A company that wants to build a coal mine on Vancouver Island will have to fill information gaps in its application, the BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has ruled at the eleventh hour.
Compliance Energy wants to build the Raven Coal Mine in the Comox Valley near Fanny Bay, a popular tourist destination famed for its oysters.
The project was in the final stage of the environmental review process.
The EAO said it had identified lack of consultation with First Nations, gaps in information about the mine's effect on local drinking water and air quality, and a failure to explain how effects of industrial waste and tailings would be mitigated over the long term.
Environmental groups and the K’omoks First Nation have expressed concerns about the project.
The company stated that it plans to resubmit its application to the EAO after it has "adequately addressed" the points raised.
