Editor:
Re: "Gravel mine opponents provide balance at Burnco open house" (Coast Reporter, Oct. 4).
John Gleeson's article provided excellent coverage of the Burnco open house held Oct. 1. The event was an "open house and invitation to comment" not an evening of formal presentations. Contrary to Coun. Bouman's comment on "not a lot of hard questions answered," I went with my list of questions which were answered in a professional and knowledgeable fashion by both Burnco representatives and members of the Golder Associates team.
I learned that there will be no contact with McNab Creek as there will be a 100 metre buffer zone. There will be no water taken from the creek as wash water for the gravel plant will be obtained from a well so fish stocks will not be impacted. I was impressed that 95 per cent of the wash water will be recycled and that any silt in the water will be reclaimed and used in building berms or revegetation of the area after mining.
I was very impressed by the multitude of "pretty pictures" with accompanying information which included aerial views of the proposed operation and photographs of what the site will look like from Lions Bay (16 km distant) and Ekins Point. I learned that the foreshore buffer of trees 25 to 30 metres high will be retained except for a narrow corridor for the conveyor system to deliver gravel to barges. Almost the entire operation will not be visible from either location. Berms will be built to help direct noise up instead of out with machinery such as sorting screens and crushers being enclosed with sound proof tarping.
My overall impression is that Burnco is doing an excellent job of mitigating environmental issues. Gravel mining is one of the least environmentally damaging industries in the world. I will be submitting my letter to the Environmental Assessment Office in support of this project.
Ian Thomson, Gibsons
