Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
Submitted To:
BC Environmental Assessment Office 1st Floor 836 Yates Street PO Box 9426 Stn Prov Govt Victoria, BC, V8W 9V1
Pursuant To:
BC Environmental Assessment Act
Submitted By:
Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations
August 2009 Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 PROPONENT INFORMATION...... 1 1.1 Key Proponent Contacts...... 1 2 PROJECT INFORMATION ...... 2 2.1 Location ...... 2 2.2 Project History and Overview ...... 6 2.3 Deposit Geology and Resource Characterization ...... 7 2.3.1 Regional Stratigraphy...... 7 2.3.2 Burnt Ridge North Structure...... 8 2.3.3 Mount Michael Structure ...... 9 2.4 Components and Infrastructure ...... 9 2.4.1 Conceptual Mine Plan and Schedule...... 9 2.4.2 On-site Infrastructure...... 20 2.4.3 Off-site Infrastructure...... 21 2.5 Waste Management...... 22 2.5.1 Mine Waste Disposal...... 22 2.5.2 Mine Water Management...... 23 2.6 Environmental Management...... 23 2.7 Mine Reclamation, Closure and Monitoring...... 24 2.8 Alternatives ...... 25 3 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT ...... 26 3.1 Physical Environment ...... 26 3.1.1 Geology and Soils ...... 26 3.1.2 Hydrology ...... 26 3.1.3 Water Quality...... 27 3.1.4 Air Quality, Noise and Vibrations ...... 27 3.2 Biological Environment ...... 28 3.2.1 Vegetation ...... 28 3.2.2 Wildlife and Wildlife Habitat...... 29 3.2.3 Fish and Fish Habitat ...... 29 3.2.4 Species at Risk...... 30 3.3 Human Environment...... 31 3.3.1 Visual Resources ...... 31 3.3.2 Heritage Resources...... 31 3.3.3 Land Use and Tenure...... 32 3.3.4 Socio-economics...... 33 4 POTENTIAL PROJECT-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS...... 34 5 CONSULTATION...... 38 5.1 First Nations...... 38 5.2 Public and Agencies ...... 38 5.3 Consultation Planning...... 38 6 SUSTAINABILITY...... 39 7 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS AND REGULATORY TRIGGERS...... 39 7.1.1 British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act ...... 39 7.1.2 Canadian Environmental Assessment Act...... 40 7.1.3 Key Provincial and Municipal Permits and Approvals...... 40 7.1.4 Proposed Environmental Assessment Schedule ...... 42 8 REFERENCES CITED ...... 43
August 2009 - i - Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
TABLES
Table 1: Representative Conceptual Mine Phases for the LCO Phase II Project ...... 11 Table 2: Federally Designated Red- and Blue-Listed Species That May Utilize the LCO Phase II Project Area ...... 31 Table 3: Preliminary Identification of Potential Project-Environment Interactions...... 36 Table 4: Permits and Approvals Likely Required for the LCO Phase II Project ...... 41 Table 5: Proposed EA Schedule ...... 42
FIGURES
Figure 1: Project Location ...... 3 Figure 2: Project Footprint and Existing Line Creek Operations ...... 4 Figure 3: Regional Context...... 5 Figure 4: Mining – Year 1 ...... 13 Figure 5: Mining – Year 2 ...... 14 Figure 6: Mining – Year 4 ...... 15 Figure 7: Mining – Year 7 ...... 16 Figure 8: Mining – Year 11 ...... 17 Figure 9: Mining – Year 16 ...... 18 Figure 10: Mining – Year 20 ...... 19
APPENDICES
Appendix A Description of Existing LCO Process Plant Appendix B Scientific Names of Species Cited Appendix C LCO Phase II Project Area Coal Licences and Leases Appendix D Additional Regulatory Information
August 2009 - ii - Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
ACRONYMS
AIA Archaeological Impact Assessment AOA Archaeological Overview Assessment BC British Columbia BCEAA British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act BCEAO BC Environmental Assessment Office BRN Burnt Ridge North BRS Burnt Ridge South CDC Conservation Data Centre CEA Canadian Environmental Assessment CEAA Canadian Environmental Assessment Act CLI Canada Land Inventory CP Canadian Pacific DFO Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Note: formerly Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada) EA Environmental Assessment EAC Environmental Assessment Certificate EMS Environmental Management System ESSF Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir ESSFdk Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir dry cool ESSFdkp Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir dry parkland ESSFdkw Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir dry woodland HADD Harmful alteration, disruption or destruction HCA Heritage Conservation Act HSR Horseshoe Ridge HSRC Health Safety and Reclamation Code KNC Ktunaxa Nation Council LCO Line Creek Operations LOM Life of mine plan MEMPR Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources MM Mount Michael Mmtcc million metric tonnes clean coal MOE Ministry of Environment MPMO Major Projects Management Office MSAN Mine Services Area North MSAWX Mine Services Area West Extension MSdk Montane Spruce dry cool NLC North Line
August 2009 - iii - Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
NLX North Line Extension
PM10 Particulate matter less than 10 μm (micrometres) in diameter RDEK Regional District of East Kootenay SARA Species at Risk Act Teck Coal Teck Coal Limited the Project the LCO Phase II Project TSP Total Suspended Particulate
August 2009 - iv - Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
1 PROPONENT INFORMATION
Teck Coal Limited (Teck Coal), a division of Teck, is the leading North American producer of steel making and thermal-grade coal. The company operates six open-pit mines in western Canada: Cardinal River, Coal Mountain, Fording River, Greenhills, Elkview and Line Creek. Five of these mines are in the Elk Valley of south-eastern British Columbia (BC); Cardinal River is in west-central Alberta. Together they account for annual production capacity in excess of 25 million tonnes of high-grade metallurgical coal.
The extension of the Line Creek Operations (LCO) is the subject of this Project Description, which has been prepared in accordance with the guidance documents administered by the BC Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) and the Major Projects Management Office (MPMO). The Project is referred to as the LCO Phase II Project (the Project).
1.1 Key Proponent Contacts The Proponent of the Project is:
Teck Coal Limited Suite 1000, 205 - 9th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 0R3 Telephone: 403.767.8500 Fax: 403.265.8794 Website: www.teck.com
Contact information for Teck Coal’s President and Chief Executive Officer is:
Boyd Payne, President and CEO Suite 1000, 205 - 9th Avenue SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 0R3 Telephone: 403.767.8500 Fax: 403.264.7339 Email: [email protected]
For the purposes of the environmental assessment (EA) for the Project, the principal contact person is:
Kevin Podrasky Senior Permitting Officer PO Box 2003 Sparwood, BC V0B 2G0 Telephone: 250.425.3169 Fax: 250.425.3176 Email: [email protected]
August 2009 - 1 - Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
2 PROJECT INFORMATION
2.1 Location
The Project is located within the East Kootenay region in the southeastern portion of BC (Figure 1), immediately north of the existing LCO open pit mine (Figure 2). The centre of the Project footprint is located at approximately 114° 47’ 7.35” W and 49° 59’ 2.96” N. The Project area is located in the Dry Creek and Grace Creek drainage basins, both tributaries to the Fording River (Figure 2). This area forms part of the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, with elevations reaching over 2,550 metres (m) above sea level. The Project footprint will encompass portions of two peaks, referred to as Burnt Ridge North and Mount Michael. The Project area is located on fee simple land owned by Teck Coal and on Crown land on coal licences held by Teck Coal. Regional context for the Project is presented on Figure 3.
Access to the Project area for the purposes of baseline data collection is north via Highway 43 (Elk Valley Highway) from Sparwood then east on Fording Road to Ewin Creek Road. Access to the Project area for the purposes of construction and operation of the mine will be via the existing LCO, which is accessed from Highway 43 and Line Creek Mine Road, and then along proposed new haul roads as described in Section 2.4.
August 2009 - 2 - 600000 620000 640000 660000 680000
FORDING RIVER
YUKON NORTHWEST TERRITORY TERRITORIES
ELK RIVER CANADA Fording Operations
5560000 E RIV ER 5560000 WHIT
BRITISH ALBERTA Greenhills COLUMBIA Operations
Round Prairie
Elkford DRY CREEK
5540000 UNITED STATES 5540000 OF AMERICA Line Creek Operations
BULL RIVER
43
BRITISH COLUMBIA ALBERTA 5520000 5520000
Elk Prairie Elkview Sparwood Operations
Coleman
3 Blairmore 5500000 5500000
Crowsnest Pass Hosmer
KOOTENAY RIVER
Corbin Baker Fernie Coal Mountain Operations Bull River Cokato Mayook
5480000 3 5480000
Wardner Mi 600000 620000 640000 660000 680000
LEGEND 15 0 15 COMMUNITY EAST KOOTENAY REGIONAL DISTRICT SCALE 1:500,000 KILOMETRES FIRST NATIONS RESERVE PROJECT LOCATION PROVINCIAL PARK PROJECT PRIMARY HIGHWAY MUNICIPAL DISTRICT LINE CREEK OPERATIONS SECONDARY HIGHWAY ELKFORD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT PHASE II RAILWAY SPARWOOD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT CITY/TOWN TITLE COAL MINING OPERATION PROJECT LOCATION REFERENCE Provincial boundaries, cities, First Nations Reserves and transportation data obtained from ESRI and DMTI. PROJECT No. 09-1349-0005 SCALE AS SHOWN REV. 0 Protected areas obtained from Geogratis. Hydrography data obtained from IHS Energy. Imagery obtained DESIGN SL 09 Jun. 2009 from WorldSat International. GIS CW 27 Jul. 2009 Projection: UTM Zone 11 Datum: NAD 83 CHECK MO 09 Jun. 2009 FIGURE: 1 REVIEW SL 09 Jun. 2009 I:\2009\09-1349\09-1349-0005\Mapping\MXD\ProjectDescription\ProjectLocationMap.mxd 650000 660000
6000 5000 9000
9000 DRY CREEK Ewin Creek
8000
6000
8000 UNNAMED CREEK UNNAMED
5000 7000
5000
5000 Mount Banner 6000
8000 Ewin Pass 9000 ELK RIVER
6000
9000 5000 High Rock Range
5000 7000 9000 GRACE CREEK Burnt
5000 Ridge FORDING RIVER 8000 North Line Creek Pit 6000 Limit 5540000 5540000 8000 7000 LCO Phase II TORNADO CREEK 8000 Spoil area Mount Michael 5000 Wisukitsak Range Pit
5000 Limit
Fording Mountain 7000 MSAN Mount Lyne MSAWX 8000 BRS
8000 HSR 7000 MSAW 6000 NLX
NLC 8000 WLC Horseshoe Ridge 7000 7000
6000
ELK RIVER 5000
8000 SOUTH LINE CREEK 6000 5000 WEIGERT CREEK
4000
5000
LINE CREEK
6000 Wisukitsak Range 8000 7000 5530000 5530000 FORDING RIVER
Front Ranges 9000 Process Continental Ranges Plant Site
ERX 8000
8000
7000 8000 6000
7000 8000
5000
650000 660000
LEGEND 3,500 0 3,500 CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY OPERATIONAL BOUNDARY FOR LINE CREEK PHASE II PROJECT SCALE 1:110,000 METRES CONTOUR (500 FOOT INTERVAL) PERMITTED COAL REFUSE AREA EXISTING CABLE BELT PROJECT WATERBODY WATERCOURSE BRS BURNT RIDGE SOUTH LINE CREEK OPERATIONS EXISTING LINE CREEK ERX EAST REFUSE EXPANSION PHASE II OPERATIONS DEVELOPMENT AREA HSR HORSESHOE RIDGE EXISTING PROCESS PLANT SITE MSAN MINE SERVICES AREA NORTH TITLE MSAW MINE SERVICES AREA WEST EXISTING TRUCK DUMP MSAWX MINE SERVICES AREA WEST EXTENSION PROJECT FOOTPRINT AND EXISTING LINE CREEK OPERATIONS PHASE II NLC NORTH LINE CREEK PROJECT MINING FOOTPRINT NLX NORTH LINE CREEK EXPANSION LINE CREEK OPERATIONS WLC WEST LINE CREEK PROJECT No. 09-1349-0005 SCALE AS SHOWN REV. 0 REFERENCE DESIGN SL 25 May 2009 1: 50,000 scale hydrography and elevation data obtained from GeoGratis. GIS CW 31 Jul. 2009 Projection: UTM Zone 11 Datum: NAD 83 CHECK MO 31 Jul. 2009 FIGURE: 2 REVIEW SL 31 Jul. 2009 I:\2009\09-1349\09-1349-0005\Mapping\MXD\ProjectDescription\MineOperatingArea_Letter.mxd 620000 640000 660000 680000 700000 720000
22 5580000 5580000
FORDING RIVER
ELK RIVER Fording Operations ER HITE R IV 5560000 W 5560000 Greenhills Operations
Round Prairie
DRY CREEK BRITISH COLUMBIA Elkford ALBERTA 5540000 5540000 Line Creek
BULL RIVER Operations
43 22 5520000 5520000
Elk Prairie Elkview Sparwood Operations
Coleman 3 Blairmore OLDMAN RESERVOIR 5500000 5500000 Crowsnest Pass Hosmer KOOTENAY RIVER
Corbin Pincher Creek Baker Fernie Coal Mountain Operations Bull River Cokato Mayook 3 5480000 5480000
Wardner Morrissey Jaffray Galloway Flathead
Caithness
Elko
5460000 LAKE 5460000 KOOCANUSA Baynes Lake
620000 640000 660000 680000 700000 720000
LEGEND 15 0 15 COMMUNITY FIRST NATIONS RESERVE SCALE 1:650,000 KILOMETRES PROVINCIAL PARK PROJECT LOCATION MUNICIPAL DISTRICT PROJECT PRIMARY HIGHWAY ELKFORD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT LINE CREEK OPERATIONS SECONDARY HIGHWAY SPARWOOD MUNICIPAL DISTRICT PHASE II RAILWAY CITY/TOWN TITLE COAL MINING OPERATION EAST KOOTENAY REGIONAL DISTRICT REGIONAL CONTEXT
REFERENCE PROJECT No. 09-1349-0005 SCALE AS SHOWN REV. 0 Provincial boundaries, cities, First Nations Reserves and transportation data obtained from ESRI and DMTI. DESIGN SL 25 May 2009 Protected areas obtained from Geogratis. Hydrography data obtained from IHS Energy. GIS CW 27 Jul. 2009 Projection: UTM Zone 11 Datum: NAD 83 CHECK MO 09 Jun. 2009 FIGURE: 3 REVIEW SL 09 Jun. 2009 I:\2009\09-1349\09-1349-0005\Mapping\MXD\ProjectDescription\RegionalMap_Letter.mxd Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
2.2 Project History and Overview Mining of metallurgical coal in the region began in the late 1890’s at the Coal Creek Mine near Fernie, BC. Development continued throughout the 1900’s and today the remaining Teck Coal operations at Elkview, Coal Mountain, Greenhills, Line Creek and Fording River are all that remain of the original developments. These operations have survived the historic market cycles and numerous ownership changes that have occurred over the years.
The existing Line Creek mine has been in production for the past 26 years and has produced approximately 78 million metric tonnes of primarily metallurgical coal for sale to various customers around the world. The mining operations and associated infrastructure at Line Creek have occurred primarily within the Line Creek valley.
Operations at Line Creek began in 1982 after the successful application to the Ministry of Energy and Mines for the initial development of the Line Ridge under the current C-129 permit. The environmental assessment for this project was completed by BC Research in the late 70’s. In 1984 an application to amend the existing Ministry of Mines approval was made for an expansion to the original mine. This expansion resulted in an increase in processing capacity to 3.0 MMtcc annually as well as expanded the operating areas and increased the minable reserve and life expectancy of the operation beyond the previous permit. Subsequently there have been several modifications to the existing permit as new operating areas and supporting infrastructure have been required.
Today, the LCO support about 370 employees and contributes significantly to the local economies of Sparwood, Elkford, Crowsnest Pass and Fernie through employment, purchases in those communities and through a formal mine- property tax sharing pool which contributes $9 million annually to the three Elk Valley Communities and the Regional District of East Kootenay Area A. Reserves in the current Line Creek operational areas will sustain production requirements to the year 2014. In order to sustain production into the future, development of new reserves within the areas adjacent to the existing LCO are required.
Evaluation of the reserves in the proposed LCO Phase II Project area has been ongoing for several years and the Project is considered a “brownfields” opportunity as the area has been previously disturbed by oil and gas exploration, timber harvesting and mining exploration. The Project area is located immediately adjacent to the Burnt Ridge South (BRS) and Mine Services Area North (MSAN) pits in the northern portion of the existing LCO area. As an extension of the current operations, the Project will mine the same coal deposits being extracted by existing mining operations and will use existing mine facilities to process and load the coal. Figures 2 and 3 illustrate the location of the proposed development in relation to current operations and the surrounding area.
August 2009 - 6 - Teck Coal Limited – Line Creek Operations Phase ll Project Description
The Project includes the development of two new operating areas referred to as Burnt Ridge North (BRN) and Mount Michael (MM). These areas are estimated to provide an aggregate total of approximately 52 million metric tonnes of clean coal (Mmtcc) and will extend overall mine life by approximately 20 years. The proposed development will generate about 600 million m3 of waste rock. Waste rock will be placed in both existing operational spoil areas (including the Mine Services Area West Extension [MSAWX] and BRS pits) and new spoil areas within the upper reaches of the Dry Creek valley. The conceptual plan for development of the Project will result in a mining footprint approximately 6 km long by 3 km wide and totalling an area of approximately 1,100 hectares. Within this new disturbance area there will be:
x transportation and electrical transmission infrastructure for coal and waste hauls, pit access and power line right of ways; x waste spoils both in current operating areas and in the Dry Creek valley; x surface water management systems including outfalls and other drainage structures; and x coal stockpile and sorting areas.
An operational boundary totalling an area of approximately 1,800 ha is also established around the mining footprint (Figure 2). This area is established to allow for construction of downstream water management features, including any required settling pond(s), and incidental rock accumulation associated with normal waste rock dumping and mining activities.
The Project will also use existing infrastructure in place at LCO including waste and coal haul roads, mine access roads, coal processing facilities, Canadian Pacific (CP) rail line and load out loop, explosive storage and delivery systems and office facility. The Project will not require additional plant capacity beyond its’ current design and approved operating conditions, and will not result in an increase to the operational productive capacity of LCO (refer to Section 2.4.3).
2.3 Deposit Geology and Resource Characterization
2.3.1 Regional Stratigraphy
The general stratigraphic sequence of the Project area, beginning with the oldest sediments is: Rundle Group, Rocky Mountain Group, Spray River Formation, Fernie Formation, the Kootenay Group and the Blairmore Group [Samuelson 1996].
The Kootenay Group strata, which contain all of the coal seams, consist of the Morrissey Formation, the Mist Mountain Formation and the Elk Formation [Gibson 1979a]. While the entire Kootenay Group has some coal seams within it, technically all the economic seams occur in the Mist Mountain Formation. The Moose Mountain Member of the Morrissey Formation and the Elk Formation lie respectively under and over the main coal-bearing Mist Mountain formation.
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The Moose Mountain Member is a resistant, generally cliff-forming unit comprised of massive, medium to coarse-grained, medium-gray weathering sandstone. There are commonly two coal horizons within this sandstone, but their small thickness (rarely over one metre) and the overlying massive sandstone make them unattractive for economic consideration. The distinctive nature and prominence of this unit makes it an easily traceable marker horizon throughout the Elk Valley Coalfield of southeastern BC.
The Mist Mountain Formation is the main coal-bearing unit of the Kootenay Group. It overlies the Moose Mountain Member with an abrupt but conformable contact. It is comprised of a generally recessive, interbedded sequence of brownish tinted sandstones, gray to brown siltstones, gray and black shales, gray mudstones and coal seams. In the Elk Coalfield this formation ranges in thickness between 400 and 660 m. The coal seams attain a maximum individual thickness of over 10 m and a lateral extent of several km.
The Elk Formation lies conformably but abruptly over the Mist Mountain Formation. It consists of an interbedded sequence of cliff forming sandstones, shales and siltstones and thin (less than 1 m), sporadic coal seams. The exact base of the Elk Formation is somewhat arbitrary as it is defined as being “the base of the first major sandstone or conglomerate above the uppermost major coal seam in the Mist Mountain formation” [Gibson 1979a]. Therefore the stratigraphic position of the Mist Mountain-Elk formational contact may vary slightly between Project areas.
The following descriptions of BRN and MM are based on Gibson 1979, Samuelson 1996, Price 1966, Wheeler 1968 and White 1982.
2.3.2 Burnt Ridge North Structure
Burnt Ridge North lies on the west limb of the Alexander Creek Syncline. The strike of the bedding is roughly north-northwest with the dips on the west side of the ridge ranging between 30 and 50 degrees to the east. The dips steepen to the east so that on the east side of the ridge the dips range from 45 degrees to vertical. It appears that initially the beds steepen with depth before flattening to the east into the axis of the Alexander Creek Syncline.
While the major structure of the area is the Alexander Creek syncline, mapping in the area indicates that a myriad of secondary structures have been superimposed on the west limb of the syncline. Folded and faulted areas have been mapped along the east side of Burnt Ridge. These areas are characterized by drag folds in anticline/syncline pairs, minor faulting, crushed and sheared zones and overturned bedding.
There are seven major coal seams occurring in the section ranging from thickness of 1 to 22 m representing a total reserve volume of 31 Mmtcc.
August 2009 - 8 -