Marathon Palladium Project Joint Review Panel
Environment North has expressed concerns regarding climate impacts and socio-econmic impacts of this mining project and has made recommendations on how to improve the assessment of these impacts. A summary is posted below.
Oral presentation to the Panel: click here to view
Presentation slides are available here.
Full written submission is available here.
Kerrie Blaise of the Canadian Environmental Law Association and acting as legal counsel to Environment North completed a report specific to the climate impacts of the project.
Planning expert, Dr. Karen Peterson completed a socio-economic review of the project’s impacts.
Climate Impact Conclusions:
"Environment North provides these comments to aid the JRP in its sufficiency analysis of GenPGM’s EIS. Currently, the EIS documents do not no provide a clear narrative of climate impacts, beyond calculating and quantifying GHGs. The environmental assessment process is well suited to climate change considerations – in part because it allows for an early accounting of a project’s impacts – however its success is dependent upon the information provided by the proponent. In this instance, GenPGM has not provided the requisite basis for the JRP to consider the project’s impact on sustainability per the purposes of Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency 2012 nor demonstrate conformance with international climate commitments.
Environment North respectfully submits the environmental assessment for the Marathon mine is premature and should be delayed until it can be demonstrated that climate change has been incorporated within the process and at a minimum, all direct emissions have been responsibly measured and offset. Ultimately, the effects of unmitigated local emissions are global and no matter the quantum of harm, all emissions are additive and contributory."
Socio-economic Impact Conclusion:
"Table 4 on the following pages, provides a synopsis of GenPGM’s socio-economic Valuable Environmental Component’s, their approach to impact assessment and Environment North’s recommendations. Environment North provides these comments to aid the Joint Review Panel in its sufficiency analysis of GenPGM’s EIS. The Joint Review Process is well suited to a comprehensive review of Project operations and their potential social and economic impacts because it allows for an early accounting of a project’s impacts on the communities in the vicinity. Its success is dependent upon the methods and practices of the proponent and the degree and nature of public involvement. In this instance, the proponent has taken a truncated approach to the inclusion of community values and perspectives and has relied primarily on secondary data sources as well as past experience with other projects and current knowledge of mitigation strategies to inform their mitigation strategies and significance ratings.
Environment North submits that the environmental assessment of the Marathon mine is premature and should be delayed until it can be demonstrated that the public has been involved in a meaningful manner and their values duly incorporated within the decision making process and reflected in the decisions made. Environment North strongly encourages the Agency to require the proponent to provide more rigour to their impact assessment process. All direct impacts need to identify measures for periodic review and monitoring that are offset by agreement with the stakeholders potentially affected."
Environment North is appreciative of the funding received from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.