Re: PQB News March 16, 2012 letter to the editor, Stick to the Facts.
My calculations on the waste coal piles at the proposed Raven Coal Mine, which Mr. Randall taking issue with in his letter, were based on the waste rock weighing 1.6 metric tonnes per cubic meter. I’d be glad to share the calculation table I based my letter on.
Mr. Randall also claims that past coal waste dumps in the Comox Valley are difficult for anyone to notice and revegetated waste piles generate verdant growth. I would like to remind everyone of the Union Bay Waste Coal Pile area where, as a result of historical site activities, waste coal is present on land and in the marine environment of Baynes Sound. The landscape in this area resembles a moonscape rather than a verdant growth area.
I would bet that the remediation of this area will be paid for with tax payers dollars as well.
The long term negative impacts from coal mining in the Comox Valley and Nanaimo areas are factual and not imagined.
John Snyder
Fanny Bay, B.C.
