Dear editor,I applaud our papers for continuing to print both sides of the debate regarding the Raven coal project. For those who care, the Vancouver Sun on April 12 printed an article that everyone should be aware of. Titled 鈥淏.C. toxic sites鈥� cleanup costs rise,鈥� it goes on to say that the province鈥檚 price tag for cleanup of 13 priority contaminated sites has increased by $73 million to $237 million, of which Union Bay鈥檚 coal hills are one, and, another nine are also mine sites.The article goes on to mention these lands become the province鈥檚 responsibility when the companies that created the problem no longer exist. Those are yours and my tax dollars at work due to 鈥� well you don鈥檛 need to be a Harvard graduate to figure that out, I hope.Which brings me to the penny stock, Compliance Energy. The Comox Valley Business Gazette recently printed a half-page advertisement on behalf of the Raven project. It included the reasons, and promised millions of dollars in benefits will be brought to our communities due to this project.When I add up the dollar facts (for those of you who somehow expect your children are going to work at such a place and reap those amazing rewards), the millions sound oh so enticing, but the millions we will undoubtedly pay out in the long term don鈥檛 seem to make it a worthy trade.Do you really believe these people will be around to clean up the leaching from the tailings ponds? Besides, what would they do with the waste anyway?Do you really believe they will care after they have made their millions off your environment? No bond will ever be enough to cover the costs of cleanup; we keep proving that time and time again.I should be clear, I鈥檓 not opposed to the mine; my opposition comes from the fact that I know this company can鈥檛 mine without environmental degradation because they could never afford to do so. And further to that, there is no one to hold them accountable to do so. It certainly won鈥檛 be any of our government employees; there are not enough left in the field to even attempt the task.Both our federal and provincial governments have whittled employees out in the field down so low that we now have regulations without regulators.I asked a question a year ago on a submission to the papers and I will ask it again. Show me a mine anywhere in the world that has not created environmental damage. There is no way to mine without environmental degradation.And yes, our laws and regulations are stiffer in this country, but it is beyond all reason to expect to mine without problems at the site in the future.Nothing changes with regard to the toxic waste that is generated in the process. Containment is impossible.Sooner or later the toxins will be loose and we the taxpayers will suffer the consequences with our health and the environment.So, if this project does go through, remember, when your children鈥檚 children start having health issues due to environmental circumstances, I hope you remember you played a role and made a choice.Until we start sending the waste to Mars, someone is going to live by it, someone is going to suffer because of it, and someone is going to pay for it.Marc Gaudreau,Fanny Bay
