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> This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --Boundary_(ID_7NhemEZ5PoHBNbh6TL0DyQ) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Hear, hear! Three cheers for that wonderful panel of three people (Bob Fournier, Gunter Muecke, and Jill Grant, who gave up a LOT of their time for about two to three years, and were extremely diligent in their questioning and analysis at the few days of hearings that I attended back in June in Digby. Beyond Richard's report below, the radio news and Maritime Noon reported that the seven recommendations that came down from the panel left NO GRAYS, just blacks and whites, regarding this proposal that offers very few to no real benefits versus lots and lots of risks and uncertainties. The panel recommends that proposed quarries less than four hectares in size not be exempt from environmental reviews (this has been a ministerial discretion for N.S. in the past), and that the moratorium on quarrying proposals along Nova Scotia's North Mountain should be in place until there is a provincial policy for coastal development, which even Environment Minister Mark Parent has recently been heard to say in public is something urgently needed for Nova Scotia. Now it's all political, in the hands of Mark Parent and Cabinet of the N.S. Government, and John Baird and the Government of Canada -- it's still time for lobbying like h......... Here are the seven recommendations from the panel: ********************************** 1. The Panel recommends that the Minister of Environment and Labour (Nova Scotia) reject the proposal made by Bilcon of Nova Scotia to create the Whites Point Quarry and Marine Terminal and recommends to the Government of Canada that the Project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects that, in the opinion of the Panel, cannot be justified in the circumstances. 2. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia develop and implement a comprehensive coastal zone management policy or plan for the Province. 3. Because of the special issues associated with coastal quarries, the Panel recommends a moratorium on new approvals for development along the North Mountain until the Province of Nova Scotia has thoroughly reviewed this type of initiative within the context of a comprehensive provincial coastal zone management policy and established appropriate guidelines to facilitate decision-making. 4. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia develop and implement more effective mechanisms than those currently in place for consultation with local governments, communities and proponents in considering applications for quarry developments. 5. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia modify its regulations to require an environmental assessment of quarry projects of any size. 6. The Panel recommends that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency develop a guidance document on the application of adaptive management in environmental assessments and in environmental management following approvals. 7. The Panel recommends that Transport Canada revise its ballast water regulations to ensure that ships transporting goods from waters with known risks take appropriate measures to significantly reduce the risk of transmission of unwanted species. *************************** Cheers (really!) from Jim in Wolfville ---------- From: Richard Stern <sternrichard@gmail.com> Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:45:49 -0300 To: NatureNS <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>, jan hermiston <janmh19@yahoo.ca> Subject: [NatureNS] Quarry decision Hi, Victory for the Stop the Quarry campaign! The joint environmental committee has recommended that the quarry on Digby Neck should not go ahead, and there should be a moratorium on further quarrying on the North Mountain. Let's hope that the Fed. and Provincial governments listen to them. Richard -- ################# Richard Stern, 317 Middle Dyke Rd. Port Williams, NS, Canada B0P 1T0 rbstern@ns.sympatico.ca rbstern@xcountry.tv sternrichard@gmail.com ################### --Boundary_(ID_7NhemEZ5PoHBNbh6TL0DyQ) Content-type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Three cheers for Digby Neck Quarry/Terminal decisions by the panel</= TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> Hear, hear! Three cheers for that wonderful panel of three people (Bo= b Fournier, Gunter Muecke, and Jill Grant, who gave up a LOT of their = time for about two to three years, and were extremely diligent in their ques= tioning and analysis at the few days of hearings that I attended back in Jun= e in Digby. Beyond Richard's report below, the radio news and Maritime= Noon reported that the seven recommendations that came down from the panel = left NO GRAYS, just blacks and whites, regarding this proposal that offers v= ery few to no real benefits versus lots and lots of risks and uncertainties.= The panel recommends that proposed quarries less than four hectares i= n size not be exempt from environmental reviews (this has been a ministerial= discretion for N.S. in the past), and that the moratorium on quarrying prop= osals along Nova Scotia's North Mountain should be in place until there is a= provincial policy for coastal development, which even Environment Minister = Mark Parent has recently been heard to say in public is something urgently n= eeded for Nova Scotia.<BR> <BR> Now it's all political, in the hands of Mark Parent and Cabinet of the N.S.= Government, and John Baird and the Government of Canada -- it's still time = for lobbying like h......... <BR> <BR> Here are the seven recommendations from the panel:<BR> <BR> <FONT SIZE=3D"4"><TT>**********************************<BR> 1. The Panel recommends that the Minister of Environment and Labour (Nova <= BR> Scotia) reject the proposal made by Bilcon of Nova Scotia to create the <BR= > Whites Point Quarry and Marine Terminal and recommends to the Government of= <BR> Canada that the Project is likely to cause significant adverse environmenta= l <BR> effects that, in the opinion of the Panel, cannot be justified in the <BR> circumstances.<BR> <BR> 2. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia develop and <BR> implement a comprehensive coastal zone management policy or plan for the <B= R> Province.<BR> <BR> 3. Because of the special issues associated with coastal quarries, the Pane= l <BR> recommends a moratorium on new approvals for development along the North <B= R> Mountain until the Province of Nova Scotia has thoroughly reviewed this typ= e <BR> of initiative within the context of a comprehensive provincial coastal zone= management policy and established appropriate guidelines to facilitate deci= sion-making.<BR> <BR> 4. The Panel recommends that the Province of Nova Scotia de