Participant Funding Program - Regular Funding Envelope
Funding Review Committee's Report - Addendum

Allocation of Federal Funds For the Environmental Assessment of the Ajax Copper/Gold Mine Project

The Participant Funding Program (PFP) is established pursuant to 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 Funding Review Committee (FRC) independent of the environmental assessment (EA) was established for the Ajax Cooper/Gold Mine Project (the Project). The EA of the Project is being conducted by means of a comprehensive study (CS). The FRC's purpose was to assess funding applications received under the PFP – Regular Funding Envelope (RFE) for the proposed project, and to provide recommendations to the President of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (the Agency) on whether funding should be provided, and if so, in what amount.

Under the RFE for this project, a total of $50,000 was made available to support public participation in the EA, including:

• review and comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Guidelines;
• review and comment on the EIS submitted by KGHM Ajax Mining Inc. (the proponent); and
• review and comment on the Comprehensive Study Report (CSR).

The deadline to submit an application was July 16, 2011. Three applications were received by the PFP requesting a total of $73,363. On July 20, 2011, the FRC met to review the applications and recommended allocating a total of $38,075 to the three applicants. Taking into consideration the funding allocation recommendations from the FRC, the President of the Agency made the final decision to allocate $32,225 to the three applicants.

One additional application, from the Sierra Club BC, was received also by the Agency on July 16, 2011; however, due to a misdirection of the application, it was not received by the PFP nor reviewed by the FRC on July 20, 2011. Therefore, on November 16, 2011, the FRC was reconvened. The Sierra Club BC requested a total of $18,315. The FRC members were: Mr. Paul Scott retired Regional Director of the Agency's Pacific and Yukon office, acting as Committee Chairperson; Mr. Ray Crook, Environmental Assessment Consultant; and Mr. Patrick Duffy, Environmental Assessment Consultant.

Background

The proponent is proposing to develop the Project, a copper-gold mine located approximately 10 kilometres southwest of Kamloops, BC. The Project has a projected mine life of 23 years with an ore production capacity of up to 60,000 tonnes per day.

The Agency accepted the Project description for the proposed project on March 15, 2011. In consultation with interested federal authorities, the Agency has determined that the Project would be subject to a federal EA pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The federal EA of the Project is subject to a CS as per Part V, section 16 (a) of the Comprehensive Study List Regulations, which stipulates that a CS level of EA is required for:

• the proposed construction, decommissioning or abandonment of a metal mine, other than a gold mine, with an ore production capacity of 3,000 tonnes per day or more.

The trigger for the proposed project is an authorization required for the Project under s.35(2) of the Fisheries Act. Therefore, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will participate as a responsible authority. Additionally, Transport Canada, Environment Canada and Health Canada may participate as federal authorities in the CS.

A public comment period on a background document describing the proposed project and the CS process was completed on July 11, 2011. An opportunity to participate in the conduct of the CS will be afforded to the public during the review of the proponent's draft EIS Guidelines/provincial Application Information Requirements and the proponent's EIS/Application. A public comment period will be held on the CSR prepared by the Agency and submitted to the Minister of the Environment.

The Project has also been identified as a major resource project by the Major Projects Management Office. The proposed project is also subject to a provincial EA pursuant to the BC Environmental Assessment Act. The federal and provincial EAs will be coordinated and conducted in a cooperative manner.

Eligibility

Under the PFP - RFE, funding may be provided to applicants to support their input to an EA. These activities must be linked to the EA of a proposed project through a CS, mediation or review panel.

Eligible recipients must be able to demonstrate that they meet at least one of the following eligibility criteria:

• have a direct, local interest in the proposed project, such as historical or cultural ties to the area likely to be affected by the proposed project;
• have community knowledge or Aboriginal traditional knowledge relevant to the EA; and/or,
• have expert information relevant to the anticipated environmental effects of the proposed project.

The applicant was deemed to have met the eligibility criteria.

Under the PFP - RFE, applicants can request funding for costs related to:

• professional fees;
• staff salaries and benefits;
• local collection and/or distribution of information;
• travel expenses;
• rental of office space and meeting rooms;
• office supplies and telephone charges;
• administrative and reporting costs;
• other expenses related to local collection and/or distribution of information;
• legal fees;
• purchase of relevant information material, with supporting information;
• general media advertising and/or promotion; and
• other detailed expenses, with supporting information.

Rationale for Allocation

In reviewing the application received and in reaching its conclusions and recommendations, the FRC took into consideration a number of factors including the following:

• the ability of the applicant to demonstrate that they have met one or more of the eligibility criteria listed above;
• the quality, clarity and content of the application and the applicant's proposed EA participation work plan;
• the eligible activities under the PFP - RFE for the Project, which include reviewing and commenting on the draft EIS guidelines; reviewing and commenting on the EIS and reviewing and commenting on the CSR; and
• the amount of funds available under the RFE for this project

Recommandation

The FRC recommends allocating $15,915 of the available PFP - RFE funding to support the Sierra Club BC.

The FRC further recommends that a condition of any funding allocation be that the applicant provides input to the EA through comments on the following: the draft EIS Guidelines; the EIS; and the CSR.

The Participant Funding Review Commitee
For the Ajax Copper / Gold Mine Project

Regular Funding Envelope

______________________________________________________________________
Paul Scott, Committee Chairperson, Retired Regional Director of the Agency's Pacific and Yukon Office

______________________________________________________________________
Ray Crook, Environmental Assessment Consultant

______________________________________________________________________
Patrick Duffy, Environmental Assessment Consultant

Recommended Participant Funding Allocations – Updated
Ajax Copper / Gold Mine Project

Regular Funding Envelope

Applicant	Amount Requested	FRC Recommended Allocations	Agency Recommended Allocations
Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia on behalf of the Kamloops Naturalist Club and the Kamloops District Fish and Game Association	$33,500	$18,700	$18,700
Sharon Antoniak on behalf of the Kamloops Area Preservation Association	$31,438	$11,950	$11,950
Susan McGillivray	$8,425	$7,425	$1,575
Sierra Club BC	$18,315	$15,915	$15,915
TOTAL	$91,678	$53,990	$48,140