Participant Funding Program Review Committee's Report
Allocation of Funds for Participation in the Comprehensive Study of the Proposed Mining and Milling of the Midwest Project

The Participant Funding Program (PFP) is designed to promote public participation in the evaluation and review process of projects which are subject to an environmental assessment (EA). The PFP was set up pursuant to the legislative provision contained in 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 Participant Funding Review Committee (FRC) has been established for the mining and milling of the Midwest Project (the project) and has examined two funding applications received under the PFP requesting a total of $40,000.

The FRC members were:
Mr. Don Hovdebo, Mr. Larry Lechner and Mr. Dan McNaughton (Chairperson), Director of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency's (the Agency) Prairie Region.

This report explains the administration of the program and provides the applicant, as well as the public, with the rationale behind the FRC's recommended allocation of federal funds, and the subsequent decision of the Agency based on the FRC's recommendations.

BACKGROUND

The project involves the development and mining of the Midwest uranium deposit located near the eastern margin of the Athabasca Basin in northern Saskatchewan; about 15 km west of the JEB mill, at the McClean Lake Operation. AREVA Resources Canada Inc. (formerly COGEMA Resources Inc.) has proposed to extend the mining and milling activities at the McClean Lake Operation to accommodate the Midwest Project. The EA of the project includes consideration of the following components: development and mining operations of the Midwest ore deposit as an open pit mine; development, maintenance and operation of a dedicated haul road linking the Midwest ore deposit with the existing McClean Lake Operation; and increasing the production capacity and operations of the JEB mill to accommodate the planned rate for milling the Midwest ore.

On February 19, 2007 a notice of commencement of an EA was issued for the Midwest Project. Pursuant to section 5 of the Act, an EA is required for this project because the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission may issue a permit or license under subsection 24(2) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act; Fisheries and Oceans Canada may issue an authorization, permit or license under subsection 35(2) of the Fisheries Act; Natural Resources Canada may issue a permit or license under paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Explosives Act and Transport Canada may issue an approval under paragraph 5(1)(a) of the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

On March 29, 2007, the Agency announced the availability of $20,000 to help individuals and organizations take part in the EA of the proposed project. The closing date for the public to submit an application for funding was April 27, 2007.

ELIGIBILITY

Individuals, Aboriginal organizations and incorporated, not-for-profit organizations were eligible for participant funding under the program if they could demonstrate they had met at least one of the following criteria:

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

Parties that were for-profit; had a direct commercial interest in the project; and/or represented another level of government, were ineligible for participant funding.

The two Applicants were found by the FRC to be eligible for funding.

RATIONALE FOR ALLOCATION

The FRC decided that each applicant could potentially contribute new and/or applicable information to the EA review process. Although there were some concerns regarding the lack of detail provided by the applicants in their applications, the FRC is reasonably confident that each applicant has the capacity to carry out the proposed activities. Due to the limited amount of funds, the FRC recommends that only priority activities be funded, and that all activities undertaken by the applicant be directly related to the issues identified in the Project Specific Guidelines/ Comprehensive Study Scoping Document and any document(s) prepared by the proponent in response to those guidelines. Examples of priority activities include professional evaluation of the environmental assessment reports, information collection from community members, preparation of submissions to the EA process and presentations at public consultation meetings.

RECOMMENDATION

The FRC recommends the allocation of funds totalling $20,000, in accordance with the chart below, to the two applicants in order to participate in the EA of the proposed mining and milling of the Midwest Project.

DECISION

The Agency has accepted the FRC's recommendation.

GENERAL COMMENTS

The FRC made its recommendations based upon the information provided in the applications.

To share your comments or to obtain any additional information, please contact:

Suzanne Osborne
Acting Manager, Participant Funding Program
Canadian Environment Assessment Agency
Place Bell Canada
160 Elgin Street, 22^nd Floor
Ottawa ON K1A 0H3
Telephone: (613) 957-0254

Dated: May 4, 2007

Funding Review Committee
Mining and Milling of the Midwest Project

____________________________________
Mr. Don Hovdebo

____________________________________
Mr. Larry Lechner

____________________________________
Mr. Dan McNaughton (Chair)
Director
Prairie Region
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

RECOMMENDED PARTICIPANT FUNDING ALLOCATIONS
MINING AND MILLING OF THE MIDWEST PROJECT

Applicant	Total amount approved
Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation	$11,000
Inter-Church Uranium Committee Educational Co-operation (ICUCEC)	$ 9,000
TOTAL	$20,000