Critics of proposed Manitoba silica sand mine applaud environmental report that casts doubt on project safety
Clean Environment Commission finds merit in Sio Silica mining proposal but says more risk management needed
A new environmental report on a proposed wide-scale silica sand mining operation in southern Manitoba suggests it should only move forward after the province gets more legal advice and there is a better understanding of possible risks, while some argue the province has all the evidence it needs to kill the project now.
The Clean Environment Commission report out Friday includes eight recommendations concerning a proposal by Sio Silica that has stirred debate in the rural municipality of Springfield, just east of Winnipeg.
The Alberta-based company wants to drill up to 7,700 wells across east and southeastern Manitoba to extract pure silica sand.
"The commission does not have sufficient confidence that the level of risk posed to an essential source of drinking water for the region has been adequately defined," reads a section of the 105-page document released by the Clean Environment Commission, an arms-length provincial agency mandated to provide advice and recommendations to Manitoba's environment minister.
"The mining approach proposed by Sio Silica does have merit if the risks posed to the quality of water in the affected aquifers can be better defined and the management of those risks can be adequately addressed."
Its authors recommend the project should only press on if the province imposes significant conditions on mining activity.
Tangi Bell, president of Our Line in the Sand, a group that has advocated against the project, said the commission should've gone even further.
"They didn't strongly recommend to deny, prohibit this project, and that's what it should be doing," she said.
"It does not have merit. This is the most unethical project that I've ever seen considered. It should never have been considered, should never have been tabled, it should've been thrown out right from the get-go."
The Manitoba government should seek legal opinion on how the proposed plans harmonize with elements of the Groundwater and Water Well Act and the Mines and Minerals Act concerning the implications of drilling and extraction, the report states.
Following that, if the project can go ahead legally, the commission recommends more scientific, engineering and risk assessments be done.
Only then should it proceed "on a step-wise basis to improve the level of confidence that no significant adverse effects will occur to impair the quality and quantity of water available from the affected aquifers."
"As a general principle, full-scale production should only proceed if and when the body of scientific and engineering evidence confirms that the risks are adequately understood and manageable," reads one of several recommendations.
WATCH | What silica mining critics fear:
The commission was anticipated to deliver its report to government this week as one of the final potential hurdles to Alberta-based Sio Silica's proposed mining operations in east and southeast Manitoba, which includes plans to extract 22 million tonnes of ultra-pure silica sand located 50 metres down.
Silica is used in the production of solar panels, semiconductors and new batteries. Sio Silica proposes drilling down and piping out a sand-water slurry that would be sent to a processing facility, which would then treat the water and re-inject it back into the ground.
One recommendation from Friday's report would require the company to demonstrate how that re-injection process would work.
The report now goes to Manitoba Environment Minister Kevin Klein, who will have final say.
Environment minister to decide
Klein said during a Friday news conference the province will review the report, which could take time.
"We will move at the pace that our environmental experts and our committee people need to move.… No decision will be made unless the entire process is completed thoroughly," Klein said.
"This is a contentious issue, and it's contentious because of safety," he said. "The safety of Manitobans' drinking water comes first."
The commission recommends Klein strike a project-monitoring committee with senior officials within Manitoba's environment and climate ministry, along with technical experts from provincial mining, groundwater, environmental licensing and enforcement divisions, as well as council members from relevant municipalities.
That committee should be expected to share development monitoring reports with the public, the commission said.
Sio Silica said in a statement it recognizes the time and effort the Clean Environment Commission put into the review of its proposal.
The company is "committed to continual research, data analysis, operational improvements, environmental monitoring and partnerships with Manitoba companies," Sio Silica partner Sander Duncanson said in a statement.
The company aims to be "the world's most environmentally friendly producer of high purity silica," the statement added.
Mining worries some residents
The mining plans have drawn the ire of some residents and local elected officials. Concerns in the community largely relate to the possibility of groundwater contamination from drilling.
Some residents and councillors in the rural municipality of Springfield voiced concerns at two council meetings in the past two weeks.
On Monday, the RM council voted through zoning amendments needed in order for Sio Silica's proposed processing plant to be built in the community of Vivian.
But a motion to enter into a development agreement with the company did not pass, sending discussions between council and Sio Silica back to the drawing table.
Sio Silica has said the operation would not harm the environment and could bring in billions of dollars to Manitoba's economy.
'Worst-case scenario'
Among the other Clean Environment Commission report recommendations are a stipulation Sio Silica carry out a risk assessment that considers "worst-case scenarios" — including collapse of the limestone layer — and the possible ripple effects and remediation efforts of those scenarios.
Sio Silica should also perform tests that add to the body of evidence on risk to ensure a "higher level of confidence" in the environmental safety of the project, including possible risks associated with proposed drilling methods, the report states.
WATCH | How the mining process would work:
It also recommends the company carry out full-scale extraction tests on one proposed well cluster in particular, targeting 21,000 tonnes of sand.
Extraction test wells should be monitored for change during drilling as a way of estimating how likely cavities are to grow in shape and size over time, the report says.
Sio Silica should also produce water and waste management plans, well amendment plans, groundwater monitoring and mitigation plans, erosion and sediment control plan, environmental emergency response plans and more, it says.
The commission also wants an assessment on the cumulative effects of the operation over its anticipated 24-year span within the context of other current and future projects in the area.
NDP, environmental group applaud report
That the proposal didn't include things like a cumulative effects report signals the province didn't ask for it, and it should "never have passed the initial department of environment and climate screen," according to the Manitoba Eco-Network and Our Line in the Sand.
"It is time to put a stop to this shoddy, piecemeal approach to evaluating such a large and risky project that will impact thousands of people for decades to come," the groups, represented by the Public Interest Law Centre, said in a statement.
The statement asks Klein to reject the licensing proposal until environmental risks are more fully considered, and to not entertain it again until the company has complied with all eight of the commission's recommendations.
The Opposition NDP said the report makes clear there are legitimate concerns surrounding the proposal as it stands and mirrored Klein's sentiments over the need to "take time to get it right."
"With just two months away from an election campaign, Premier [Heather] Stefanson and Minister Klein should commit to following the caretaker convention and refrain from making any final decision on this project before the next government is chosen," NDP MLA Mark Wasyliw (Fort Garry) said in a statement.
Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont (St. Boniface) said he thinks the government wants the project to move forward, but it should instead end the process now.
"Experts in water, they've said this has never been done before, they can't figure out how to do it without having sinkholes," he said.
"We actually have enormous deposits of sand elsewhere which are already being mined without having to put our largest aquifer at risk."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Bartley Kives and Ian Froese