TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The British Columbia government has issued project developer HD Mining International with an environmental assessment certificate for the Murray River coal project,12 km south of Tumbler Ridge.

Provincial Environment Minister Mary Polak and Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett had issued the certificate with 24 legally enforceable conditions governing the project’s construction, operation and decommissioning in a way that aimed to ensure that there were no significant unfavourable effects caused by the long-wall mining project.

The Murray River Coal project comprised an underground coal mine, with an estimated capital cost of $668-million and a 25-year operating life, which would create 780 jobs during operations. The mine would produce up to 4.8-million tonnes of clean coal a year.

The certificate conditions were developed following consultation and input from First Nations, government agencies, communities and the public.

Key conditions for the project required HD Mining to hire an independent environmental monitor to determine whether the company was complying with the conditions in the environmental assessment certificate; develop a plan to address the risk and impacts of subsidence; develop a suite of management plans for matters that included wildlife, fish and fish habitat, wetlands, air quality, noise, groundwater and surface water and impacts from invasive plants; develop plans to support healthy communities and identify measures to mitigate economic and social effects; continue to participate on the Murray River Aquatic Cumulative Effects Assessment Framework Steering Committee; develop a plan to share information between HD Mining and First Nations and to identify measures to avoid impacts on Treaty 8 rights.

Further, based on comments from First Nations and government agencies during the environmental assessment, HD Mining decided to construct a production decline under Murray River instead of constructing an overland conveyor. The decline was expected to reduce impacts on wildlife.

The Murray River coal project would require federal environmental assessment approval and various federal and provincial permits to proceed. The Environmental Assessment Office would coordinate compliance management efforts with other government agencies to ensure that the office was satisfied that certificate conditions were met throughout the life of the project.