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Comments on the draft EIS guidelines submitted to the Panel Review Return to the Submission List | HOME PAGE Attn.Steve Chapman Dear Distinguished Panel; My wife and I recently purchased a home in Tiverton. I am a newly retired public high school principal. My wife is a retired special education teacher. We have been coming to the Freeport/Tiverton area for many years and have always been touched by the beauty of the land, the Bay and the people. We are delighted and priviledged to have property in one of the most lovely and unique areas of the world. We are deeply concerned with the impact the proposed 120 hectare basalt mine will have on the environment and the quality of life for all living on the Neck and the Islands. The cost of an operation of this magnitude appears to me to be incalculable, for it will truly impact the natural beauty and diversity of the area. If completed, this project will forever alter the quality of life and livelihood of its occupants and visitors. I have read a description of the quarry project. This is a behemoth. Forty thousand tonnes to be loaded on ships per week. A huge marine terminal, complete with berthing dolphins, mooring buoys and an infrastructure to support the entire operation. Quite a sight to behold! Then there is drilling, blasting, pumping, loading, crushing, washing, screening and............spilling. All of this is known. What about the unknown? What are the health concerns? (Noise, ground water and air pollution?) How about the expected loss of aquatic habitat that supports the fishing, lobstering and tourist industries? Then there are the whales, including Right Whales, one of the most unique and endangered species in the world? What about the threat of the loss of an entire food chain? How can those costs be calculated or quantified? How foolproof will the guarantees and assurances of Bilcon be? How do they view environmental stewardship, if at all? Suppose their EIS assertions are wrong. How can any corporation mitigate major environmental pitfalls when no one knows fully what they are? Then there is Bilcon itself, a New Jersey corporation located far away from their would-be operations in Nova Scotia. I am not at all secure in the belief that their principals have the environment of Nova Scotia or the quality of life of its people on the top of their list. They are poised to reap huge profits to be enjoyed far removed and away from the Bay of Fundy. What assurances are there that Bilcon will meet all EIS commitments 20 or 30 or 50 years down the line? Who knows that they will even exist in the not too distant future? If they reorganize under some other entity will they still be responsible for the cleanup? Furthermore, suppose the quarry begins operations and problems develop. How can they be shut down, even slowed down, once they have been permitted to begin? Then if the operation is "successful", what will stop Bilcon from making it even bigger? What happens if all this turns out to be a big mistake? It will be too late to say no then, once the damage is done. We and our children and grandchildren will just have to live with it. I am fully aware that there is a case to be made that Bilcon will create jobs. It will, but how many will be filled by local people and what kinds of jobs will they be? Will local people get the better paying jobs or will that employment be allocatted to outsiders who have more technical knowledge and expertise? Will these local jobs be permanent or will they be there only during certain operational phases? If fishermen become Bilcon employees will there be fishing jobs left for them when they become unemployed? Conversely, how many jobs will be lost? Fishing jobs, lobstering, whale watching and tourism, just to name a few, are certainly and undeniably at risk. Who then really stands to benefit from all of this? I hardly think that it is the local population! Surely there are many issues that Bilcon is required to address in their EIS assessment. I am afraid, however, that this is like the proverbial fox watching the chickens. Can Bilcon be trusted? Pat and I purchased our home in Tiverton because of the uniqueness and the stunning beauty of the area. We were hooked the first time we came to the Islands. If we had known that a quarry of the magnitude of the Bilcon operation so close to our home and community was going to be constructed we would certainly have thought twice about buying. No doubt tourists will be likewise affected once this monster gets approved. There is so much at stake here! The cost is simply too high and the risks too great to jeopardize the future of all who benefit from Nova Scotia's precious and truly unique natural resources. I respectfully urge you to deny Bilcon their quarry. Very truly yours, Robert Keagle |