RE:Day 14
my gut feeling so far is that the panel will ask for more time before making a decision, delaying construction 12-18 months. The risks of groundwater movement are real. The language being presented makes me believe the panel will want more information before giving approval. Government employees & panelists have no vested interest in the outcome, they do not lose anything if the mine is not built. They could lose their career if a problem occurs that they overlooked. The first thing that came to my mind when I first discovered Generation was how close the site is to the Pic River. Groundwater migration is not an exact science, & it takes years of data sets to establish what exactly is going on down there. Groundwater from the pit eventually exiting in to the Pic watershed remains a hurdle that must be proven to not occur. Experts are not taken at their word when they are hired hands of industry. The panelists will have to use their own expertise & that of independent others to decide if there will be detriments to Groundwater in the long run. I believe Generation will eventually get a permit but there is so much that could go wrong here its my opinion there will be a delay in getting approval.