Dear editor,
Regarding the article Raven Coal Mine application withdrawn (Comox Valley Record, March 5):
The explanation from Compliance Coal regarding the recent withdrawal of their Raven Coal Mine Application from the BC Environmental Assessment Office (BCEAO) screening evaluation is hard to comprehend.
Stephen Ellis, COO of Compliance makes reference to some sort of misinformation circulating in some communities as the reason for the application withdrawal. The BCEAO on the other hand says that after careful review, they advised Compliance of issues they identified with the application and Compliance decided to withdraw the application.
Looks to me like a simple case of Compliance realizing that for a second time their application was going to be rejected by the BCEAO, so they decided to withdraw their application rather than have it rejected.
Perhaps when they go back to the drawing board, Compliance should focus more on the required information that was missing in their two application failures rather than this so-called misinformation excuse they’re using.
While they’re at it, maybe they should also analyze why after investing over $20 million so far, all they have to show for it are two application failures and a coal mine project that shows no evidence of having ongoing approval or broad social acceptance (social license).
Finally, while Mr. Ellis says the project is a good one and he hopes it can be resubmitted in the future, perhaps he should keep in mind the often used definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
John Snyder
Fanny Bay