Editor:
I thank Mr. Townson (“Stop Burnco nightmare,” Letters, Jan. 5) for reminding me to send in my letter of support to Burnco before the public comment window closes on Jan. 22.
One of the reasons I support the mining of gravel at McNab Creek is that we need the gravel for construction in the Vancouver area. Mr. Townson has perhaps misinterpreted Burnco’s need timeline. Burnco may not need the gravel at this very moment but we will need the gravel in near future. A good supply of gravel close to Vancouver on tideline is indeed a valuable resource.
Gravel mining is not “heavy” industry. Gravel and sands are inorganic so there are no chemicals or harmful by-products produced. I was involved in gravel extraction for a number of years in B.C. and the Yukon. The only by-product will be silt and clay and perhaps some large boulders. Any dirty water is either recirculated or fine particles collected in a settling pond. None will enter Howe Sound or McNab Creek.
Gravel extraction has one of the lowest environment impacts of any type of mining. To compare Burnco’s well-engineered proposal at McNab Creek to the Mount Polly mine disaster is completely unfair. It suggests to me that Mr. Townson is writing from an alarmist point of view without regard to the science, technology and environmental mitigation protocols that Burnco is so carefully following.
Of course all mining operations make some noise. With modern methods, this will be minimized. Sechelt lives next door to one of the biggest gravel mines in North America.
I continue to give my full support to the project. The Burnco mine will not be a “nightmare.”
Ian Thomson, Gibsons
