Filing for compensation from the Giant Mine cleanup? You have 3 weeks
24 individuals have already indicated they will file, including City of Yellowknife
People claiming compensation for expenses resulting from the cleanup of Giant Mine have three weeks to explain why they should be compensated and how much they should get.
The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board has set Sept. 26 as the deadline for filing claims. The board has already received notice from 24 people and individuals who intend to file claims.
Most of the notices were filed by members of the Great Slave Lake Sailing Club on the shore of Great Slave Lake. They want to be paid for losses they say they will suffer when the club is closed to accommodate the cleanup.
In submissions to the board, most say the shutdown could render their sailboats worthless because there will no longer be any place to put them in the lake in the spring, crane them out in the fall, or store them in the winter.
The Yellowknife Historical Society included a breakdown of costs in its notice. It runs a museum near the sailing club to commemorate the city's mining history. Its claims include $200,000 annually in lost government funding and $138,000 to move mining equipment displays to allow for the cleanup and then move them back after it's completed.
The City of Yellowknife is also looking for compensation. It's anticipating the town site and a boat launch it runs nearby will be closed for 10 years, "significantly and adversely impacting the social, economic, recreational and cultural wellbeing of the City's residents and residents of the Mackenzie Valley more generally."
The city leases the land it's using from the territorial government. The agreement runs until 2030.
In its notice, the city says the cost of establishing a new boat launch will be established through a feasibility study, but says it does not have the money to do the study. It says it's been trying to reach a settlement with the team of federal officials overseeing the cleanup, but has not reached one yet.
The city is also reportedly claiming $8 million in compensation to cover its share of costs associated with replacing a sub-marine pipe that draws the city's drinking water from the Yellowknife River.
No claim is being filed by the group that has suffered the most lasting damage from Giant — the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. In a letter to the board, it says the land and water board does not have the authority to award it the compensation it deserves.
"For generations, the YKDFN has suffered loss of use and contamination of our ancestral lands, and the wrongful appropriation of our un-surrendered resources from these lands," the letter reads.
The Yellowknives Dene are calling for the federal government to negotiate compensation directly with them.
The board says it hopes claimants can negotiate settlements with the project team. If it cannot, a hearing process may be set up to help the board decide how to reach a decision on each claim.