Manitoba denies environmental licence to sand project over drinking water concerns

The Manitoba government has nixed a contentious sand extraction project that had been proposed by Sio Silica east of Winnipeg, citing concerns about drinking water.

Premier Wab Kinew and Tracy Schmidt, Manitoba’s environment minister, announced Friday the province decided not to grant an environmental licence to the Vivian project.

“Our government will always put the health and safety of Manitobans first, and this includes ensuring communities have safe, clean drinking water,” Kinew said in a release.

“After taking the time and doing our due diligence, our government has come to the decision that the risks of this proposal outweigh any potential benefits.”

Schmidt said the proposal failed to adequately consider long-term impacts, including potential aquifer collapse.

“We have a responsibility to ensure we are not endangering Manitobans’ drinking water,” said Schmidt.

Schmidt’s decision was based on expert information as well as consultation with affected communities and First Nations, said the government news release.

It said a Clean Environment Commission report flagged a number of serious concerns about the project, which would have extracted sand through aquifers that provide drinking water to about 100,000 Manitobans.

The full project would have created thousands of wells over 24 years across a large swath of southeastern Manitoba, although only an initial phase was being reviewed for approval.

“This is a huge loss for Manitoba and Canada as a whole,” Sio Silica, which is based in Calgary, said in a written statement.