Residents Are Fed Up
Sleepless in Port Morien & Donkin
THE COAL COMPANY did not install the on-site supplied silencers for the mine's ventilation fans.
The following audio was recorded seven (7) kilometres from the coal mine's ventilation fans.
Making People Sick
Cline's Kameron Mine in Donkin has been exposing local families to harmful sleep disturbing noise for over 937 days and are making people sick with the following adverse effects:
Sleep disturbance;
Headaches and unusual fatigue;
Lack of concentration and irritation;
Stress and high blood pressure.
Here is a an important link to a PDF fact sheet to assist in understanding the local noise issue.
Mine Noise like 'Torture'
People are leaving their homes for weeks at a time, taking medications they didn’t have to take before, wearing earplugs, sleeping in their basements, leaving radios and televisions on in their bedrooms, and some have contemplated selling their homes - all to get rid of this annoying and stressful noise which some classify as “torture.”
Self-regulatory Fallacy
Nova Scotia's Environment & Climate Change (ECC) relys mainly on the Kameron Coal to police themselves, allowing "the fox to guard the henhouse," so to speak.
Lest we assume that the Donkin Mine can police themselves, note that it was ruled that Kameron Coalʼs concealment of six cave-ins at Donkin mine broke a provincial regulation that required immediate reporting.
Auditor General Says
Nova Scotia Auditor General Michael Pickup says the government is failing its environmental oversight, he would like to see the government specifically Environment & Climate Change (ECC), accountable.
“The department is failing because, in too many cases, terms and conditions on project approvals are not monitored or evaluated to see if they are working,” Pickup said
ECC Regulatory Failure
The community has been at this for a long time, since October 2019, over 937 days!
When residents expressed their concerns to government officials and politicians, they were offered platitudes and form letters that did not address their specific questions.
Sleepless in Donkin: Mine's ventilation system still keeping people awake
Environment Department declines interview but states "you need to contact the company for further details of their noise mitigation and monitoring."
What is most obvious to residents is just how ECC the very institution charged with protecting peoples right to health are not only failing spectacularly to meet that responsibly but are deeply complicit in those violations under the guise of symbolic environmental assessments, lax enforcement and outright extractive industry impunity.
Demand Change
When governments won’t do what’s right, it’s up to the citizens to demand change.
CONTACT
Tim Houston
Premier of Nova Scotia
Send an Email
Maclolm McNeil
Environment & Climate Change
Send an Email
Donkin Mine Safety
Rock and Gas Outbursts
- September 18, 2018: Rock fall
- October 1, 2018: Two massive rock falls
- December 18: Roof collapse
- December 28, 2018: Stop-work issued, imminent danger to workers
All the six cave-ins during 2018 were not reported - mining license was suspended.
- July 8, 2019: Rock fall, stop-work order issued.
- December 28, 2019: Rock fall, stop-work order issued.
- February 2, 2020: Rock fall, stop-work order was issued.
- February 13, 2020: Stop-work order issued following a second rockfall in under two weeks.
- May 6, 2020: Rock fall, mine closed two months earlier.
- January 2022: Mine has been closed for two years.
A total of 14 rockfalls have occurred.
Safety Questions before Opening
Official linked to U.S. mine disaster resigns from Cape Breton’s Donkin mine project
Donkin mine executive quits after Nova Scotia voices safety concerns
New Donkin Mine owner has poor safety and environmental record
Local Residents Protest
Cape Breton fishermen protest outside Donkin mine over coal barge plans
Donkin coal trucks too big for Port Morien-area roads, residents say
Foreign Worker Program Violation
Donkin coal mine's temporary foreign workers use 'strange,' says Cape Breton MP
Donkin coal mine's use of temporary foreign workers questioned by union
Donkin mine punished for violations under temporary foreign worker program
Company Fires Workers for Speaking Out
Glimpses of Westray – Donkin Mine company fires workers speaking out about safety
Fresh questions about reboot of an underground Cape Breton coal mine
From the Weasel Words Dept: Donkin ‘Makes Changes’ to Its Workforce
'Playing with fire': Former Donkin mine workers describe 'scary' safety practices
Disaster Waiting to Happen
Donkin coal mine racks up dozens of safety violations in first few months
Donkin mine: “It’s just a matter of time before somebody gets injured or killed”
Methane Fire
Roof Falls
No surprise Donkin mine is subject to rock falls, experts say
Nova Scotia’s Donkin coal mine suspends work after roof collapses
Section of Donkin mine reopens after month-long safety closure
Stop-work order lifted after rockfall at Cape Breton's Donkin coal mine
Second rockfall at Donkin coal mine this month halts production
Donkin mine back in production after stop-work order partially lifted
Cape Breton coal mine stops production after second roof fall in two weeks
Donkin Mine suffers another rockfall, this one during a shift
U.S. Mining Experts to Tour Donkin Mine as Concerns Mount Over Rockfalls
Threat of closing Donkin mine best tool to urge roof safety, minister says
Other Cline Group Mines
Cline's Financial Problems
Believe in Nova Scotia
About Us
The Cow Bay Environmental Coalition is a public benefit organization that seeks to empower people to exercise their right to local community self-government in matters that pertain to their fundamental rights, their natural environment, their quality of life, their health and their safety.