From:		Wilson,Anne [Yel]
Sent:		13/06/2007 12:57:49 PM
To:		Alistair MacDonald
CC:		Jasper,Jesse [Yel]; Robertson,Myra [Yel]; Fox,Dave [Yel]; Romanko,Wade [Yel]; Tilden,David [Yel]; GRAHAM_VEALE@gov.nt.ca; Groskopf,Glenn [Reg]; Ogilvie,Carey [Yel]; Stone,Ivy [Yel]; Bickerton,Greg [Burlington]; Kellerhals,Markus [Edm]; Erika Nyyssonen
BCC:		
Subject:	Tamerlane Technical Meetings

Hi Alistair, 

EC would like to propose the the following topics for the technical meeting: 

1.  Groundwater: 
Past experience with the substantical groundwater pumping required by Pine Point Mine indicates that this may be the critical aspect of the project (at least in terms of levels of confidence by area residents and project reviewers), and it would be very useful for this topic to be covered in some detail in the technical meeting.

•	how will formation of a complete impermeable barrier to groundwater flow surrounding the orebody from surface to depth be confirmed, prior to dewatering the zone within the freezewall curtain?
•	what happens if/when the freezewall curtain suffers a breakdown with respect to groundwater movement?
•	is something equivalent to piping possible in the ground through the freezewall perimeter (i.e. recent flooding of uranium mine in Saskatchewan.  Presumably low permeability figures for area bedrock argue against this, but fracturing has been acknowledged as a significant factor in current permeability figures.

Please note that EC is not able at this time to offer specific groundwater expertise, as we do not have the internal capacity.

2.  Air Quality 
An air quality assessment for this project has not been completed. The Proponent uses the Snap Lake air assessment as a surrogate to demonstrate that there will be no air issues for Pine Point project; however, this is not appropriate.

Questions include: 

•	Use of the maximum acceptable rather than maximum desirable for NO2 Annual 
•	They need to do an independent emissions inventory based on the equipment and processes they have on site then they need to do dispersion modelling of those sources 
•	There was no discussion of any mitigation measures, even at the extremely basic level of venting the mine exhaust at height, let alone cyclones or the like to capture process or mine dust. 
•	No discussion of what monitoring would be appropriate. Since this is the precursor to an operating mine there would be justification for air quality monitoring.

EC will be able to provide expertise on air quality, although attendance at technical meetings will be dependent on dates.

3.  Waste Disposal 
EC would like to discuss effluent disposal into the infiltration basin, and would like details on estimated volumes and quality, as well as contingency plans for treatment (which are limited in DAR Section 7.2.3 to use of lime as an example).

4.  Closure Planning and Post-closure monitoring 
What criteria will be used to determine when closure objectives have been satisfied?  How will the groundwater in the area of the pit behave after freezing is stopped, and will there be concerns with such things as surface subsidence, mobilization of blasting residues in the groundwater, or upwelling through the lower permeability portion which has been mined out?

5.  SARA species 
EC is the competent minister for all species listed as described under the Species at Risk Act, but our focus is on Whooping Cranes, and we will work with the GNWT on the caribou and bison concerns.  With respect to Whooping Cranes, we are not fully satisfied with the evaluation presented in the DAR in Section 7.6.6, specifically with respect to other means of impact and potential mitigation. 

If concerns with other SARA species are not raised by the GNWT, we would be happy to discuss the Whooping Crane issues in separate meetings with the proponent and report back to the MVEIRB for the public record.

Thanks for the opportunity to provide input on the technical meeting agenda.  We would appreciate hearing the dates as soon as possible, and would like to advise that staff availability in summer is extremely limited.  It would be helpful if there were options for dates chosen, we note that the last two weeks in August would give the best availability.

Anne Wilson 
Water Pollution Specialist 
Environmental Protection Branch 
Yellowknife, NT 
Ph. 867-669-4735 
Fax 867-873-8185