Participant Funding Program – Regular Funding Envelope
Funding Review Committee's Report

Allocation of Federal Funds for the Environmental Assessment of the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project

The Participant Funding Program (PFP) is established pursuant to subsection 58(1.1) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (the Act), which states: For the purposes of this Act, the Minister shall establish a participant funding program to facilitate the participation of the public in comprehensive studies, mediations and assessments by review panels.

A Funding Review Committee (FRC) independent of the environmental assessment (EA) was established for the New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project (the Project). The EA of the Project is being conducted by means of a federal review panel. The FRC's purpose was to assess funding applications received under the PFP – Regular Funding Envelope (RFE) for the proposed project, and to provide recommendations to the President of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) on whether funding should be provided, and if so, in what amount.

Under the RFE for this project, a total of $110,000 was made available to support public participation in the EA, linked to the:

• review and comment on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines;
• review and comment on the Panel's Terms of Reference (TOR);
• review and comment on the EIS; and,
• preparation for and participation in the review panel's hearings.

The deadline to submit an application was December 19, 2011. Eight applications were received requesting a total of $133,583. An application was transferred to the Aboriginal Funding Envelope.

On December 21, 2011, the FRC met to review the applications. The FRC members were: Mr. Bruce Young, retired Director of Panel Management with the Agency, acting as FRC Chairperson; Mr. Jeff Gilmour, Environmental Assessment Consultant; and Mr. Patrick Duxbury, Environmental Assessment Consultant.

Background

The Project consists of an open-pit mine development and a 70,000-tonne per day concentrator facility with an average annual production of 108 million pounds of copper and 247 thousand ounces of gold production over a 20-year mine life. The project mine site, which includes the open pit, concentrator facility, support infrastructure, and associated tailings and waste rock areas, is approximately 125 kilometres (km) southwest of Williams Lake, British Columbia. The Project also includes an approximately 125-km power transmission line corridor, an existing concentrate load-out facility at Macalister, British Columbia, and existing access from Williams Lake with the construction of 2.8 km of new mine road.

Eligibility

Under the PFP – RFE, funding may be provided to support applicants' input to an EA with the federal government. These activities must be linked to the EA of a proposed project through a comprehensive study, mediation or review panel.

Eligible recipients must be able to demonstrate that they meet at least one of the following eligibility criteria:

• Have a direct, local interest in the Project, such as living or owning property in the project area;
• Have community knowledge or Aboriginal traditional knowledge relevant to the EA; or
• Have expert information relevant to the anticipated environmental effects of the Project.

All of the applicants were deemed to have met the eligibility criteria.

Under the PFP – RFE, applicants can request funding for costs related to:

• professional fees;
• staff salaries and benefits;
• travel expenses;
• honoraria for Elders and Chiefs to attend meetings and functions;
• ceremonial offerings related to receiving traditional knowledge in relation to the EA;
• administrative and reporting costs;
• local collection and/or distribution of information;
• office supplies and telephone charges;
• rental of office space and meeting rooms;
• legal fees;
• general media advertising and/or promotion;
• purchase of information material, with supporting documentation; and
• other detailed expenses.

Rationale for Allocation

In reviewing the eight applications and in reaching its conclusions and recommendations, the FRC took into consideration a number of factors, including the following:

• The ability of applicants to demonstrate that they had met one or more of the eligibility criteria listed above.
• The quality, clarity and content of the application and the applicant's proposed EA participation work plan.
• the eligible activities under the PFP – RFE for the Project, which include reviewing and commenting on the Panel's TOR, the EIS Guidelines, the EIS, and preparing for and participating in the review panel's hearings.
• The amount of funds available under the RFE for this project.

Recommendation

The FRC recommends allocating $91,000 to support the seven applicants as follows:

• $1,195 to Federico G. Osorio
• $19,000 to Friends of Nemaiah Valley
• $15,885 to MiningWatch Canada
• $11,356 to Share the Cariboo – Chilcotin Resources Society
• $12,676 to Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce
• $18,603 to Sierra Club British Columbia
• $12,285 to Environmental Mining Education Foundation

The FRC further recommends that any funding allocation be conditional on the applicants providing written comments to the Agency on the Panel's TOR, the EIS Guidelines and the EIS, and providing written and/or oral comments to the review panel.

The Funding Review Committee
New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project
Regular Funding Envelope

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Bruce Young, Committee Chairperson, retired Director of Panel Management with the Agency

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Jeff Gilmour, Environmental Assessment Consultant

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Patrick Duxbury, Environmental Assessment Consultant

Recommended Participant Funding Allocations
New Prosperity Gold-Copper Mine Project
Regular Funding Envelope

Applicant	Total Allocation Amount Recommended
Federico G. Osorio	$1,195
Friends of Nemaiah Valley	$19,000
MiningWatch Canada	$15,885
Share the Cariboo – Chilcotin Resources Society	$11,356
Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce	$12,676
Sierra Club British Columbia	$18,603
Environmental Mining Education Foundation	$12,285
TOTAL	$91,000