Review timeline

The Tenas mine plan has been under government review since 2018. This page follows it: who the reviewers are, what they asked for, what the company answered, and what came of it.

Who the reviewers are: the Working Group

• It is created by legal order. The Section 11 Order of June 2019 defines it as "an advisory group" of Indigenous nations and "federal, provincial and local government agencies". Source: Section 11 Order, p. 4; Section 11 Order, p. 6.
• It advises. The EAO decides. Members comment on the study requirements, the Application, the draft Assessment Report and the proposed certificate conditions. The EAO told the group in 2022 that it has no technical expertise of its own in these areas and looks to members for it. Source: Section 11 Order, p. 6; Terrestrial, Social and Health sub-group notes, Jun 20, 2022, p. 7.
• The proponent is not a member. It attends when asked and must answer every comment. Source: Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 3; Section 11 Order, p. 6.
• Who has attended. The Office of the Wet'suwet'en, Witset First Nation, the provincial ministries for environment, mines, forests, agriculture and transportation, Northern Health, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Town of Smithers, the Village of Telkwa, the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako and the Bulkley Valley Community Resources Board. Source: Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 1.
• It has a new name. Since December 2022 it is the Technical Advisory Committee. The EAO wrote that "the role and membership" stay the same. Source: Transition Order, Dec 16, 2022, p. 4; EAO letter on the transition, Dec 16, 2022, p. 3.

Timeline

Scoping November 2018 to September 2019

The group met in Smithers and by phone to decide what the assessment had to study.

1. Nov 6, 2018The Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) orders that the mine needs an environmental assessment certificate. Source: Section 10 Order, p. 1.
2. Nov 27, 2018First meeting, held jointly with the Mine Review Committee. The Office of the Wet'suwet'en asks why Fisheries and Oceans Canada is absent. The Town of Smithers asks how the public will be meaningfully engaged beyond open houses. Source: Working Group notes, Nov 27, 2018, p. 2; Working Group notes, Nov 27, 2018, p. 4.
3. Jan 17, 2019Telkwa Coal tells the group that one third of the pit material is potentially acid generating, about 25 million cubic metres. The Ministry of Environment worries that running permitting at the same time will thin out technical reviewers. Source: Working Group notes, Jan 17, 2019, p. 3.
4. Jan 30 to 31, 2019Two days on water and on Valued Components (the list of things the assessment must study). Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirms it will stay out. Telkwa Coal says the ponds holding acid-generating rock will be managed forever and that no water treatment is planned beyond settling. See the ponds and dams, year by year → Source: Valued Components meeting notes, Jan 31, 2019, p. 3; Valued Components meeting notes, Jan 31, 2019, p. 4; Valued Components meeting notes, Jan 31, 2019, p. 5.
5. Mar 21, 2019Caribou sub-group. The herd is estimated at about 22 animals. Environment and Climate Change Canada puts on record that it rates range contraction as a more serious threat than Telkwa Coal's presentation does. Our page on the Telkwa caribou herd → Source: Caribou sub-group notes, Mar 21, 2019, p. 2; Caribou sub-group notes, Mar 21, 2019, p. 4.
6. Jun 25, 2019The Section 11 Order formally creates the Working Group and obliges the proponent to answer its comments within time limits the EAO sets. Source: Section 11 Order, p. 6.
7. Jul 10, 2019Terrestrial sub-group. Telkwa Coal says its Application could be ready in spring 2020. Source: Terrestrial sub-group notes, Jul 10, 2019, p. 5.

Pause September 2019 to April 2020

The assessment stopped at the request of Wet'suwet'en house members.

1. Sep 6, 2019Telkwa Coal agrees to a request from the Cas Yikh house membership to put the review on hold until April 30, 2020, during reconciliation talks between the Wet'suwet'en and the Province. Source: Telkwa Coal letter, Sep 6, 2019, p. 1; EAO letter, Sep 11, 2019, p. 1.
2. Mar 4, 2020Telkwa Coal chooses to stay under the 2002 Environmental Assessment Act instead of moving to the new 2018 Act. Source: Telkwa Coal letter, Mar 4, 2020, p. 1.

Setting the requirements May 2020 to January 2022

Two virtual meetings, then twenty months of written comments on what the Application must contain.

1. May 6, 2020The assessment resumes. Asked about water treatment, Telkwa Coal answers that none is expected to be needed. The Ministry of Environment recommends a contingency plan for selenium, citing the Elk Valley coal mines. The Office of the Wet'suwet'en says there are no agreements in place and that capacity remains a problem. Source: Working Group notes, May 6, 2020, p. 3; Working Group notes, May 6, 2020, p. 4.
2. May 27, 2020Moose and rail. The Office of the Wet'suwet'en reports 169 moose killed in the winter of 2006 to 2007 and asks the Province to bring CN Rail to the table. Source: Working Group notes, May 27, 2020, p. 3.
3. Jan 2022The requirements are final. The tracking table for this phase lists about 245 comments (our count), of which about 200 are marked "Response is satisfactory to EAO". Source: Application Information Requirements tracking table, Jan 2022.

Reviewing the Application February to December 2022

The only period in which the group reviewed the mine plan itself. The law allowed 180 days.

1. Feb 24 to Apr 27, 2022Telkwa Coal files its Application. The EAO adds 26 days to the 30-day screening for more engagement with the Office of the Wet'suwet'en, then accepts the Application for review. Source: EAO letter accepting the Application, Apr 27, 2022, p. 1; Time Limit Extension Order, Apr 27, 2022, p. 2.
2. May 30, 2022Orientation meeting. The EAO plans three rounds of comment and response. It reports that Fisheries and Oceans Canada and CN Rail both declined to join. Source: Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 2; Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 3; Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 4.
3. Jun 20, 2022The Ministry of Forests says its comments on the visual assessment from the requirements stage were not reflected in the Application, and asks that blasting noise be assessed for caribou. Source: Terrestrial, Social and Health sub-group notes, Jun 20, 2022, p. 3; Terrestrial, Social and Health sub-group notes, Jun 20, 2022, p. 7.
4. Jun 23, 2022Water and aquatics. Telkwa Coal confirms the mine would exceed the provincial selenium guideline in parts of Goathorn and Tenas creeks in winter for a period of years. The Ministry of Environment questions why site-specific limits are being proposed at this stage. This is the last full meeting with published notes. How the company answered in 2026 → Source: Water and Aquatics sub-group notes, Jun 23, 2022, p. 8; Water and Aquatics sub-group notes, Jun 23, 2022, p. 10.
5. Sep 10, 2022The Office of the Wet'suwet'en asks the EAO to suspend the clock, calling the Application's treatment of Wet'suwet'en title and rights "a desktop exercise only". Source: Office of the Wet'suwet'en letter, Sep 10, 2022, p. 1.
6. Oct 6 to Dec 14, 2022The EAO issues four Information Requests: caribou, water, and one each for the Office of the Wet'suwet'en and Witset First Nation. Source: Transition Order, Dec 16, 2022, p. 6.
7. Dec 16, 2022The review cannot finish by the legal deadline. A Transition Order moves it under the 2018 Act and renames the Working Group the Technical Advisory Committee. Source: Transition Order, Dec 16, 2022, p. 4; Reasons for Decision, Dec 16, 2022, p. 3.

Waiting on answers December 2022 to October 2025

The committee's work moved onto paper. The Assessment Plan puts the timeline for this stage "at the discretion of" the proponent.

1. Jun 6, 2023A fifth Information Request, on steelhead spawning. Reviewers note that the reference fish survey dates from 1985. Source: Fish and Fish Habitat Information Request, Jun 6, 2023, p. 1.
2. Nov 3, 2023An Amendment Order names four participating Indigenous nations: the Wet'suwet'en Houses through the Office of the Wet'suwet'en, Wet'suwet'en First Nation, Witset First Nation and Skin Tyee First Nation. Source: Amendment Order, Nov 3, 2023, p. 2.
3. Jan 2, 2024Telkwa Mining Limited replaces Telkwa Coal Limited as proponent. Source: Telkwa Mining letter, Jan 2, 2024, p. 1.
4. Apr 10, 2024The latest published tracking table shows 293 of 523 comments closed (our count). Source: Issues tracking table, Apr 10, 2024.
5. Jun 10, 2025Caribou sub-committee meets to hear the draft caribou answer. This is the only committee meeting between 2022 and 2026 with notes in the record. Our page on the Telkwa caribou herd → Source: Caribou Technical Advisory Sub-Committee notes, Jun 10, 2025, p. 3.

The company's responses November 2025 to August 2026

Five responses in nine months, then the EAO's acceptance. The table below this timeline pairs each one with the request it answers.

1. Nov 24, 2025Section 25 matters response (759 pages). The cover letter presents the final greenhouse gas report and encloses Northern Health's comments on all six Section 25 items, with tables answering the Office of the Wet'suwet'en. Source: Section 25 matters response, p. 1; Section 25 matters response, p. 3.
2. Dec 2, 2025Fish and fish habitat response (331 pages). It answers the June 2023 request and seven Office of the Wet'suwet'en comments. A draft went to the Office of the Wet'suwet'en in November 2024; after its feedback two of those comments are closed and the rest get further clarification. Source: Fish and Fish Habitat response, p. 1; Fish and Fish Habitat response, p. 2; Fish and Fish Habitat response, p. 3.
3. Jan 26, 2026Caribou response (265 pages; updated March 23, 2026). The revised effect on caribou habitat is put at 3,212.3 hectares, and Telkwa Mining proposes offset payments totalling $7,621,581. It maintains that its 2022 figure "presented the most likely effect", and notes that provincial biologists have "returned to some of the same questions". Our page on the Telkwa caribou herd → Source: Caribou response, Jan 26, 2026, p. 1; Caribou response, Jan 26, 2026, p. 2; Caribou response, Jan 26, 2026, p. 4; Caribou response, updated Mar 23, 2026.
4. Apr 1, 2026Wetland response (46 pages). Provincial reviewers had written in January that the proposed reclamation "still does not represent like-for-like compensation". Telkwa Mining commits to restore 100.1 hectares of wetland inside the former water management ponds, which it counts as a net gain of 34.1 hectares by Year 25. Source: Wetland response, Apr 1, 2026, p. 1; Wetland response, Apr 1, 2026, p. 2; Wetland response, Apr 1, 2026, p. 3.
5. Jul 9, 2026Water response (nine files). An updated model no longer predicts guideline exceedances in the creeks; one new measure is added and water treatment is held back as a contingency. Our reading of the water response → Source: Water response, Part 1 of 9, Jul 9, 2026, p. 1.
6. Aug 17, 2026The EAO accepts the answers "to enable the effects assessment". What's happening now → Source: EAO letter accepting the responses, Aug 17, 2026, p. 1.

Effects assessment August 17, 2026 onward

A 150-day phase. The committee reviews the EAO's draft report and draft certificate conditions.

1. NowThe EAO is writing its Assessment Report with the committee, the participating Indigenous nations and the proponent. A 30-day public comment period on the draft comes before the file goes to Ministers. Dates and how to prepare → Source: EAO letter accepting the responses, Aug 17, 2026, p. 2.
2. About Jan 14, 2027Day 150, by our arithmetic from the start date. The Assessment Plan notes that the phase may be extended. Source: Tenas Project Assessment Plan.

Questions and answers

Each formal request from the reviewers, and when Telkwa Mining answered it. The EAO accepted all of the answers on August 17, 2026.

"Time taken" is our arithmetic between the two dates. Of these responses we have read the water response in part and the opening pages of the others; see the water page for what that reading covered.

Major items and their outcomes

These are the ten items that recur across the meeting notes and orders. "Outcome" describes where the item stood in the published record. An Information Request that has been answered is not the same as a disagreement that has been settled: the EAO's August 2026 letter accepts the answers as enough to begin its assessment, and that assessment is now under way.

Federal fisheries and the railway are missing from the table

Outcome Declined

The Office of the Wet'suwet'en asked for Fisheries and Oceans Canada at the first meeting in 2018 and again in 2022, when the discussion turned to fish habitat offsets it could not get answered. It also asked for CN Rail, because the mine adds coal trains. The EAO invited both. Both declined. The fisheries department's position was that it would act at the permit stage.

Source: Working Group notes, Nov 27, 2018, p. 4; Valued Components meeting notes, Jan 31, 2019, p. 3; Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 3; Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 4; Water and Aquatics sub-group notes, Jun 23, 2022, p. 24.

Permits reviewed at the same time as the assessment

Outcome Dropped

Telkwa Coal wanted its mine permits reviewed alongside the assessment. The Ministry of Environment objected in 2019 that this would stretch reviewers, and said in 2020 that the mechanism is meant for smaller projects. Telkwa Coal told the group in June 2022 that it had dropped the concurrent application "upon request from various groups" including the Office of the Wet'suwet'en.

Source: Working Group notes, Jan 17, 2019, p. 3; Working Group notes, May 6, 2020, p. 2; Water and Aquatics sub-group notes, Jun 23, 2022, p. 9.

Selenium, and a mine design with no water treatment

Outcome Sent to Information Request

This is the longest-running technical dispute. The Ministry of Environment raised it in 2020. In 2022 Telkwa Coal confirmed winter exceedances of the provincial selenium guideline (2 micrograms per litre) and proposed its own site limit of 8. A Ministry reviewer wrote that guidelines would be exceeded along roughly four or more kilometres of Four Creek and five or more of Tenas Creek for up to half the year for more than ten years, and called that "significant in magnitude, geographic extent, frequency and duration" (comment 350 in the tracking table). The Water Information Request states that the Application "shows potential for significant adverse effects to water quality and aquatic biota". Telkwa Mining's final answer came in July 2026 after four further rounds of follow-up questions from the two ministries. Our reading of the water response →

Source: Working Group notes, May 6, 2020, p. 4; Water and Aquatics sub-group notes, Jun 23, 2022, p. 8; Issues tracking table, Apr 10, 2024; Water Information Request, Nov 23, 2022, p. 4; Water response, Part 1 of 9, Jul 9, 2026, p. 1.

Whether the ponds are tailings facilities

Outcome Sent to Information Request

The mines ministry told Telkwa Coal that under the provincial mining code its "processed rock" is tailings and its three management ponds are tailings storage facilities, which carry stricter design rules than water dams. It also said the dam-breach study, which found more than 100 people could be at risk, did not clearly support the consequence ratings Telkwa Coal had chosen. The dams in cross-section → The company's 2026 answer →

Source: Water Information Request, Nov 23, 2022, p. 6; Water Information Request, Nov 23, 2022, p. 7.

Caribou

Outcome Reassessed

The Application counted 15.1 hectares of effect on caribou habitat, using a 500-metre disturbance buffer. Federal reviewers wrote that it "omits or mischaracterizes information about the Telkwa caribou herd", and the Province warned that the project could trigger a federal protection order. The EAO required buffers of at least three kilometres around the mine. Redone that way, the figure rose to 4,924.9 hectares. In June 2025 provincial biologists reported collar data showing caribou using the low-elevation habitat. At that meeting the proponent said the herd's prospects for recovery "are low, either with or without the Project". Its January 2026 response puts the revised figure at 3,212.3 hectares and proposes offset payments totalling $7,621,581. Our page on the Telkwa caribou herd →

Source: Caribou Information Request, Oct 6, 2022, p. 4; Caribou Information Request, Oct 6, 2022, p. 5; Caribou Information Request, Oct 6, 2022, p. 6; Caribou Technical Advisory Sub-Committee notes, Jun 10, 2025, p. 3; Caribou Technical Advisory Sub-Committee notes, Jun 10, 2025, p. 6; Caribou Technical Advisory Sub-Committee notes, Jun 10, 2025, p. 7; Caribou response, Jan 26, 2026, p. 2; Caribou response, Jan 26, 2026, p. 4.

Wet'suwet'en house-level information

Outcome Changed the process

The Office of the Wet'suwet'en said the Application's section on Wet'suwet'en title and rights was written without engaging the two affected houses, Cas Yex and Kwen Bea Yex. Its request to stop the clock led instead to the move to the 2018 Act, which adds consensus-seeking and a formal notice of consent or non-consent. In the April 2024 tracking table none of the 51 comments from the Office of the Wet'suwet'en and none of the 26 from Witset First Nation is marked closed (our count); they are assigned to Information Requests or to the EAO's own assessment.

Source: Office of the Wet'suwet'en letter, Sep 10, 2022, p. 1; Office of the Wet'suwet'en letter, Oct 20, 2022, p. 1; EAO letter on the transition, Dec 16, 2022, p. 3; Office of the Wet'suwet'en Information Requests, Dec 2022, p. 1; Witset First Nation Information Requests, Dec 14, 2022, p. 1; Issues tracking table, Apr 10, 2024.

The visual assessment

Outcome Closed in the tracker

A Ministry of Forests reviewer told the group that the simulations were "so pixelated it's hard to tell where the mine actually exists", that every viewpoint was more than eight kilometres away, and that closer residences were left out. All 23 of that ministry's visual comments are marked closed in the April 2024 tracking table (our count). See the mine from any viewpoint on the 3D map → The proponent's visual-resources poster, answered →

Source: Terrestrial, Social and Health sub-group notes, Jun 20, 2022, p. 7; Issues tracking table, Apr 10, 2024.

Steelhead spawning

Outcome Sent to Information Request

Provincial reviewers could not conclude how important the area is for steelhead spawning. The 2018 spawning surveys had been abandoned because of weather and the reference survey dated from 1985. The EAO required new ground surveys. The answer was posted in December 2025.

Source: Fish and Fish Habitat Information Request, Jun 6, 2023, p. 1; Fish and Fish Habitat response.

Moose killed on the rail line

Outcome Answered by memo

The Office of the Wet'suwet'en raised moose deaths on the tracks and asked for CN Rail to join a wider discussion. Telkwa Coal replied by memo in July 2020. CN Rail did not join the group.

Source: Working Group notes, May 27, 2020, p. 3; Telkwa Coal memo on moose mortality and rail, Jul 8, 2020; Working Group notes, May 30, 2022, p. 4.

A seat for the public

Outcome Reversed

The Town of Smithers pressed for better public access from the first meeting. In December 2022 the EAO's chief officer decided a Community Advisory Committee "is not required". In March 2024 the EAO cancelled a series of meetings with the citizens' group What Matters in Our Valley. In January 2025 it reversed course and set up a Community Advisory Committee for that group, with terms stating that it is not the committee's role to engage directly with members of the Technical Advisory Committee. The public comment period and how to prepare →

Source: Working Group notes, Nov 27, 2018, p. 2; Reasons for Decision, Dec 16, 2022, p. 4; What Matters in Our Valley submission, Jun 2024; Community Advisory Committee Terms of Reference, Jan 22, 2025, p. 2; Community Advisory Committee Terms of Reference, Jan 22, 2025, p. 3.

The scoreboard in April 2024

The EAO keeps a spreadsheet with one numbered row per reviewer comment on the Application, the proponent's response, and a status. The most recent version in the registry is dated April 10, 2024. We tallied the final status of each of its 523 comments.

Our count from the April 10, 2024 tracking table. Comments entered by individual Ministry of Environment and mines ministry reviewers are grouped under their ministry. "Not closed" includes comments assigned to an Information Request, left for the EAO's assessment, or deferred to permitting. The EAO's own summary in December 2022 was that "most of these comments were adequately addressed". Source: EAO letter on the transition, Dec 16, 2022, p. 4.

What the record does not show

• What the reviewers made of the answers. The registry holds the company's responses and the EAO's one-page acceptance. It does not hold the ministries' or the nations' assessments of whether each answer is sound.
• Meetings after June 2022. The registry holds notes for one sub-committee meeting between June 23, 2022 and the August 2026 acceptance letter. The letter says the committee was consulted on the proponent's answers. Source: EAO letter accepting the responses, Aug 17, 2026, p. 1.
• Status after April 2024. No later tracking table is posted, so the registry does not show which of the 230 comments not closed at that date have since been closed.
• The 2019 scoping tracker. A comment tracker for the Valued Components stage is posted, but its text extracted too poorly for us to count. Source: Valued Components comment tracker.

Sources

All documents are from the EAO's public registry for the Tenas Project, as held in this site's searchable copy.

1. Section 10 Order
2. Working Group notes, Nov 27, 2018
3. Working Group notes, Jan 17, 2019
4. Aquatics sub-group notes, Jan 30, 2019
5. Valued Components meeting notes, Jan 31, 2019
6. Caribou sub-group notes, Mar 21, 2019
7. Section 11 Order
8. Terrestrial sub-group notes, Jul 10, 2019
9. Valued Components comment tracker
10. Telkwa Coal letter, Sep 6, 2019
11. EAO letter, Sep 11, 2019
12. Telkwa Coal letter, Mar 4, 2020
13. Working Group notes, May 6, 2020
14. Working Group notes, May 27, 2020
15. Telkwa Coal memo on moose mortality and rail, Jul 8, 2020
16. Application Information Requirements tracking table, Jan 2022
17. Indigenous Consultation and Engagement Plan, Aug 2021
18. Time Limit Extension Order, Apr 27, 2022
19. EAO letter accepting the Application, Apr 27, 2022
20. Working Group notes, May 30, 2022
21. Terrestrial, Social and Health sub-group notes, Jun 20, 2022
22. Water and Aquatics sub-group notes, Jun 23, 2022
23. Office of the Wet'suwet'en letter, Sep 10, 2022
24. Caribou Information Request, Oct 6, 2022
25. Office of the Wet'suwet'en letter, Oct 20, 2022
26. Telkwa Coal letter, Oct 21, 2022
27. Water Information Request, Nov 23, 2022
28. Office of the Wet'suwet'en Information Requests, Dec 2022
29. Witset First Nation Information Requests, Dec 14, 2022
30. Issues tracking table, Round 2, Dec 15, 2022
31. Transition Order, Dec 16, 2022
32. Reasons for Decision, Dec 16, 2022
33. EAO letter on the transition, Dec 16, 2022
34. Fish and Fish Habitat Information Request, Jun 6, 2023
35. Amendment Order, Nov 3, 2023
36. Telkwa Mining letter, Jan 2, 2024
37. Issues tracking table, Apr 10, 2024
38. What Matters in Our Valley submission, Jun 2024
39. Community Advisory Committee Terms of Reference, Jan 22, 2025
40. Caribou Technical Advisory Sub-Committee notes, Jun 10, 2025
41. Section 25 matters response
42. Fish and Fish Habitat response
43. Caribou response, Jan 26, 2026
44. Caribou response, updated Mar 23, 2026
45. Wetland response, Apr 1, 2026
46. Tenas Project Assessment Plan
47. Water response, Part 1 of 9, Jul 9, 2026
48. Water response, Part 3 of 9, Jul 9, 2026
49. EAO letter accepting the responses, Aug 17, 2026

Part of the Telkwa Coal public record. Explore the corpus: search · map · open-house posters · caribou.