to provide access
between Lac Seul, Slate Falls and Cat
Lake, as this would assist with the Lac
Seul Forestry company with their access
road maintenance.
GCU could look at this in the future, but another EA would need to be completed. At
this time, GCU is proposing a winter road only to connect to the Wenasaga Road and
not an all-weather road.
a SFFN and 2 LSFN community members
asked if the Springpole Project is
developed into a mine, will another EA
be conducted.
GCU will have to conduct a separate EA for the mine development, and there will be a
long involved consultation process related to that EA.
SFFN community member
asked if FN communities will be building
the road
GCU responded that an Request for Expression of Interest had been sent to all
Aboriginal partner companies that were identified by CLFN, SFFN, LSFN, WFN and
MNO, as well as a contractor from Ear Falls. When GCU gets to a point where we are
confident we can proceed with the project, we will get back to those companies and
proceed with the contract to one or more of the companies. The contract(s) will be
awarded based on a combination of the best plan for community involvement, price,
experience on similar jobs and safety & environmental protection record.
Several community members from SFFN,
CLFN and LSFN.
asked if there were any species at risk at
the road corridor, specifically whip-poorwill
GCU indicated that there are no known (eastern) whip-poor-will in the project area
based on DST's studies to date. DST Consulting (qualified independent biologist) has
also considered wolverine and caribou and the proposed corridor has been designed
and selected to mitigate effects to these species at risk that are known to be present in
the region.
CLFN community member
asked about other species in the area,
including wolverine, caribou and owls.
CLFN community members have seen
them in the road corridor area in the
past.
GCU indicated that no wolverine have been found during the course of DST's field work
and although wolverine are known to be present in the project area it would not be
practical to collect meaningful baseline data for this species against which future
potential impacts could be measured. GCU is sensitive to all species at risk. The
eastern corridor was selected because it was deemed to have less impact to SAR's.
Caribou reside in the area around the northern portion of the road, so GCU has been
working with the MNR to plan a process that will ensure a net overall benefit to
caribou in the area
CLFN community member
asked about endangered plant species in
the area.
asked if GCU would conduct any
spraying during road construction to
clear the road corridor
DST has not found any rare or endangered or at risk plant species in the project area.
GCU will not be conducting any spraying during road construction, or any other phase
or the project. Timber harvesting will be conducted utilizing mechanical methods only
CLFN community member
SFFN and CLFN community members
asked if FN communities will be
contacted if there is ever a spill in the
area.
GCU staff and contractors are trained in fuel handling and spill response according to
GCU's Emergency Spill Response Plan, which includes notification to GCU, all relevant
government agencies and First Nation Band Offices in the event of a spill.
CLFN community member
comment that the road planning should
be a 4 party process: MNR, Domtar,
GCU and First Nations
GCU has consulted with MNR throughout the process. The proposed access corridor
will serve the needs of Domtar's future planned forestry roads and GCU understands it
also has synergies with an all-weather road to CLFN.
CLFN community member
comment that there should be an
exploration agreement in place before
any work is conducted in the area.
GCU has been supporting the negotiation process and looks forward to an exploration
agreement with the FN's; MNDM added that the reason for the open house session
was to solicit feedback on the proposed plans before the work is conducted.
CLFN community member
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