Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency

News Release

Funding for Public Participation in the Review of the Cheviot Coal Project

OTTAWA - October 21, 1996 - The federal government has awarded funds to help the public take part in the joint Canada-Alberta environmental assessment review of the Cheviot Coal Project.

Recipients are: Alexis First Nation, United Mineworkers of America, Local 1656, Pembina Institute/Alberta Wilderness Association, Cadomin Environmental Protection Association, Speak Up for Wildlife Foundation/Rocky Mountain Coalition, the Alpine Club of Canada, Trout Unlimited Canada and the Canadian Nature Federation.

The assistance, totalling $75,000, will be provided under the Participant Funding Program which is administered by the Canadian Environmental AssessmentAgency. The funding will help recipients prepare for and take part in hearings being conducted by a joint panel established under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Canada-Alberta Agreement for Environmental Cooperation. These hearings are an opportunity for the public to express their views on the potential effects of the proposed project.

A funding administration committee, independent of the panel, was appointed to review participant funding proposals. Members of the committee were: Rick Hoos, Bovar Environmental, Calgary, Elisabeth Swanson, Environmental Law Centre, Edmonton and Paul Scott of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

For information on the Participant Funding Program or for a list of successful applicants, the work for which they were funded and the amount of funding provided, please contact:

Suzanne Latour, A/Manager
Participant Funding Program
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
200 Sacré-Coeur Blvd.
Hull, Québec K1A 0H3
Tel: (819) 953-5537
Fax: (819) 994-1469
E-mail: suzanne.latour@ceaa-acee.gc.ca