A few days ago the Mackenzie Valley Review Board released an external report it commissioned into the environmental assessment process in the Mackenzie Valley.

http://www.reviewboard.ca/news/

Environmental Assessment Process Report

From the latest Tyhee news release(from the same day) we know things are still well on track:

"Board members and staff from the MVEIRB visited the site to familiarize themselves with and gain an on-site perspective of the proposed development in conjunction with the environmental assessment process for the project."

The purpose of the report is music to the ears to Tyhee shareholders: "The report was prepared by Stantec Consulting Limited and focuses on opportunities to improve the timeliness of the Review Board’s environmental assessment process."

Furthermore:

"The report was commissioned as the first step in the Review Board’s work to address criticism by industry and others that the regulatory system governing land and water resources in the Mackenzie Valley is unnecessarily increasing in complexity and length. Stakeholders have raised concerns that environmental assessments have now become onerous for all participants from the perspective of work load and available resources. The Review Board is very aware of those concerns and made timeliness of the environmental assessment process the top priority in its latest three year strategic plan."

And:

"The main recommendations focus on improving scoping efficiency, developing a defined process for referrals to environmental impact reviews, developing environmental assessment processes for large versus small projects, improving guidance materials and implementing rules based timelines. The Review Board is reviewing these recommendations along with its own internal analysis and will be initiating improvements within its authority to change. More information on the nature and timing of process improvements will be shared with stakeholders in the coming weeks."

Check out the Executive Summary on Page 3 for the detailed recommendations:

Full Stantec Report