A volunteer organization working to preserve an agricultural way of life in the Round Hill - Dodds area.
RHDAPA Position Statement
The Round Hill-Dodds Agriculture Protective Association is opposed to the Dodds-Roundhill Coal Gasification Project as currently proposed by Sherritt and Epcor. We see no way that the social, cultural, environmental and economic impacts would be acceptable to our members or our community, and do not see how the economic benefits could outweigh these costs.
Because of great uncertainty about whether or not the regulatory bodies will act to adequately protect the public's or community's best interest we have no choice but to engage Sherritt and Epcor to try to minimize the impacts on the community and environment, should the project proceed, in spite of growing public opposition. We also believe it is essential for us to be able to conduct our own detailed review of the application and the environmental impact assessment and ensure that the public, and the regulator has a full and accurate understanding of the potential social, cultural, environmental and economic impacts of this project. We also must be able to conduct a thorough review of the technical and design options available to minimize those impacts that may or may not be part of the application as proposed by Sherritt and Epcor.
For this reason we will pursue a constructive stakeholder consultation process with Sherritt that ensures we will have access to the time and the resources to properly review and critique the application and the EIA in advance of the formal hearing process, without prejudice to our final positions in the hearing. We also intend to exchange ideas, share information and work in a coordinated manner with other citizens and public interest organizations to ensure that the public interest and the environment are properly protected.