Public Notice
Murray River Coal Project - Public Comment Period and Information Session

HD Mining International Ltd. proposes the construction and operation of an underground coal mine. The proposed project would be located 12.5 kilometres southwest of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia (B.C.) and would produce six million tonnes of metallurgical coal per year for an estimated mine life of 31 years.

The Murray River Coal Project is subject to review under both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012) and B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Act and is undergoing a coordinated environmental assessment.

Public Comment Period

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) and B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) are inviting the public to comment on the Application / Environmental Impact Statement (Application / EIS) submitted by the proponent, HD Mining International Ltd. The Application / EIS describes the project and its potential to cause environmental, heritage, health, social, and economic effects.

A copy of the complete Application / EIS is available online at www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca and at www.eao.gov.bc.ca, along with a shorter summary of the document and additional information about the environmental assessment process.

The public comment period is from December 18, 2014 to January 29, 2015. The Agency and the EAO accept public comments during this time submitted by any of the following means:

By Online Form: www.eao.gov.bc.ca

By Email: MurrayRiver@ceaa-acee.gc.ca

By Fax: 250-387-2208

By mail:

Lucille Lukey, Project Manager
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
410-701 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V7Y 1C6

OR

P. Michael Peterson, Project Assessment Manager
Environmental Assessment Office
PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, British Columbia V8W 9V1

The Agency accepts comments in English or in French. Any comments only need to be submitted once to either the Agency or the EAO to be considered for both the provincial and federal environmental assessments.

Copies of the summary and the complete Application / EIS are also available for viewing at these locations:

• Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
  Vancouver, British Columbia
  Viewing by appointment only
  Telephone: 604-666-2431
   
• FrontCounter BC
  9000 - 17th Street
  Dawson Creek, British Columbia
   
• Tumbler Ridge Public Library
  340 Front Street
  Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia
   
• Chetwynd Public Library
  5012 - 46th Street
  Chetwynd, British Columbia

Information Session

The following information session will be held during the comment period:

Tumbler Ridge
January 14, 2015, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Trend Mountain Hotel Conference Room
375 Southgate Street
Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia

Information on the Murray River Coal Project and the Application / EIS will be available for viewing at the information session, and interested individuals will be able to speak with provincial and federal representatives and HD Mining International Ltd.'s technical team.

Next Steps

The Agency and the EAO will consider the public comments received, along with the information in the Application / EIS, in preparing their respective Environmental Assessment Reports.

The environmental assessment for the project will also include one final federal public comment period on the draft federal Environmental Assessment Report and potential conditions, which will be advertised at a later date.

All submissions received by the Agency and the EAO during the comment period in relation to the Murray River Coal Project are considered public. Comments will be posted to the EAO website and will become part of the Agency project file.