These four red areas are part of the La Ronge Peat Moss Project. (submitted photo/Ministry of Environment)

By Derek Cornet

Peat Moss

Quebec company eyes peat moss harvesting near La Ronge

Feb 25, 2019 | 11:51 AM

Widescale peat moss harvesting could occur on more than 2,600 hectares of land as close as 15 kilometres south of La Ronge.

That’s according to Brianne England, the manager of applications with the environmental assessment and stewardship branch of the Ministry of Environment. She said Lambert Peat Moss Inc. based in Quebec submitted an application for the La Ronge Peat Moss Harvesting Project to the ministry in December 2018. As part of the process, England stated the company is required to conduct an environmental impact assessment in order to identify and characterize the environmental impact that could occur as a result of the project.

“Lambert is developing a terms of reference, which will guide their environmental impact assessment,” she said. “As part of their terms of reference, we’ll be expecting them to include a public engagement and consultation plan. We don’t have a lot of those details yet, but those plans would typically include public meetings, open houses [and] specific engagement with nearby landowners or stakeholders.”

As part of the application, Lambert submitted a project plan which shows the areas to be impacted in four separate spots. One site is just south of Napatak along Highway 2, while another runs directly through Highway 165. The furthest site, England said, is 62 kilometres away from La Ronge. To date, she noted there’s been exploration activities on those sites in order to define the peat moss there, as well as assist the company with its environmental impact assessment.

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“Public engagement is a really important component of our process,” England said. “Proponents are required to engage with stakeholders throughout the project in order to share information and work to address any concerns that may be raised.”

larongeNOW reached out to Lambert Peat Moss Inc. for an interview, but a representative declined to comment.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno