An environmental assessment process for limestone quarry and lime plant proposed for a site near Giscome has been put on hold to give its owners time to review the impact of using a haul truck rather than a conveyor to transport stone to the plant.
Project manager David Chamberlain of Richmond-based Graymont Western Canada said this week the change is part of a plan to scale back the initial construction to one kiln from two in answer to a sagging market for the product.
As a result, the provincial government's environmental assessment office has told Graymont it needs to determine the impact the change would have on such factors as dust and noise, Chamberlain said.
The move comes slightly more than half-way through a 180-day review. Once the study has been completed, the review will resume from where it left off, according to Chamberlain.
The long-term goal remains to have three kilns at the plant 400 metres from the shore of Eaglet Lake, about one kilometre from Giscome, and to have an overland conveyor transfer stone from the quarry, five kilometres away.
"What's happening is we're reassessing a few components and what's going to happen in the next few years, but the project is still a go and we're very optimistic about this project," Chamberlain said.
At full build out, the quarry would have the capacity to extract up to 1.7 million tonnes per year with a life span of 40 years. The proposed plant site was previously used by CN Rail to quarry ballast rock and has an existing rail connection and gravel road access.
Pending approval from the environmental assessment office and securing of related permits, Chamberlain expects to see construction begin in summer 2017. The initial construction is expected to employ 40 to 60 people, and the project is expected to create 10 to 15 permanent, full-time jobs.
Concern has been raised by some Giscome residents about the plant's location and have said it should be located next to the quarry, which is about three kilometres further away from the community, about 27 kilometres northeast of Prince George.
