Appoint Review Panel - Tech's Castle Mine, BC

Dear Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and the Castle Impact Assessment Committee,

As you know likely better than most people in Canada, coal mining isn't without consequences to the environment. Not only does the use of coal increase climate change problems at a global scale, but at the local level, the water downstream will be impacted by the coal mining activities.

 In the case of the Castle Mine Project, you have the power to appoint a review panel with independent experts who know the science behind the coal mine environmental impacts so that they can best advise how this project is to be developed.

It is the Elk River and the inhabitants of the watershed that are impacted by the decisions around this mine project. The Elk River already has high levels of selinium that comes from the coal mining industry at the upper valley.  

Please appoint an independent review panel who will be engaged in a transparent, open, process and uses the best science to support their recommendations.

I care about clean water, healthy watersheds, and fair decision making that includes independent, impartial people. We are all connected through the water.

Thank you for listening.

Sanne van der Ros

Golden, BC in the

Columbia Basin