The Leader of the Green Party of Manitoba says she felt heard.

Janine Gibson, who lives south of Steinbach, made that comment after reading the report submitted to the Manitoba government by the Clean Environment Commission (CEC). The CEC is advising that significant conditions be required, if the Manitoba government is to approve the proposed Sio Silica sand extraction project east of Anola. 

The CEC held public hearings in Steinbach in early March, before moving to Anola and then Beausejour. At those public hearings, the President and Chief Executive Officer for Sio Silica says gaining the necessary approvals for their proposed extraction project in southeastern Manitoba would pump more than one billion dollars into the Manitoba economy over the lifetime of the project.

Feisal Somji says they are targeting to remove 1.36 million tonnes per year, which works out to 1.06 per cent over the 24-year life of the mine.  

If this project is approved, Somji says the facility and operations will directly employ approximately 75 to 100 full-time people. In addition, there will be 100 to 200 indirect employment opportunities related to transportation, supplies and services.

In its recommendations to the province, the CEC is advising that stringent conditions must be imposed for the proposed project to proceed. The commission's primary concern lies in the inadequate definition of risks posed to a vital source of drinking water in the region. Despite the proponent's geotechnical, hydrogeological, and environmental studies, the commission lacks sufficient confidence in the level of risk assessment.

Gibson says those against this project are mostly concerned about the impact this could have on drinking water. She is confident that not enough testing has been done to grant a license. 

"We all know how challenging unsealed wells can be and they are proposing to put in so many wells that would then have to be sealed," explains Gibson. "Each one of those sealed wells could be a potential contamination vector to our drinking water."

Gibson says though she is very concerned that this project has not been completely scrapped, she is also very glad that the commissioners heard their concerns about the risks to our valuable drinking water.

"Water is life," adds Gibson. 

The Green Party Leader admits she is also not surprised by the recommendation but says she had expected the CEC to ask for more. Gibson credits presenters at the public hearings for doing a good job proving that the information was not all available and how the information that was shared changed over time. 

"How concerning that is that the most recent examination with sonar shows that there was a lot of slumping and the whole shale layer was compromised," she explains. "So that really reinforced our concerns."

According to Gibson, the recommendations by the CEC clearly state that government should seek legal opinion on this project. She says that indicates there is a real risk with this project and that our drinking water in the southeast could be jeopardized in order that a private corporation can make money. 

"To allow risk to drinking water on such a scale for private property I think would be seen as gross mismanagement by the government," adds Gibson. 

At the end of the day, Gibson says she is just very thankful that the CEC listened to the concerns of residents. Gibson says she would have hoped that the CEC's recommendation to the province be that the proposed project stop dead in its tracks. Even though the CEC is calling for much more testing and more requirements if the project is to proceed, Gibson says she is not sure how the CEC can have any confidence in Sio Silica. 

"I really respect the work of the Clean Environment Commission and I'm pleased that they heard us," adds Gibson. "I'm really pleased to read that the commissioners join us in our concern that this project is very novel and poses deep concerns to the quality of our drinking water."

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