Latest news with #YESAB
CBC
09-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Whitehorse dam relicensing gets the OK, but with new terms and conditions
The Yukon and federal governments say Yukon Energy's licence for its Whitehorse hydroelectric dam should be renewed for another 25 years — but they've also laid out some new terms and conditions or revised some that were recommended by environmental assessors. In a 66-page document issued this week, the decision bodies for the project — Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada and the territorial government — agreed that the ongoing operation of the dam "will result in, or is likely to result in, significant adverse effects," primarily to chinook salmon, First Nations wellness, fish habitat, wetlands and heritage resources, among other things. Yukon Energy submitted a proposal to the territory's assessment board in late 2023 to relicense the dam. Until then, the 67-year-old facility had never been scrutinized by the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB), which did not exist when the facility's licence last came up for renewal in 2000. The relicensing application came at a time when Yukon River chinook salmon stocks have been in steady and dramatic decline. First Nations and environmentalists argue that the dam, by obstructing access to upstream spawning grounds, or even killing fish with its turbines, is a significant part of the problem. YESAB's report, issued earlier this year, acknowledges those concerns. "Adverse effects stemming from the project are likely to further deteriorate the already serious state of Yukon River chinook salmon and are likely to have much longer lasting effects," the report states, adding that examples could include the extinction of the species, loss of First Nations' ceremonies and transfer of traditional knowledge. Yukon Energy's current licence for the dam was set to expire next month. YESAB suggested the 25-year renewal be approved and made 39 recommendations, many of them focused on fish and wildlife, and Indigenous land use. Those recommendations include coming up with plans to redesign the dam's fish ladder and how to make it more effective, developing a system to monitor fish passage at the Lewes control structure upstream, and that Yukon Energy launch a study into how the dam has long affected how First Nations people who use the land in the project area. Board's recommendations 'did not go far enough' In their decision this week, the federal and territorial governments accept most of the board's assessment, and its recommendations. However, they also modified some of YESAB's recommended terms and conditions for the licence, "to ensure significant adverse project effects and adverse effects to Aboriginal and treaty rights are adequately mitigated." "The terms and conditions related to chinook salmon recommended by the [YESAB] Designated Office did not go far enough to ensure that measures to reduce impacts to chinook salmon would in fact be implemented, especially in the short-term," the decision document reads. "Additionally, multiple terms and conditions did not provide clear objectives for plans or monitoring, or specific timelines for the development and implementation of these items." The governments altered the terms and conditions related to chinook and First Nation wellness to better address those concerns. Part of that includes a requirement to develop a traditional knowledge framework and to include traditional knowledge "within all plans and studies for the life of the project." Yukon Energy must also provide a schedule for when some of its plans and projects related to chinook salmon and First Nation wellness will be developed and implemented. Other new conditions include a requirement for Yukon Energy to immediately "improve fish passage and reduce entrainment mortality" until a long-term plan to address those things is in place. Yukon Energy must also begin an annual monitoring program to determine fish passage and mortality at the dam, provide cultural awareness training to all staff "that interact with salmon and traditional knowledge," and issue public reports annually about fish monitoring and mortality, among other things. "With these modifications ... Decision Bodies are satisfied that project effects related to chinook salmon and First Nation wellness are sufficiently mitigated," the decision report reads.
CBC
08-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Residents ask Whitehorse council not to let Gladiator Metals explore for copper within city limits
Almost 40 people crowded into Whitehorse council chambers on Monday night to hear delegates speak about a proposed drilling expansion project within city limits. Gladiator Metals recently began drilling in the Whitehorse copper belt with a class 1 permit. It also applied for a class 3 exploration permit, which would allow it to expand work over the next five years throughout its whole 35-kilometre Copper Belt project, most of which is within Whitehorse city limits. Eight delegates asked council not to let the project expansion happen. Some of the speakers were residents of the Cowley Creek subdivision, which is near the proposed project. They said mining exploration would bring noise, dust and disruption to the quiet country residential neighbourhood. "This ridiculous proposal is completely inappropriate, given its location and proximity to where people live," said delegate Stephen Burles. The environmental impact of exploration and eventual mining was also brought up by speakers. Delegate Tory Russell said there's worry that drilling could release radon, arsenic and other contaminants into domestic well sources and become "a potential public health risk." Several delegates asked council to hit the brakes until new minerals legislation is introduced, arguing that the outgoing rules — which haven't been updated since the Gold Rush — give too much power to companies with mineral claims. Only one delegate spoke in favour of the project. Jonas Smith, the executive director of the Yukon Chamber of Mines, said copper mining is necessary for the green energy transition. He also lauded the Yukon's assessment process as having "among the highest environmental standards and safety standards in the world," and asked council to leave the issue with the assessment board. "I would encourage you to focus on items that are within your mandate," Smith said. Gladiator's class 3 proposal was submitted to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) in late February. Whitehorse Mayor Kirk Cameron said the decision is out of council's hands while it's assessed. "Our jurisdiction is very finite, very specific and pretty dog-gone narrow compared to what can come out of a decision document through that broader process," Cameron said. Cameron said concerned parties should put their concerns to the assessment board. Glenys Baltimore, president of the Cowley Creek neighbourhood association, said she's planning to write a submission to YESAB against the project. She also appeared as a delegate to council and co-authored a letter to all three territorial party leaders on Monday.
CBC
05-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Court tosses Yukon gov't case against YESAB over recommendation on exploration project
The Yukon Supreme Court has tossed the territorial government's case against the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board over the board's recommendation against a proposed exploration project in the Peel watershed. In a newly-published decision, Chief Justice Suzanne Duncan dismissed the government's petition against the board, commonly referred to as YESAB, on procedural grounds, writing that the recommendation at the centre of the case was "not amenable to judicial review." The government filed a legal petition in 2023 after YESAB's Dawson-area designated office recommended against a proposal by exploration company Silver47 to do five years of work around Michelle Creek. The area is in the southern reaches of the Peel watershed near the northern tip of Tombstone Territorial Park and on the traditional territories of the Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in and First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun. The YESAB office, after assessing Silver47's proposal, determined that the project was likely to have severe adverse impacts on wildlife and First Nation wellness that couldn't be mitigated, and that it wasn't in compliance with the Peel Watershed Regional Land Use Plan. The Yukon government, via its petition, applied for a judicial review of the recommendation claiming that it was unreasonable and deeply flawed. Duncan, however, ruled that there was no basis for her to intervene, noting that the recommendation was not binding. "The administrative process has not yet concluded: the [YESAB designated office's] recommendation is not a decision," she wrote. She also dismissed the Yukon government's request for a court order quashing the office's recommendation and having it re-do its project assessment. "To do so would violate the principle of judicial respect for administrative decision-makers and an administrative process containing various steps set out by Parliament," Duncan wrote. The case marked the first time the Yukon government had ever taken legal action against YESAB. Duncan heard three days of arguments last November, with First Nations, the attorney general of Canada and YESAB asking for the petition to be dismissed while the Yukon government and Silver47 pushed for a ruling to have the assessment re-done. Silver47's project was the first one in the Peel watershed region to undergo a YESAB assessment since the signing of the regional land use plan in 2019.
CBC
27-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Yukon miner's upcoming season in limbo as he waits longer than expected for permit renewal
A Yukon placer miner says delays in the territory's permitting process could cost him his mining season this year. Riley Gibson was born and raised in the Yukon and he co-owns a placer mining company that has been operating since 2016, first mining in the Kluane area, and now operating a site in the Duncan Creek area between Mayo and Keno City. Gibson said his 10-year mining permit expires this year so he applied last April for a new one through the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB), anticipating he'd have it in time for the start of the season this spring. According to Gibson, and confirmed by YESAB, a class 4 placer project's application can take between eight and 10 months to process. After the board reviews an application, it recommends whether a project should proceed and under what conditions. It's then up to a decision body — typically formed by the territorial and local First Nation governments — to approve the permit or not. Gibson says it's been 11 months and he hasn't received a response whether his permit will be renewed or not. He says his company employs a handful of people each year, and the longer his permit is held up, the longer it'll be before he and his employees can get back to work. "There's very little we can do on site," Gibson said. "We can't operate any machinery, we can't do any reclamation, we can't maintain any diversions of Duncan Creek we've done. These things need to be monitored. We can't do anything if we don't get this decision document." Gibson explained that once the mining permit is granted, he then has to apply for a water licence through the Yukon Water Board, something he said could take up to four months if everything goes smoothly. At this rate, Gibson said if he doesn't get his permits now, he and his crew may have to find work elsewhere this summer. "We've been trying to talk to everybody as respectfully as we can and it doesn't seem like we're getting anywhere," Gibson said. "I feel there's a lot of complacency and indifference in the permitting process right now and it's letting a lot of people down. "We're not fancy, rich miners. We're just trying to make a living." Working through the backlog Kent Bretzlaff, YESAB's executive director, said recommendations for Gibson's application were issued to the decision body on Dec. 9. Bretzlaff said he understands how Gibson is feeling but that he isn't the only proponent waiting in queue for an application to get processed. He said the number of placer mining projects increases on a yearly basis, and his staff are doing their best to keep up but sometimes there are delays. "We have double the amount of placer projects in our process now than we did this time last year," Bretzlaff said. Bretzlaff said in the past two months, his office has received 42 project applications. "The reality is, we keep getting more and more projects," Bretzlaff said. "We'll be as transparent as we can about expectations but for proponents, I encourage them to reach out to us too, to understand what's going on." Bretzlaff said YESAB has done its part and now the decision for Gibson's placer mining permit lies in the hands of the decision body — the Yukon government, and the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun. Jay Chou, acting director with mineral resources branch of Yukon's department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, said that Gibson's application is still being discussed and he could not provide any details or timelines for when a decision will be issued. He said it has taken longer than expected but it's important to ensure First Nation governments are involved with the process and sometimes more time is needed to come to a decision. "The legislative timelines to issue a decision document under the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economical Assessment Act is 30 days," Chou said. "On average over the last few years, for the decision document for placer projects, we're seeing an average of 60 days or so." Chou said his department is actively working on Gibson's file, as well as many others at this time. He said on average his department consults on approximately 500 to 600 different projects a year.
CBC
28-01-2025
- General
- CBC
Yukon, federal governments reject proposed placer mine on creek used for drinking water
The Yukon and federal governments have rejected a proposed placer mine along a creek outside Whitehorse, after local residents and First Nations argued it would cause irreparable harm to the waterway that they rely on. The territory's Mineral Resources Branch, along with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, this month signed off on an earlier recommendation from the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) to say no to the project. The board decided last May that the proposed placer mine, on 11 claims along Stony Creek, would have "significant adverse effects to water quality and quantity for fish, fish habitat, human consumption and cultural water uses that cannot be mitigated." The project is about 52 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse and about 10 kilometres northeast of the Mendenhall subdivision. It is within the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dün and Champagne and Aishihik First Nations. An Alberta-based miner, Willy Driedger, proposed the mine, which would have involved building several fords across the creek and a camp big enough for a crew of 12. It would also divert part of the creek and use up to 4,001 cubic metres of water per day. Shortly after the project was proposed, some Yukoners began fighting against it, fearing irreparable impacts to water that is considered clean enough to drink straight from the creek. In its recommendation, YESAB noted hundreds of people rely on Stony Creek, a tributary of the Takhini River, for their drinking water. Some say they use the water because local wells are contaminated with uranium. The Kwanlin Dün First Nation, in a submission filed to the board, said the majority of Ibex Valley residents depend on the creek for drinking water. YESAB also noted chinook salmon could be greatly affected by the proposed mine. It said that for decades, juvenile salmon have been observed in the creek by First Nations citizens or researchers. The territorial and federal governments issued a joint decision document this month, accepting YESAB's recommendation about the project, as is — but also saying the proponent could redesign the project and try again. "This decision does not preclude submission for assessment under YESAA [Yukon Environmental and Soci-economic Assessment Act] of a redesigned project that introduces alternative approaches that address the concerns within the evaluation report," it reads. Randi Newton, with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society's Yukon chapter, called it a "good decision all around." "This placer mine was in absolutely the wrong spot ... Stony Creek is clearly a place deeply intertwined with people's lives," she said. Newton said it would have been "devastating" if the decision bodies — the Yukon and federal governments — had rejected YESAB's recommendation. "There aren't mitigations that can protect the water and so we shouldn't be putting communities through this again and again and allowing projects to apply here," she said.
