Skip to content

Sunshine Coast regional authority denies Burnco rezoning for gravel processing at mine

Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors voted unanimously to abandon a zoning bylaw amendment last week that would have allowed Burnco Rock Products Ltd. to process aggregate at its proposed gravel mine at McNab Creek in Howe Sound.
pix
The proposed site of the Burnco project in McNab Valley in Howe Sound.

Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors voted unanimously to abandon a zoning bylaw amendment last week that would have allowed Burnco Rock Products Ltd. to process aggregate at its proposed gravel mine at McNab Creek in Howe Sound.

But a Burnco official said the decision does not change the company’s plans to move ahead with the project.
 “We are disappointed in the SCRD’s decision not to hear the rezoning application; currently we are still studying what our options are following the decision. This decision does not impact our commitment to advancing the project in a socially and environmentally sound manner,” Ulrich Scheidegger, Burnco’s vice president for land and resources, said in a statement.

Before directors voted on whether to move forward with the amendment at the Oct. 11 committee meeting, Scheidegger appeared before the committee to make a case for on-site processing, which would entail crushing, screening and washing rocks to improve their quality and size.

Scheidegger said no chemicals are used to process the gravel, that operating costs are high and would translate to revenue for local subcontractors and businesses. He said Burnco processing plants in residential areas used technology and buffer zones to reduce dust and sound, and that without processing, which could employ up to eight local workers, only three or four jobs will be available at the mine.

“Without the ability to process the gravel, Burnco would have to ship the material in its raw state, which isn’t ideal,” Scheidegger said.

His appeal did not sway directors, who voted unanimously to abandon the bylaw following a short speech by West Howe Sound director Ian Winn, who has ardently opposed the project, in part because of what he called a “deeply flawed” environmental assessment process that “overlooked entirely or dismissed as not significant” the social, economic, recreational and cultural values of the region.

“This project is not right for McNab Creek estuary. It’s not right for its sensitive land and marine environments. It’s not right for its residents and it’s not right for Howe Sound. It’s time for our government to say no to this project. It’s time for the Sunshine Coast Regional District to say no to the extent that we can say no, to this project,” said Winn prior to his motion to abandon the amendment.

The project is intended to supply the Lower Mainland with aggregate for construction purposes. The aggregate would be mined underwater and then processed nearby. Those sand and gravel products would then be transported by barge and towboat to Burnco facilities on the Fraser River. Zoning on the two parcels where the processing was planned to take place would have to be changed from the present Rural Two (RU2) to Industrial 5 (I5) zone.

Burnco initially applied for the zoning amendment in 2012 but the SCRD put the application on hold until provincial and federal environmental assessments for the mining project were completed. Those certificates were issued in spring 2018 and Fisheries and Oceans Canada has since authorized the project, paving the way for it to move ahead.

Several critics of the project also attended the Oct. 11 meeting, including Ruth Simons, executive director with Future of Howe Sound Society. “Finally the voices of reason and people have been heard. It’s a reflection of what people other than the environmental assessment offices feel about the project,” Simons told Coast Reporter.

Troy Speedie, president of the McNab Creek Strata and who had previously voiced his concern to the board, also attended. He told Coast Reporter many of those in the strata are “elated” by the decision and that he is “hopeful the project will evolve in a different way.”

“I’m really happy the local government finally came up with a common sense approach,” said Speedie. “We’re going to continue to work with our neighbours and all communities of Howe Sound.”

push icon
Be the first to read breaking stories. Enable push notifications on your device. Disable anytime.
No thanks