Air Quality

Over the past week the air quality in Lac Le Jeune has gone from satisfactory (green - very briefly!) to health warnings of emergency conditions if exposed for more than 24 hours (purple). 

For current reports refer the to the Lac Le Jeune location on the Purple Air website. You'll also find real-time readings on the right sidebar of the blog when not viewing on a mobile device.

Thanks to Amie Schellenberg for arranging a monitor in our community several years ago!

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Air quality in Lac Le Jeune

Air quality is a concern during wildfire season. Did you know there is a monitor in Lac Le Jeune? The installation of a PurpleAir monitor was a collaborative effort by Amie Schellenberg, and Dr. Michael Mehta, Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies at Thompson Rivers University with a research interest in air quality. 

This is a reading from July 17, 2017. As you can see, the reading was 'very unhealthy'. No jogging! 

~ posted by Sylvia Currie ~

Public Town Hall Meeting - Ajax Mine

From the City of Kamloops website:

June 19, 2017 Public Town Hall Meeting
6:00 pm-10:00 pm
Coast Hotel and Conferencce Centre, 1250 Rogers Way

Public is invited to attend the presentations by Interior Health Authority and SLR Consulting Ltd. of the results of their reviews of the KGHM Ajax Mine Application. The presentations will be followed by a public question period. All questions must wait until the end of both presentations. The City thanks the public in advance for maintaining a respectful and informative meeting.

The meeting will also be live streamed online.

» Technical Peer Review - Proposed Ajax Mine - Final Report (PDF)
Prepared by SLR Consulting (Canada) Ltd.

June 22, 2017 Special Council Meeting
9:00 am-12:00 pm
City Hall - Council Chambers

City Council will have the opportunity to ask questions of SLR Consulting Ltd. regarding their review and final report. Please note, although this meeting is open to the public, there is limited seating in Council Chambers. There will be no opportunity for questions from the public at this meeting. Please attend the Town Hall Meeting on June 19, 2017 if you wish to ask questions (questions only, no comments).

Ajax Mine: Tomorrow is the deadline for public comment!

Are you concerned about the environmental impact of the Ajax Mine?

April 11 (tomorrow!) is the deadline to submit public comments to the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO). They forward all posted comments to project proponents so that they can be duly considered during the project's Environmental Assessment (EA) process.

In addition, the Sierra Club of British Columbia provided a template to customize your own letter. Complete the form on the website and the letter will be sent to:

• Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency  
• The Honourable Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia  
• The Honourable Mary Polak, Minister of Environment  
• The Honourable Bill Bennet, Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Core Review  
• The Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Ajax Mine Technical Studies and Potential Impacts

From News Kamloops:

"A moment of truth has arrived for the Ajax Mine proposal, the stage at which all technical studies and potential impacts of the open-pit operation on the city’s 90,000 residents are on the table."

Here are the direct links to the "Plain Language Summaries" on the Ajax Mine website. The website search doesn't seem to be functioning, and these summaries aren't listed under 'resources', as you might think.

UPDATE: Ajax has moved this information to a new domain: http://application.ajaxmine.ca/Home.aspx I've updated the links below.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARIES

• SECTION 1: Introduction

• SECTION 2: Environmental Effects & Mitigation Measures

• SECTION 3: Social Economic Effects & Mitigations Measures

• SECTION 4: Health Related Effects & Mitigation Measures

• SECTION 5: Aboriginal Groups Information Requirements

• SECTION 6: Federal Requirements

The full application and supporting studies can be found on the Environmental Assessment Office website.

Rally to Stop Ajax

The following information and press release was forwarded by a member of this Concerned Citizens group.

Please join us to Rally to Stop Ajax Mine on Saturday October 26 at 12:00pm at 330 Seymour St. Kamloops. for 1 hour. 

Please bring your self, friends, children, voices or silence, signs, messages, questions and concerns. 

We need to physically show how many mothers, fathers, children, citizens, professionals, business owners, and investors are opposed to Ajax. 

We need physical numbers to accomplish this. 

Please bring a dust mask - to wear and use a felt pen & write "Stop Ajax" 

After a brief dialogue in front of the KGHM office we will walk the streets in the downtown core - silently wearing our masks (masks appreciated but optional). 

FYI: Disposable dust masks can be purchased at any hardware store, cdn tire and princess auto. 

Please tell all your friends opposed, undecided and concerned to join us!!

PRESS RELEASE:

We, citizens of Kamloops who are opposed to the degradation of our air, water, land and the well being of our health, animals, and grasslands are rallying to:

Stop Ajax 

330 Seymour St, Kamloops 

Saturday October 26 at 12:00pm

We would like to invite all citizens to join us for the Rally who are opposed, concerned, undecided and even Ajax supporters (in hopes of changing minds). We will share with the City of Kamloops the harm that will be caused to having a copper mine not only in close proximity to a city but within city limits. To address the implications of extraction-based industries and the future of not only the Canadian landscape but also our own backyard, our water shed, our recreation area and for some in Kamloops their front yards and ranch lands. In addition, the loss of some of the best fishing lakes in the TNRD, which will be, sandwiched between an open pit and tailings piles.

It is so devastating to comprehend that the City Kamloops and the Ministries of the province of BC would even consider such a ludicrous proposal in any city, we just happen to be the first of this new extraction generation to be forced to raise awareness that it is not okay to have open pit heavy metal extraction close to any city.

Please help us to avoid being the BC city who adopts an extraction based mine in exchange for dust, heavy metals, dreadful landscape scars, loss of grasslands and our right to clean air, soil and water for minimal promises of jobs and dismal economical benefits to very few locals.

We do not want to be known as the “Community in Gloom” nor the “Community without Doctors”.

We need your help to spread the news – please send your reporters to cover this Rally to STOP AJAX at 330 Seymour St, Kamloops on Saturday October 26 at 12:00pm.

Concerned Citizens fighting a battle to protect the environment and health of Kamloops, BC.

Ajax Project - Community Information Sessions

Thank you to Jeanette Scott for bringing our attention to this series of Ajax Project Community Information Sessions at the 2013 Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association AGM today.

From the KGHM Ajax Project blog...

When:
September 9and11–5pm to 9pm
Sep.10and12–1pm to 5pm

Where: TRU Grand Hall

What: Come and learn about our studies and how they fit together for our Air Quality, Water Quality and Noise and Vibration Models and our Human Health and Ecological Risk Assessment.
(Please note that results of our studies will not be provided)

Space is limited and registration is requested. Call 250-374-5446 or email info@ajaxmine.ca.

click for larger view

Ajax Mine: Questions to provincial candidates for May 14th, 2013 election

The following questions have been gathered from a variety of local groups who are concerned about the many risks to the City of Kamloops and the surrounding environment from the operation of a large low-grade open-pit mine within its boundaries. The effort by the Community Advisory Group is still in progress. Together we are asking that all candidates in the upcoming provincial election state their position on the issues raised and endorsed by the local groups

The Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association (LLJCA) executive has endorsed the proposed questions to the provincial candidates.

In addition, the LLJCA executive would like the following question posed:

 “As there are certain remediation efforts which must be carried out by the Ajax Mine at the end of the mine life, why is the mining consortium not required to hold a bond for the anticipated costs of the entire cleanup and remediation, over the life of the project?”

List of questions to date

1) During his recent visit to Kamloops, the federal Minister of Environment Peter Kent stated that the Federal Panel Review is the “Gold Standard” of environmental assesments, however, refused to grant our community such a review.


QUESTION: Should your party form the next provincial government, would you insist that the residents of Kamloops be granted the highest level of environmental assessment available for the proposed Ajax Mine?

2) The Proponent (Ajax Mine) has refused to conduct a proper full size operational test blast to allow our community to better assess the impact of 8400 consecutive days of blasting to our homes, our well being, the Kinder Morgan Pipeline and the local environment.


QUESTION: Should your party form the next provincial government, would you insist for a series of full size operational test blasts by the Proponent with independent monitoring and full access to the public (which proper safety measures in place) to properly assess all of the many potential negative impacts?

3) Over half the footprint of the proposed Ajax Mine falls within the boundaries of the City of Kamloops. Furthermore, a joint initiative by KGHM, NewGold and Galaxy is currently undertaking an exploration program well within the City boundaries in the subdivision of Aberdeen. The City of Kamloops and its residents have no input or say in the level of encroachment by the mining industry and Ajax Mine into our community.


QUESTION: Should your party form the next provincial government, would you support a full review of the Mineral Tenure Act with the purpose of protecting established communities from the direct encroachment of the mining industry?

4) The feasibility Study of the proposed Ajax Mine states that the cost of hydro will be $0.035 per kWh. This is substantially lower than the cost to produce a new kWh of power estimated at $0.12 according to recent correspondence with BC Hydro.


QUESTION: Should your party form the next government, would you support a review of power subsidies to foreign owned corporations while the residential ratepayers of BC continue to be faced with skyrocketing electrical power rate increases?

5) The proponent Ajax Mine has stated that it will not provide any level of compensation to the community for potential damage from mining operations or loss of property values due to its proximity to existing homes.

QUESTION: Should your party form the next government, will you insist that the Proponent properly compensate landowners for any direct damage caused by its operation within our community as well as any loss of property values due to its proximity to existing homes?

6) The physicians and surgeons of Kamloops have expressed overwhelming support for a federal review panel in a letter recently sent to the Hon. Peter Kent, Minister of Environment, and signed by 60 doctors. In that letter they expressed their concern over the possible health impacts of = the proposed KGHM Ajax mine.

QUESTION: If elected, will you support and endorse a federal review panel, including an independent neutral health impact assessment and risk assessment?

 7) Kamloops Domtar's closure of its mill has negatively affected Kamloops economy. If approved and built, KGHM Ajax closure in 23 years will cause a similar downturn.

QUESTION: If elected, will you insist that the Proponent create a plan for economic phase-out so as not to create a sudden hole in employment in  the community?

8) The building and operation of a large open-pit mine on city boundaries may prevent owners of clean, tertiary, knowledge and tourism-based businesses from locating in Kamloops, thus retarding Kamloops transition to a broad-based economy and pushing Kamloops back into resource-based boom and bust cycles. 

QUESTION: If elected, will you insist that the Proponent's socio-economic study identify ways to mitigate the potential loss of clean new businesses?

9) KGHM Ajax mine plans include a possible smelter.

QUESTION: If elected, will you insist that a smelter not be included without full public inquiry, knowledge and consent?

10) Making an informed decision regarding the KGHM Ajax proposal requires the most reliable, statistically significant, assay information for all toxic elements. The Proponent does not intend to include chromium, manganese and uranium, highly toxic elements commonly found in such sites, in its target list for rock composition.

QUESTION: If elected, will you insist that the Proponent undertake and examine a full assay, including chromium, manganese and uranium?

11) The Kamloops area is known for underground streams which can carry acid mine drainage and/or heavy metals long distances over time. If such toxins are found in our drinking water supply, either during the operation of the proposed mine or after closure, finding and developing a sufficient new source would bankrupt our city.

QUESTION: If elected, will you insist that the Proponent commission an independent and complete hydrogeological study to determine potential contamination of the S. Thompson River upstream from Kamloops' drinking water intake?

Groups involved to date

Aberdeen Community Association
Aberdeen Highlands Development
BC Cattlemen’s Association
Coalition to Protect East Kamloops
The Council of Canadians Grasslands Conservation
Council of British Columbia Area Preservation Association
Kamloops Astronomical Society
Kamloops & District Fish & Game Association
Kamloops Fly Fishers’ Association
Kamloops Naturalist Club
Kamloops Stockmen’s Association
Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association
Pineview Community Group
Thompson Institute of Environmental Studies
Thompson Watershed Coalition

Process

As part of this process, a delegate from LLJCA will meet with the candidates on May 14th, and results will be published on the Lac Le Jeune blog. In addition, Kamloops Area Preservation Association will sponsor an  information sheet with the responses to those questions. 

Thank you to Mike Brugger, John Watson, David Wyse, and others who have been involved in these discussions. 

LLJCA 2013 Mandate and Goals

The Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association Executive met earlier in January to review our mandate statement and to set goals for 2013.

Mandate

The mandate of the Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association is one of stewardship. It is well expressed in our constitution where it states:

The purpose of the Association is to help ensure the protection and conservation of our delicate physical environment: the air, water, forest, and wildlife that surround us.

Goals

To that end, our goals for 2013 include the following:

1. Continuing to monitor the water quality of the Big Lake. (Please contact any executive member if you would be willing to assist in this project. Many hands make lighter work) 
2. Expand the more sophisticated monitoring to the Little Lake if Marg Sidney from the Ministry of the Environment is able to secure funding. The more sophisticated monitoring involves taking water samples from different lake depths that are sent for analysis for chemical content. 
3. Fuel Management Project: John Krawchuk spearheaded an initiative to look at removing the beetle killed pine along the Gus Johnson Trail (and perhaps other areas). These pose a hazard to hikers and skiers. John has been in touch with Forestry and Parks about this. A couple of days ago we were contacted by Jason Tomlin (Emergency Services Supervisor at the TNRD) who indicated that provincial funding my be available to assist in this project. 
4. Fencing to limit access of cattle to the lake. There are two cattle ranches that use this area for summer grazing. We have checked with the BCLSS (B. C. Lake Stewardship Society) regarding what has been done in other areas regarding this issue. We will need to discuss our concerns with the two ranches and with their approval (and probably other government agency approval) identify where fencing should go to better protect the quality of the water. BCLSS has provided us with a list of groups that provided funding for projects such as this. (They also indicated that this initiative has been successfully done in other lake areas because ranchers want clean water too.) 
5. Creating a water flow from the Little Lake to Meadow Creek. Brian Chan suggested that the reason for the significant fish kill in the Little Lake last winter was likely caused by a lack of flow in the lake. Earlier in the year we had discussed this concern with Marg Sidney and she told us that putting a culvert under the beaver dam has worked in other areas. (BCLSS indicated that Green Lake had successfully dealt with a similar problem and have sent us contact information)

photo by Frank Morton

Posted by David Wyse, President, LLJCA

TODAY! Ajax mine forum

Ajax mine forum 

2:00pm - 4:00pm September 9, 2012 

Thompson Rivers University, Clock Tower Room: Alumni Theatre 

This forum dealing with mining related issues is the first in a series to be held at TRU.

Stop Ajax Mine Petition

YOU can help to stop the Ajax Mine.

1. Download and print the petition document:http://www.stopajaxmine.ca/files/documents/Stop-Ajax-Petition.pdf
2. Collect signatures
3. Mail it to the address on the form

Once enough signatures have been collected, the petition will be tabled and presented in Ottawa.

Petition Guidelines 

1. A signature (not a printed name), and home address are mandatory. The email address is optional. 
2. Only residents of Canada are allowed to sign. 
3. The text of the petition can't be altered by erasing or crossing out words. 
4. It must be printed on 8.5 x 11 paper.
5. There is no minimum age requirement for anyone signing the petition.
6. No one can sign for anyone else. If a petitioner can't sign due to illness or a disability, this must be noted on the petition and the note signed by a witness.
7. Signatures cannot be pasted, taped, photocopied or otherwise transferred to the document.
8. Print the petition in landscape mode

This is an edited version of the information available on the Stop Ajax Mine Website.

Description of the proposal on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency website:

KGHM Ajax Mining Inc. is proposing to construct and operate the Ajax Mine Project located partially within the City of Kamloops, British Columbia. The Ajax Mine Project is an open pit copper/gold mine and is expected to process 60,000 tonnes of ore per day (21.9 million tonnes per year) for export over a mine life of 23 years.

Mining the Neighbourhood

Photo by Frank Morton

The Ajax Mine Project was the topic on CBC Daybreak South for several days. Check the website for the featured "Mining the Neighbourhood" series. There are several good interviews. This page will take you directly to the Daybreak South audio files.

*Note, at the moment there is not an easy way to link to the articles directly, so you might need to use the search option when the series is no longer featured.

Ajax Mine and Lac Le Jeune Road

The proposed Ajax Mine will bring about major changes to Lac Le Jeune Road. This is one of many issues related to the project that residents of Lac Le Jeune should be asking questions about.

In the February 3, 2012 Kamloops Daily News, Frances Vyse describes the route many people use to get to the to the Stake Lake ski trails as the

steep, narrow, winding road on which the mine proponent wishes to put mine-related traffic and ore-carrying trucks bound for Vancouver. 

This is the route many Lac Le Jeune residents drive every day. Children ride the school bus along this road. Cowboys move cattle every spring and fall. Cyclists use it daily in the summer months. For residents who are accustomed to the peaceful drive through the grasslands and Douglas fir timberlands around Jocko Creek Ranch, and who have stories and photographs of the many moose, deer, bears, and coyotes they have encountered along this road, it is difficult to imagine what this increase in traffic will bring, much less the change in landscape caused by the Ajax Mine project.

The January 11, 2012 draft Ajax Mine Application Information Requirements (AIR) document (PDF) outlines access to the mine as follows:

Access to the proposed Project from Kamloops is via exit 366 off the Trans-Canada Highway (No. 1), east along Frontage Road, and then south along Lac Le Jeune Road to the old Afton Mine Haul Road near the inks Lake Road Junction, a road distance of approximately 9 km. 

From this statement we learn how vehicles will get to the mine from Kamloops. But what about those travelling to and from the other direction? Keep in mind that we're not just talking about trucks hauling materials from the mine. This traffic includes several hundred commuters, as well as service, support and supply vehicles. Also keep in mind that an operation like this runs around the clock.

The Ajax Cooper-Gold Project Fact Booklet delivered to our mailboxes this month states:

Concentrate will be transported via Lac Le Jeune Highway to the Port of Vancouver. 

Highway? I think they mean to say the long, narrow, winding, spectacular country road that Lac Le Jeune residents enjoy every day.

Jocko Creek Ranch, photo by Frank Morton

Osprey in nest beside road, photo by Frank Morton

Open House - Ajax Mine Project

What: 2 upcoming Open House sessions
When: February Feb 6th and 7th, noon to 8pm
Where: Kamloops Convention Centre


View Larger Map


Who: Representatives from:

1. Ajax project
2. BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO)
3. Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA)
4. YOU

From the TNRD website:

These representatives will be available to talk with people about their concerns and to answer questions about the environmental assessment process and the proposed project. All issues and responses will be tracked and made available on EAO’s website.

It is encouraging to read that ALL issues and responses will be made available. But how is this possible without selective inclusion and editing? An open house is not the same as a public question and answer session. So here is a question you are all encouraged to ask:


When will there be an open, public MEETING with these 3 groups?


Note that public concern is cited as one of the reasons the BC Government will pay attention to the concerns of the general public over the mine project. So plan to attend the open house and spread the word!

Thanks to Tracy Upton and members of the Kamloops Area Preservation Society for helping to inform Lac Le Jeune residents of issues related to the Ajax Mine project.

Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association AGM and Ajax Mine Discussion

Map of the Proposed Ajax Mine Site (click photo to enlarge)

For Lac Le Jeune residents who were unable to attend the AGM of the Lac Le Jeune Conservation Association on Saturday, September 17, minutes will be sent out to all residents via email by the association's secretary.

The discussion of the proposed Ajax Mine project and it's impact on our community was removed from the LLJCA proposed agenda by members of the executive and instead was held after the AGM had officially adjourned. A speaker from the Kamloops Area Preservation Association (KAPA), John Schleiermacher, was present to give residents an overview of the project and to address concerns by KAPA that complete information was not being provided by the Ajax Mine proponents. A representative from the Ajax Mine had also been asked to speak at this meeting, but declined. Foremost on the KAPA agenda is to gather signatures via petition and to encourage letter writing to request a more comprehensive review than the one currently being used to make the final decisions on this project. KAPA is pushing for transparency regarding the future operation of the mine, something all Kamloops and Lac Le Jeune residents deserve. Much of the information and the facts and figures that Mr. Schleiermacher provided in the meeting can be found on the KAPA website, Stop the Ajax Mine. Petitions were available to sign at the meeting which will be presented to the Kamloops City Council. Signatures on a petition for the TNRD have also been sent to Ronaye Elliott, our representative with TNRD, who was present for both the AGM and the Ajax Mine discussion afterward.

• If you have further questions about the Ajax Mine project for John Schleiermacher, he can be reached by email at johnschlr@aol.com.

• If you would like to gather signatures requesting that the city of Kamloops request a more comprehensive review of the project, please print the petition and circulate it for signatures. Completed petitions may be returned to John Schleiermacher (email him for his mailing address: johnschlr@aol.com ) or return them to Jenny or Jeff Perry (250-372-8612). Petitions may also be signed at the Kamloops Farmers' Market downtown on Saturdays.

• If you, as an individual, would like to send a letter requesting a more comprehensive review of the proposed Ajax Mine project, please print and mail this letter to the Honourable Peter Kent, Minister of Environment in Ottawa. This is a sample letter and may be edited to reflect your personal concerns about the proposed mine.

• And if you would like to view or print a brochure with concise information about the proposed project, it is now available here from the Stop the Ajax Mine website.

During the AGM, members were again reminded about the Lac Le Jeune - Life in our Community Blog as a resource for information about our community. If you're reading this now, please take a moment to bookmark this site and join via the link on the right sidebar. You can also add it to Google Reader or any other subscription service you may use. The Lac Le Jeune Blog also has an option to follow by email.

Questions about the Ajax Mine Project

This letter asks many of the questions we, as residents of Lac Le Jeune, should all be asking about the proposed Ajax Mine Project. Please take the time to read it and educate yourself about the project and how it will affect the Kamloops area, including our own community.

http://www.kamloops.ca/ajax/pdfs/RequestForInformation.pdf