By Robyn Bell, with Mark Brennae and Cam Welch.

The proposed expansion of the Bamberton Quarry in Mill Bay will not go through an environmental assessment, much to the chagrin of environmentalists who say expanding the quarry could be dangerous for the ecosystem. The quarry, owned by the Malahat Investment Corp., sits along the Saanich Inlet’s pristine coastal environment.

The plan instead will now undergo an enhanced review through the Mines Act permit process, BC Environment Minister George Heyman announced Tuesday.

The peninsula’s MLA, Adam Olsen of the Green Party condemned the decision, saying the Mines Act process offers little oversight of the land to be properly protected.

“Rather than saying ‘let’s deal with this through a legal mechanism that already exists,’ let’s instead create mechanisms that don’t exist,” Olsen said, arguing that the Mines Act process wasn’t designed to replace an environmental assessment and doesn’t have the legal structures to ensure accountability.

BC’s Environmental Assessment Office itself did consider, before Heyman’s final decision, whether to pursue the often years-long assessment process. It recommended against doing one, in its Jan. 2023 preliminary report.

Advocates had argued that the quarry’s effects needed to be looked at comprehensively, rather than via the separate silos of different ministries. The EAO argued that these different ministries could each opt to do a cumulative impact assessment. Olsen doubts that the Mines Act process will be sufficient. 

“It’s the minister of environment’s job to protect the environment and it’s the minister of mining’s job to mine,” said Olsen. “You basically have taken the question out of the office that has expertise in this and gave it to the office that doesn’t have expertise.”

Advocates had wanted an assessment to encompass not only multiple ways expansion could have an impact, but also the impact of multiple expansions. The quarry had applied to expand multiple times, each time under the threshold that would trigger an automatic assessment: 50% land disturbance and 250,000 more tonnes of production a year. 

This latest permit application wants to expand the quarry’s land disturbance by 16% (the threshold is 50%), and its annual production by 239,000 tonnes a year (the threshold is 250,000). The application was also to extend its foreshore lease and add more permitted activities to the dock area, such as transporting contaminated soils, creosote piles, cement powder, scrap metal, and more.

When consulted, the Tsartlip First Nation and Tsawout First Nations each said they would like to see the proposal reviewed, while Malahat Nation––which owns the Malahat Investment Corp.––voted against.

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Quarry's effect on inlet debated

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“It’s deeply disappointing,” to see the minister's decision, said Frances Pugh of the Saanich Inlet Protection Society (SIPS), the main group that had pursued getting an assessment. She said adverse effects of the quarry’s operations already have been evident.

“Dust and that alone has made an impact. There’s a great deal of concern for the glass sponges and eel grass beds on the north end of the Bamberton site.”

“Saanich Inlet is vulnerable—it doesn’t flush, so what goes in, stays in.”

The EAO is not convinced. When it reviewed the assessment requests, it concluded that there was not evidence that quarry expansion “would result in a measurable contribution to existing cumulative effects in the inlet.”

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The critics argue that a full process should still be carried out. Olsen said another concern with last week's decision is clarity on timelines.

“Basically this has made it impossible for the community to know what the process is that they are participating in. At least with the environmental assessment process, we understand where it begins and ends, as well as appeals. None of that is available when you create processes on the fly.”

The last environmental assessment of the Saanich Inlet was conducted in 1996, something Olsen called “the most exhaustive technical study of anywhere in the province.”

Heyman said the study was considered, but both Olsen and SIPS members contend its recommendations were ignored. Olsen cites the recommendation that decision-making in the inlet should first focus on protection and enhancement of the ecological values, with precautions taken when the environmental risk is not clear.

Olsen and SIPS say both said they’re not opposed to the quarry expansion and simply want the ministry to do its due diligence. Olsen, who is also a Tsartlip First Nation member, said he understands the quarry provides significant production of building materials for housing projects, but that the inlet’s protection must be considered.

“We’re not opposed to Malahat Nation deriving economic benefit,” said Pugh. “It just seems to be in everyone’s best interest that an environmental assessment be done.”

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Files from Zoe Ducklow.