SkeenaWild Conservation Trust is in B.C. Supreme Court this week challenging a decision by the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) that the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine project is “substantially started.”
The KSM mine, if built, would be one of the largest gold-copper mines in the world. It includes four open-pit mines, two underground mines, and a massive tailings pond holding billions of tonnes of waste. The project could jeopardize the Nass and Unuk rivers, crucial waterways for Pacific salmon and eulachon, which support communities across the region.
The SkeenaWild Trust and Ecojustice, representing them in court, argue that the mine’s environmental assessment is over a decade old and predates significant changes in law and science. These include the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and new research on climate change, tailings risks, and declining salmon populations.
They contend that the assessment is outdated and that the mine cannot be considered “substantially started” as only minimal work has been completed. A court victory could set a key precedent for how future environmental assessments are handled for major resource projects in B.C.
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