2007-08-007-C6 - YCS Technical Review of the draft New Yukon Placer Mining Regulatory Regime to Ensure it Protects Freshwater Fish
Summary
Golder Associates Ltd. (Golder) has been retained by the Yukon Conservation Society (YCS) to undertake an independent review of the proposed new 2007 regulatory regime for the Yukon placer mining industry. The management and implementation of the proposed new regulatory regime is being coordinated by the Yukon Placer Secretariat, a joint partnership between Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Yukon Government and the Council of Yukon First Nations.
Placer mining for gold has been carried out along the banks of Yukon's rivers and streams for more than a century. Approximately 2.5% to 5% of the watercourses in the Yukon have been affected (Mile and Associates 2003). Until recently, little or no focus has been devoted to the conservation, protection and restoration of fish habitat associated with these mining activities (Birtwell et al. 2005). There is a legacy of impacted and destroyed fish habitat across the Yukon which can be associated to placer mining activities (c.f. Miles and Associates 2003, Birtwell et al. 2005, Miles and Chilibeck 2007).
The proposed new regulatory regime represents a progressive shift in the way the Yukon placer mining industry has been managed. Compared to the existing Yukon Placer Authorization (YPA) (1993), the proposed new regulatory regime has the following features:
· Watershed based authorizations as a goal of the new regime. Individual site authorizations will still be available under certain conditions;
· Improved site and stream classification system based upon its habitat quality, sensitivity, productive capacity, and fish and fisheries suitability;
· Adaptive and risk management frameworks, as management tools to meet the new regime's objectives;
· Four distinct monitoring programs to track environmental compliance, aquatic health, water quality and industry economic health;
· Sediment discharge and turbidity standards based upon "end of pipe" as well as in-stream water quality / sediment objectives; and
· Recognition of the function and value of all fish and aquatic habitats and resources.
There is a need for improved definitions of components of the regime relevant to both anadromous salmon, salmonids and resident fish including:
· Site Authorizations Details;
· Framework and Logic Model for the Watershed Sensitivity and Fish Habitat Suitability Classification;
· Development of Quality Assurance (QA) / Quality Control (QC) Procedures for Monitoring Protocols;
· Development of a Reference Condition Approach Error Policy;
· Inclusion of "Sustainable Mining" as a Guiding Principle in the Regulatory Regime;
· Development of an Incremental Cost of Production Model;
· Revisions to the Guidelines for the Design, Construction, and Reclamation of Yukon Placer Mines;
· Annual review of the Risk Assessment Scoring System for Diversion Channels, In-Stream Works, and Water Acquisition;
· Importance of the Management Decision Process to the Protection of Fish and Fish Habitat; and
· Adaptive Management Framework:
The new regulatory regime for placer mining in the Yukon can benefit from the parallel implementation of DFO's Wild Salmon Policy (WSP) and principles of "no net loss" for protection of salmon and resident fish habitats. Key factors for the successful implementation of the proposed new regulatory regime in the Yukon placer mining industry will include:
· Strong monitoring and regulatory commitments by DFO and the Yukon Government;
· Industry commitment to working within the guidelines for the design and construction of placer mines and to compensation and monitoring requirements within Watershed Authorizations;
· Commitment by DFO for funding to evaluate the effectiveness of habitat compensation and monitoring programs in the Yukon placer mining industry. These evaluation would provide valuable insights into improving "Best Management Practices" and mine closure practices to minimize the risk to long-term impacts to fish and fish habitat; and
· Protection of resident freshwater fish under the new regulatory regime (Watershed Sensitivity and Fish Habitat Suitability Classification Methodology) will require classification and identification of "areas of special concern" and level of habitat suitability relevant for these fish species and their habitats, for example Arctic grayling. In many cases, these classes of habitats provide high levels suitability for both anadromous salmon and non-anadromous resident fish species, across multiple life stages and seasonal conditions. Definition of suitable habitats for both salmon and resident fish species will require compilation and integration of available information on the life history based habitat use and production.
To download a copy of the report, click here: Technical Review of the draft New Yukon Placer Mining Regulatory Regime to Ensure it Protects Freshwater Fish (pdf).
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