A controversial proposal to dig a gravel pit near Chapman Creek will be the subject of a public information meeting at the Seaside Centre in Sechelt Dec. 2.
AJB Investments Ltd. wants to mine a 15-hectare site southeast of the creek, just upstream from the Sunshine Coast Regional District's water intake. AJB bought that lot, together with more than 800 other hectares of private forest land on the Sunshine Coast, from Canadian Forest Products early in 2004. The Sunshine Coast Regional District and several citizens' groups are strongly opposed to the mine because of concerns about damage to the domestic water supply, as well as other concerns such as how the gravel will be transported.
The Provincial Ministry of Energy and Mines has not decided whether to grant AJB Investments a mining permit. The Dec. 2 meeting is part of the mining ministry's process for evaluating AJB's application.
Dan Bouman of the Sunshine Coast Conservation Association said the opponents of the gravel pit plan to make their objections known at the meeting.
"We believe strongly in public process. It's an opportunity for us to show up and state our concerns to AJB," said Bouman. "I look forward to a well-attended meeting."
Earlier this year, AJB refused to hold a public meeting because of concerns that the crowd would be unruly.
"They felt the public was ill mannered," said Bouman. "I think they're going to find out that the Sunshine Coast public is capable of being very civil, but to the point. I don't think they'll hear what they would like to hear, but they'll hear it politely."
The SCRD's efforts to stop logging and mining got a setback from the provincial government last week.
The SCRD had been trying to negotiate a deal where AJB would receive land elsewhere in return for giving up logging in the Chapman Creek watershed. However, after months of discussions, the B.C. government has formally refused to provide Crown land for such a land swap. In a letter to SCRD chair Ed Steeves Nov. 3, George Abbott, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management, rejected that proposal. He also rejected another SCRD proposal that would have compensated AJB by allowing it to export logs without first offering them for sale domestically, thus getting a better price.
"Protected areas in the Sunshine Coast were identified through the 1996 Lower Mainland Protected Areas Strategy, and the Chapman Creek headwaters were protected as part of the Tetrahedron Protected Area," wrote Abbott. "The province is not seeking further protection of lands in the watershed. The balance of Crown land in the watershed and in the provincial forest is available for sustainable resource development."
Doug Holmes, administrator for the SCRD, said he is continuing to meet with AJB to try to negotiate a solution to the controversy. However, he said, the SCRD has "next to nothing in surplus land" which it might offer to swap. Holmes said he has no firm idea of the market value of AJB's property in the watershed, although he has heard "rumours of $15 million for all the [former CanFor] land."
