Likely Matters

December 2016 REMEMBRANCE DAY Lisa Kraus, Likely & District Chamber of Commerce Vice President, silently reflects after laying her wreath in commemoration of the many soldiers who fought in the war and for those who continue to serve our country. Twenty-eight wreaths, made by Likely Wreaths, were laid on this chilly, sombre morning after Cst. T. Callens of RCMP Williams Lake detachment did the honors of lowering and raising the Canadian Flag, with RCMP, Cst. John Dryden (retired RCMP) Mike Shannon (RCAF) and Cst. Shane Nicoll (RCMP) in Red Serge, as honour guard. Thank you to, John Gagnon, Randy Kadonaga, Marlene Watt, Bob, Rob and the Seniors for their contribution in hosting the event.

COMMUNITY UPDATE Winter is slowly creeping up on us and all the projects are finishing up in the community. Kudos to Brian, Gordon, Ron and Joanne for all their work this summer to keep our town in tip top shape. I’m especially looking forward to seeing the transformation this spring with the tree trimming and weeding beside the store. As clarification for those who had questions – the façade project this year was awarded to Likely Lakeside Service and K & L Trucking. This is a government grant that was supported by the Chamber of Commerce and only after an extended deadline and one application for the project, the Chamber directors fully endorsed K&L to apply for a grant. To keep the work local, K & L Trucking hired the community work crew, to put up the siding. They made a fantastic transformation!

Employment opportunity to maintain public privies (outhouses) at the Bullion Pit and downtown Likely

Duties to include general maintenance and cleaning of the two privies.  Cleaning: Once a week at both sites. Bullion Site as snow permits. Removal of Privy garbage.  General maintenance to include: minor snow removal from pathways of both privies, minor lawn mowing, weeding and painting of the interior/exterior as necessary In addition, the contractor will be responsible for:  Providing all toilet paper and cleaning supplies  Contacting Septic removal company for septic removal once a year This is a three-year contract under the supervision of the Likely & District Chamber of Commerce. The contract is based on approximately $86.00 per week. If you are interested in applying for this contract please submit your resume to Likely & District Chamber of Commerce, Box 29, Likely, BC V0L 1N0 or call 250-790-0002. Please leave a message if there is no answer.

Likely Matters Editor, November 30, 2016 Mount Polley Mine (MPMC) has applied to continue the discharge of mine effluent into Quesnel Lake, and though it is a complex situation, reviewing and commenting on the application is complicated by the fact that MPMC will not release ALL the water quality (WQ) and operating data in a timely manner. QL is an oligotrophic lake, a big word that means nutrient poor. Previous to the dam breach and present “temporary” mine-water discharge, the biggest influx of nutrients into the lake was the annual return of the salmon runs. MPMC and MoE focus a lot on potential metal contamination, which is obviously important, but it is likely that turbidity and nutrients (basically fertilizers such as nitrates, ammonia, phosphorus plus assorted micronutrients) discharged by MPMC has had, and will continue to have, a more profound negative impact on the QL aquatic environment. The effluent discharge WQ criteria that MPMC is proposing are in many cases hundreds of times or more higher than the background QL WQ. Residents along the lake have noticed and reported increased cloudy water, slime growth, filters clogging, reduced insect hatches, etc., with no corrective response from authorities. The west arm water residence time is 90 days (10+ years for the whole lake), which means the constituents of the minewater (turbidity, metals, nutrients etc.) build up in the relatively static lake water. I remember visiting the Likely “Hilton” Hotel café in the 1990s, and using the toilets upstairs (an adventure believe me) with the sign: “If its yellow, let it mellow, if its brown, flush it down”. My apologies to those that are a bit sensitive, but if you ever “let it mellow”, you know that after a few hours the “yellow” starts to smell. Well the situation in QL is somewhat similar, because with the added chemicals and nutrients from MPMC, the lake starts to stew, likely leading to the effects noticed by residents. MPMC is focused solely on meeting BC Water Quality Guidelines, rather than identifying the changes and long-term effects on the formerly pristine QL aquatic environment. Regarding the effects of the dam breach itself, note the statement from UNBC: “The QRRC team predicts that it will take several years, or perhaps even decades, before the full impacts of the breach are realized.” (International Innovation Newsletter (“Protecting the pristine Quesnel watershed in Canada,” January 29, 2016)). And MPMC appears willing to continue compounding the problems? The Imperial Metals (IMC) website indicates that MPMC’s typical Cash Cost Per Pound of Copper (Cu) Produced is about US$1.00/lb of Cu equivalent, which was a pretty good margin in the past (in 2013, IMC had $41 Million Net Income on $188 Million revenue). MPMC also reported known resources in 2013 of 411 Million tonnes at 0.482% Cu equivalent, which at 22,000 tonnes/day could be over 50 years of production. The gross value of that resource at US$2.20/lb Cu is over US$8 Billion, but note that recent Cu prices (as well as IMC shares) have risen about 25%. MPMC may be suffering financially a bit at the moment due to the double-whammy of the dam breach mitigation (somewhat self-inflicted) and low copper prices, but their future is likely quite bright. I cannot predict if IMC would really shut down and walk away from the mine, but in any case they would still be responsible for the cleanup and closure of the mine-site, even with no cash flow coming from MPMC. It is disappointing that a corporation with such huge economic value would not consider spending, in relative terms, a few cents more to minimize impacts on the environment.

Likely Xats’ull Community Forest Ltd. Soda Creek Band Likely Community Forest Society Published by: Box 233, Likely, BC Teena Sellars, Soda Creek Lisa Kraus, Likely, BC Kathy Brackett 250-790-0002 [email protected] 250-989-2323 [email protected]

I support that MPMC should operate, but it must protect the sensitive QL aquatic environment, which the present proposal does not. Sincerely, Doug Watt, Likely, BC Still considered a “new-comer” by some, though I have now lived here for 2 decades. SENIORS CHAMBERS Jan 19 @ 6:30 Dec 6 @ 6:30 @ hall @ hall

LIKELY CHAPEL LIKELY LIBRARY Sunday’s @ 10:30 Tues. & Wed. 1 – 5pm

Maurita Ada Geddert (Palm) April 23, 1949 - October 30, 2016 Maurita died as elegantly as she lived, peacefully fading away, surrounded by her loving family, classy and dignified to the end. Survived by her husband Rudy, daughters Ayrilee (Graham) and Holly, granddaughter Keelan, and sisters Bev and Syl. She will be remembered as the most caring, empathetic and positive person anyone has ever known. Maurita set a very high bar and made a difference to many lives as she always recognized the good in people. She was loved by everyone who knew her. We are all going to miss her warm infectious smile and her trademark "you-hoo" greeting. In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to help bring the planned treatment centre for Neuroendocrine Cancer to BC; contact Alyson Meehan 604 877 6160 at the BC Cancer Foundation. A celebration of life will be held at the Likely Community Hall, Sunday May 21st at 1:00 PM

Public Notice Re: Mt Polley Permit 11678 Oct. 20, 2016 Amendment Application

This Notice is to advise local residents and interested parties that the period for public input on Mt. Polley Mining Corporation’s applications to amend Environmental Management Act Permit 11678 to enable the discharge of treated mine effluent to Quesnel Lake via pipeline has been extended to Friday December 23 2016.

Considering the quantity and complexity of the information provided by Mt Polley Mining Corporation in their Technical Assessment Report posted on the internet (at the Mt. Polley Mining Corp website https://www.imperialmetals.com/our-operations-and- projects/operations/mount-polley-mine/long-term-water-management-plan-application and the Min. of Environment Mt Polley website http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/eemp/incidents/2014/mount-polley/updates.htm#6 ) and presented at public meetings held in Quesnel, Williams Lake, Likely, Horsefly and Big Lake and Deep Creek and through webinars from late October through mid-November and considering the requests of local communities and local first nations that they and their constituents be granted more time to review and comment on the information provided the consultation period has been extended.

Hubert Bunce A/Director Environmental Protection, Mt Polley Environmental Protection Division Ministry of Environment Mount Polley Mining Corporation an Imperial Metals company Box 12  Likely, BC V0L 1N0  T 250.790.2215  F 250.790.2613

In the Community In July 2014, Patenaude Creek was identified by watershed stakeholders as a suitable restoration candidate as a means to rectify the habitat loss sustained by Mine Drainage Creek on the Mount Polley Mining Corporation (MPMC) site in 2013. Patenaude Creek is a tributary to Horsefly River that had encountered bank destabilization, gravel accrument and channel avulsion for over a decade. This disruption in habitat inhibited access for junvenile fish and enabled post-freshet stranding of rainbow trout and salmon. In accordance with fisheries management regulations, MPMC and their consultants developed an outline for the creek restoration project. The objectives included the stabilizing of the creek banks, creating fish spawning and rearing habitat, and maintaining access to the Patenaude Creek floodplain to limit stranding.

The habitat restoration project was completed in October 2015, with bi-annual monitoring and maintenance conducted in spring and fall for a minimum of 10 years. The restored habitat is expected to reach full ecological functionality within that time frame. During the fall monitoring in 2016, six adult Interior Fraser coho were spotted in Patenaude Creek; these may have been the first confirmed spawning salmon observed in the creek since the late 1990s (see Figures 1-2).

Figure 1. A male Interior Fraser coho documented in Patenaude Creek in November 2016.

Figure 2. A female Interior Fraser coho documented in Patenaude Creek in November 2016.