Jones says the Official Opposition does not share the view of recent statements made by the New Democratic Party(NDP) on this issue. We feel that all precautions need to be taken in any development to mitigate the impact on the environment. However, statements by the NDP such as ‘‘cheap waste disposal solution’’ and a ‘‘subsidy to pollute our natural environment’’ lack substance in that they completely disregard the contents of the three volume, 677 page Environmental Impact Statement this firm submitted to government," Jones points out.

We have reviewed the Environmental Impact Statement submitted by Vale Inco and in our assessment, they not only evaluated alternative methods within the project for treatment, storage and disposal of the two unsafe by-products of the hydromet process, but provided an option analysis for up to ten other feasible sites for the tailings.

"In determining long-term waste disposal alternatives, we felt a strong effort was made. Vale Inco evaluated several sites in the area based on 12 environmental criteria, together with ten technical, economic and socio-economic considerations. There were other sites that rated better on an economic scale, but Sandy Pond scored best in the environmental criteria. The fiscal bottom line was not the only consideration made here."

Jones says tailings are the unfortunate byproducts of mining operations, and admits that environmentalists have a valid point for criticizing the federal government for allowing our fresh water bodies to be legally reclassified as ‘‘tailings impoundment facilities’’. "Yet, we can’t ignore the strong push from Vale Inco to support the cessation of unsustainable tailings disposal practices which shows their social commitment to the community.

"In the past, tailings were simply piled in large untreated heaps along community landscapes or dumped in rivers where they would leach into the entire environment or become windborne. At the end of the day, it would appear that disposal in Sandy Pond is not the ideal situation, but neither is it the worst solution.

"As more mining developments occur in our country as a whole, we need to develop our legislative requirements to match top global research and development into discovering and refining better methods of tailings disposal such as phytostabilization. Until this occurs, there will be cases where fresh water bodies provide the "smartest solution" for dealing with mine wastes."

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