Panel Report

In August, 1991, the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan appointed a joint federal-provincial environmental assessment panel to review several proposed uranium mining developments in northern Saskatchewan. Part of the mandate given to the joint panel at that time was a requirement to review the cumulative impacts of existing operations and proposed developments. This report is submitted in response to that requirement. The primary conclusions, summarized in Chapter 7, are based on our accumulated knowledge of the entire industry, as differentiated from the individual projects that have been dealt with in separate reports.

Because it is the people living in northern Saskatchewan who will experience the greatest impacts of these projects, we have paid particular attention to their concerns. After listening carefully, reading widely, and debating at length, we have concluded that the best course is to recommend that the mines be allowed to proceed under conditions that would limit environmental damage and enhance northern benefits. In other reports, we have tried to achieve this objective by making project-specific recommendations; in this report, we wish to comment on several general issues that would have an impact on the potential benefits from these projects.

1. Education is a key component. Without a continuation of initiatives such as the Multi-Party Training Plan, northerners will not be able to share in the opportunities offered by the uranium mining industry.
2. Employment and business opportunities must be made available to northerners. This is most effectively accomplished by including appropriate objectives in the Human Resources Agreements that are attached to the surface leases for the mines.
3. Protection of northern communities and the people in them is as important as protection of the biota. Qualified professionals should be engaged to monitor and study the impacts of uranium mining on the quality of life in northern communities. Any detrimental impacts should be mitigated.
4. Scientific research can suggest approaches that will improve the profitability of the industry, while at the same time providing greater environmental protection. Governments, in cooperation with the industry, should promote such research at the Saskatchewan Research Council and the universities.
5. Centralized milling of the ore from several mines at one location will cause less environmental damage, in total, than milling at a series of sites near the mines. Collective milling of several ores should, therefore, be encouraged.
6. In-pit tailings disposal facilities provide better environmental protection than do aboveground facilities. We recommend, therefore, that in the future all tailings should be placed in mined-out pits.
7. All mine rock wastes that have the potential to be acid-generating should be protected from oxygen exposure. This can be achieved by using them for fill when underground mines are decommissioned or by placement in mined-out pits. Underwater disposal in existing lakes should be an option that is considered only if no suitable mined-out pits are available.
8. Perpetual monitoring of decommissioned tailings management facilities and potential acid-generating waste rock depositories will be necessary. A self-sustaining fund should be designated for the cost of monitoring and any mitigation required.
9. Cumulative effects monitoring is necessary on a regional scale to assess the potential spread of contaminants from these mines. It is important that adequate funding continues to be provided to the Cumulative Effects Monitoring Working Group (CEMWG).
10. The Environmental Quality Committees provide northerners with vehicles through which they can participate in the development of this industry. Providing northern people with a better understanding of this industry and empowering them to participate in its future developments is the best way to protect the northern environment. Governments and the industry should continue to support the EQCs.
11. The Province should complete a comprehensive study of the cumulative demands that will be placed on northern roads in the future and prepare, in cooperation with the users, to maintain them at acceptable standards.
12. Mine workers, particularly those in underground developments, depend on mine regulators to ensure safe workplaces. It is, therefore, essential that legislation and regulations provide adequate protection for both contract and non-contract workers; that mine sites be inspected frequently; and that due care be exercised to ensure that safe work practices are being followed.