| Home | Documents | News | Petition | Comments | Links | Contact Us |
Note: This is an optical scan and may contain formatting errors
|
APPROVAL 2006-051995 Province of Nova Scotia Environment
Act, S.N.S. 1994-95, c.1 Proponent: Pioneer Coal Limited Effective
Date: Expiry Date: Pursuant to Part V of the Environment Act, S.N.S. 1994-95, c.1 as
amended from time to time, approval is granted to the Proponent subject to the
Terms and Conditions attached to and forming part of this Approval, for the
following activity: Construction and operation of a Surface Coal Mine and Reclamation Project,
and associated works, at or near Point Aconi, Cape
Breton County, in the Province of Nova Scotia. Administrator ------------------------------------------------------------ NS
Department of Environment and Labour Environmental
Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule A - Page
1 To Approval 2006-051995 Site Description a) The facility is outlined in yellow as highlighted in: Tab 2 an
addendum to Schedule A - Figure 1-2 titled "Existing
Site Features" and includes stockpile locations as
outlined in: Tab 17 Industrial
Approval Application Supporting Document Figure 11-1 titled "Mining
Sequence" b) Existing site features related to former CBDC's Prince Mine site as noted on: Tab 2 An
addendum to Schedule A - Figure 1-2 titled "Existing
Site Features". __________________________________________________________________ Nova
Scotia Department of Environment and Labour
Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule B - Page 1 to Approval 2006-051995 Definitions a) "Abandonment" means cessation
of mining of coal for a period of twelve (12) months. b) "Act" means the Environment
Act S.N.S. 1994-1995, c.1 and includes all regulations made pursuant to the
Act. c) "Active Area" means the area
required to operate the site and includes the working face and associated
works. d) "Associated works" means any
building, structure, processing facility, pollution abatement system or stockpiles . e} "Disturbed
Area" means any area on a site that has been stripped of vegetation and is
susceptible to erosion f) "Facility" means the Surface
Coal Mine & Reclamation Project and associated works. 9) "Structure" includes but
is not limited to a private home, a cottage, an apartment building, a school, a
church, a commercial building or a treatment facility associated with the
treatment of municipal sewage, industrial or landfill effluent, an industrial building, infrastructure or
construction, a hospital, and a nursing home, etc. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour
Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule C - Page 1 to Approval
2006-051995 Scope of
Approval a) This Approval (the
"Approval") relates to the Proponent and their application to
construct and operate the Facility, situated at or near Point Aconi, Cape Breton Regional Municipality (the
"Site"). b) The Facility shall be constructed and
operated as outlined in the application for industrial approval dated The Site shall
not exceed the area as outlined in the application and supporting documentation
and such other documentation that may be submitted from time to time in
accordance with this approval. d) If the work
authorized by this Approval is not commenced within a year of the effective
date of issuance, this Approval shall automatically be null and void, unless
extended in writing by an Administrator. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule D - Page 1 to
Approval 2006-051995 General Terms
and Conditions a) The Proponent shall construct, operate
and reclaim its Facility in accordance with provisions of the: i) Environment Act S.N.S. 1994-1995, c.1; ii) Regulations
pursuant to the above Act; iii) Any future amendments to the Act and regulations b) No authority is granted by this
Approval to enable the Proponent to construct, operate and reclaim the Facility
on lands which are not in the control or ownership of the Proponent. It is the
responsibility of the Proponent to ensure that such a contravention does not
occur. The Proponent shall provide, to the Department, proof of such control or
ownership upon expiry of any relevant lease or agreement. Failure to retain
said authorization will result in this Approval being null and void. c) If there is a
discrepancy between the reference documents and the terms and conditions of
this Approval, the terms and conditions of this Approval shall apply. The Proponent
shall notify the Department prior to any proposed extensions or modifications
of the Facility, including the active area, process changes or waste disposal
practices which are not granted under this Approval. An Approval will be
required before implementing any change. Extensions or modifications to the
Facility may be subject to the Environmental Assessment Regulations. The Proponent
shall immediately notify the Department of any incidents of non-compliance with
this Approval. The Proponent
shall bear all expenses incurred in carrying out the environmental monitoring
required under the terms and conditions of this Approval. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour
Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule D - Page 2 to Approval
2006-051995 General Terms and Conditions
(continued) 9) Unless specified otherwise in this
Approval, all samples required to be collected by this Approval shall be
collected, preserved and analysed, by qualified
personnel, in accordance with recognized industry standards and procedures. h) All samples required by this Approval
shall be analysed by a laboratory that is: i) Accredited
by the Standards Council of Canada; or Accredited by another agency
recognized by the Nova Scotia Environment and Labour
to be equivalent to the Standards Council of Canada; or iii) Maintaining an acceptable standard in a
proficiency testing program conducted by the Canadian Association for
Environmental Analytical Laboratories for all parameters being reported; or iv) Maintaining an
acceptable standard in a proficiency or performance testing in another program
considered acceptable to the Nova Scotia Environment and Labour
for all parameters being reported i) The Proponent shall ensure that this
Approval, or a copy, is kept on Site at all times and that personnel directly
involved in the Facility operation are made fully aware of the terms and
conditions which pertain to this Approval. The Proponent shall ensure that the
Terms & Conditions of the Environmental Assessment Approval issued __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of
Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring and
Compliance Division Schedule E - Page 1 to Approval 2006-051995 Construction
of Facility The proponent
shall provide proof of surface rights and/or access rights to the Department,
prior to any activity within the prescribed footprint as described in: Tab 2 - Schedule
A - "Site Plan" - Figure 1-2 b) i All erosion and sedimentation controls
shall be in place prior to construction at this Facility as described in the
following: Tab 16 - "Surface
Coal Mine and Reclamation Project - Prince Mine Point Aconi,
Nova Scotia Volume 1" - section 3.2.1 and 3.2.2 Tab 17 - "Industrial Approval Application
Supporting Document" - Appendix B - Environmental Protection Plan -
sections 2.2, 3.2, 4.3 The Nova Scotia Environment and Labour
"Erosion and Sedimentation Control Handbook For
Construction Sites" shall serve as the reference document for all erosion
control measures. All erosion and sedimentation controls shall be maintained and
remain in place until the disturbed areas are stabilized. The proponent shall ensure all site water, surface drainage
and excavation pumping is managed as described in: Tab 17- "Industrial
Approval Application Supporting Document" - section 4 - figure 4-1. e) The proponent
shall monitor the rise of the water levels in the underground mine workings and
provide a copy of the monitoring results to the Department on an annual basis
from the effective date of the Approval. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of
Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring and
Compliance Division Schedule E - Page 2 to
Approval 2006-051995 Construction of Facilities -continued f) When the water level in the mine workings
reach an elevation of 300 feet below sea level, the proponent shall notify NSEL
in writing and submit a contingency plan for acceptance by NSEL. The
contingency plan shall be submitted within 90 days of written notice to the
Department. The contingency plan shall describe operational procedures for the
control and treatment of site and mine water and such other items as required
by the Department. Coal
extraction activities shall not commence until the baseline data for surface
water, groundwater, blasting and wetlands have been submitted, in writing, to
the Department and deemed to be satisfactory to the Department. h) The proponent shall provide reports on
the status and or results of the programs as offered in (b) and (c) of this
Schedule at a frequency to be established by the Department once the
operational phase commences. i) Appropriate
signage including the hours of operation, emergency telephone numbers and
contacts shall be posted and maintained at the entrance to the Facility. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia
Department of Environment and Labour Environmental
Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule
F - Page 1 to Approval 2006-051995 Particulate Emissions (Dust) a) Particulate
emissions shall not exceed the limits set out in the Air Quality Regulations
made under Section 112 of the Environment Act S.N.S. 1994-95, c.1., O.I.C.
95-294 (April 11, 1995), N.S. Reg.55/95. b) The
generation of fugitive dust from the site shall be suppressed by the
application of water sprays, or the application of other suitable dust
suppressants approved by the Department. c) Site access
road(s) shall be maintained to minimize dust generation. The use of used oil is
not permitted. d) Monitoring
of particulate emissions shall be conducted as described in: Tab 16 - "Surface
Coal Mine and Reclamation Project - Prince Mine Site Point Aconi,
Nova Scotia VQlume 1 ", section 6.4.2.1 Tab 17 - "Industrial
Approval Application Supporting Document" Appendix B - sections 2.4, 3.1
and 3.2 and Figure 3-1 e) The
proponent shall provide an annual report to the Department from the effective date
of the Approval and make available the sampling results to the Department upon
request. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule G - Page 1 to Approval
2006-051995 Sound Levels a) Sound levels
measured at the Site property boundaries shall not exceed the following
equivalent sound levels (Leq): Leq 65 dBA 0700-1900 hours (Days) 60 dBA
1900-2300 hours (Evenings) 55 dBA 2300-0700 hours
(Nights) b) Monitoring of
sound levels shall be conducted as described in: Tab 16 - "Surface
Coal Mine and Reclamation Project - Prince Mine Site Point Aconi,
Nova Scotia Volume 1, Section 4.2 and Section 6.3.2.2; Tab 17 - "Industrial
Approval Application Supporting Document" - section 8 and Appendix B -
Environmental Protection Plan - section 2.5, 3.1 and Figure 3 -1. c) The
proponent shall provide an annual report to the Department from the effective date
of the Approval and make available the sampling results to the Department upon
request. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia
Department of Environment and Labour Environmental
Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule H - Page 1 to Approval 2006-051995 Blasting a) The Proponent
shall have a technical blast design prepared by a qualified person. b) The proponent shall have the blast
design for each blast event reviewed by an independent third party. The results
of the independent third party review shall be provided to the Department prior
to proceeding with each blast event. c) The
Proponent shall conduct a pre-blast survey in accordance with the
"Pre-Blast Survey form" attached as an addendum to this Schedule H
and this survey shall be completed prior to any blasting on the site. The
proponent shall make the information available to the NSEL upon request. d) The Proponent shall call the nearest
weather office to assess the climatic conditions prior to conducting any
blasting. No blasting will be permitted if a thermal inversion is anticipated
by Environment Canada at the time of the proposed blast. e) No blasting shall occur on a Sunday or
on a statutory holiday prescribed by the Province, or on any day between 1800
and 0800 hours without prior written approval of the Department. f) The Proponent shall submit to the
Department a procedure to ensure all residents within the pre-blast survey area
are notified prior to each blast. g) The Proponent shall ensure that all
blasts are monitored for air concussion and ground-vibration to ensure that the
following limits are not exceeded: Air Concussion 128 dBA Ground Vibration 12.5 mm/s
(0.5 in./sec.) Peak Particle Velocity h) The proponent shall monitor all blasts
for the parameters in (g) at the closest residential structure to the blast
site. A summary of
results of monitoring shall be provided to the Department within 24 hours
following each blast event. , __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule I - Page 1 to Approval 2006-051995 Groundwater a) The proponent shall follow the
groundwater monitoring program in accordance with the attached addendum to this
Schedule I - titled "Groundwater". b) The proponent shall ensure all work
completed regarding the domestic well survey conforms to the Domestic Well
Survey Plan and form attached as an addendum to this Schedule ( - titled "Domestic Well Water Survey Form" c) The
proponent shall handle complaints as described in the attached addendum to this
Schedule I - titled "Pioneer Coal Water Supply Policy". d) The
proponent shall record all complaints received and document the response to
each complaint. These records shall be provided to the Department in summary
form on a quarterly basis from the effective date of the Approval. In addition,
the proponent shall provide a copy of any requested record(s) upon request by
an inspector of the Department. e) The
proponent shall provide an annual report to the Department from the effective
date of the Approval on the groundwater monitoring program for the site and
domestic wells. The report shall include an interpretation of the results as prepared
by Professional Engineer or Professional Geo-scientist. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department
of Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring
and Compliance Division Schedule J - Page 1 to Approval
2006-051995 Transportation
of Coal a) The proponent shall adhere to the
information described in: Tab 16 - "Surface
Coal mine and Reclamation Project - Prince Mine Site - Point Aconi, Nova Scotia Volume 1" - section 3.3.5 and section
6.5.4.6 Tab 17 - "Industrial
Approval Application Supporting Document" - section
10, and figure 10-1 b) The proponent shall ensure all trucks
transporting coal are fitted with tarpaulins for mitigating release of fugitive
coal fines from the trucks. c) The transportation of coal from the
site shall be limited to the time between 0700 hours and 1800 hours, Monday to
Saturday unless prior written approval is first obtained by the proponent from
the Department. d) All trucks
shall be clean and free of loose coal fines or debris prior to leaving the
site. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department
of Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring
and Compliance Division Schedule K - Page 1 to Approval
2006-051995 Wetlands a) The proponent shall abide by the
information described in: Tab 17 - "Industrial Approval Application
Supporting Documentation" - Section 6 and figure 6-1 The proponent shall ensure no alteration to the wetlands shall
take place until all requirements by NSDNR, Wildlife Division and this
Department have been satisfied. The proponent shall
not commence work on any wetland until written confirmation is received by the
proponent from the Department. The proponent
shall provide a bond in the value of the wetland restoration work to the
Department. The wetland restoration shall be completed as identified in the
wetland compensation plan and to the requirements of-NSDNR and the
Department. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule L - Page 1 to
Approval 2006-051995 Rehabilitation a) The proponent shall post a security in
a form acceptable to Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and in the
amount as required by NSDNR . b) The proponent shall ensure that the
Department's "Guide to Surface
Coal Mine Reclamation Plans" and as amended from time to time is
adhered to as part of the site reclamation activities. The Proponent shall ensure the
progressive rehabilitation plan as described in Tab 16 - Surface Coal Mine and Reclamation Project- Prince Mine Site
Point Aconi, Nova Scotia Volume 1 - section 7.3 and
section 7.3.2 Tab 17 - Industrial Approval Application
Supporting Document -section 11.3, 12.0 and 12.1; and Figures 11 -1, and 12-1. The
rehabilitation plan shall be revised and updated every third year from the
effective date of the approval and submitted to the Department for review and
approval by the Department, d) The
Department reserves the right to impose additional bonding requirements as may
be required by the Department. e) Upon cessation of coal extraction
operations, the proponent shall apply for an approval to commence final
reclamation of the site. The Proponent shall deal with the
reinstatement of Mill Pond Road in consultation with the Department of Transportation and Public Works as
part of the final reclamation of the site. 9) Infrastructure
that existed as part of the Cape Breton Development Corporation's (CBDC)
operations shall be removed and the area reclaimed as part of the planned
reclamation activities for the site associated with this approval. __________________________________________________________________ Nova
Scotia Department of Environment and Labour Environmental
Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule M - Page 1 to Approval 2006-051995 Site Specific Conditions a) , The boundaries
of the Site shall be cut out and kept clear of new growth and the corner
boundaries shall be clearly marked with permanent markers no less than four
feet high prior to commencement of operations. b) The proponent
shall ensure the contaminated soil management plan is strictly adhered to as
described in : Tab 17 - "Industrial Approval Application
Supporting Document" - Appendix B - "Environmental
Protection Plan" - section 4.5. and in
Appendix B of Appendix B titled - Spill Contingency Plan c) The proponent
shall provide an annual report from the effective date of the Approval to the
Department describing the status of the activity which has occurred as result
of the contaminated soil management plan. d) The stockpiles shall contain any
available topsoil from the site, common material, and rock. Stockpile #2 shall
contain materials excavated from the adjacent wetland. Stockpile #2 materials
shall be kept separate within the stockpile to allow for proper reinstatement
of materials. e) Pioneer
Coal shall provide a survey plan to the Department that clearly identifies
items identified in: Tab 14 Schedule M - Site Specific
Conditions - item (a) and in addition includes stockpile areas, mining areas,
and existing CBDC infrastructure on site. The survey plan
as noted in (e) shall be submitted to the Department 90 calendar days from the
effective date of the Approval. Expiry Date This Approval shall be valid for a period of seven years from
the date of issuance. __________________________________________________________________ Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour
Environmental Monitoring and Compliance Division Schedule N - Page 1 to Approval 2006-051995 Record
|
| Home | Documents | News | Petition | Comments | Links | Contact Us |