Residents fed up with noise from idled Donkin mine
The Donkin Mine has been closed for more than a year, but residents who live near the shuttered mine site say they are still living with noise that is bad enough it is causing them to lose sleep.
"We can hear it loud enough that it wakes us up in the middle of the night," says South Head, N.S., resident Michael Lea, who lives about seven kilometres across the water from the mine site.
Lea says the noise is coming from the idled Donkin Mine, which closed in March 2020. Since then, it's been in maintenance mode – with a handful of employees onsite keeping the ventilation system running. Lea says he and other members of the Cow Bay Environmental Coalition held a meeting Tuesday night and that people are simply fed up.
"To be honest, I'm past the stage of being nice. I'm actually angry. Because it's been close to two years," Lea told CTV Atlantic.
The area's councillor says he's been getting several complaints a week about the Donkin Mine noise and that they're coming from people who live all across the widespread, rural area of eastern Cape Breton.
"Since I've been elected, the Donkin Mine has been my most prominent file -- there's no question about it," says James Edwards, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality councillor for District 8.
Edwards adds he and other elected officials have spoken with representatives from Kameron Coal, the company that owns the Donkin Mine, but so far, a solution hasn't been found.
"The mine is looking at a noise reduction model from a firm in the United Kingdom that they're hoping to utilize, but that's been going on for several months now," Edwards says.
Meanwhile, the area's MLA has also been fielding plenty of complaints on the file. "Personally, I feel a great deal of frustration with the lack of progress," says Brian Comer, Progressive Conservative MLA for Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg.
Comer says he's reached out to the ministers of Environment and Climate Change, as well as Energy and Mines, but adds no one with regulatory authority to fix the problem has come to visit.
"There's no specific timelines or accountability, which I think is the significant issue with the community," Comer said.
CTV Atlantic's attempts to reach Kameron Coal for comment were unsuccessful.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE UPDATES | Alberta election live updates: Elections Alberta says it's not experiencing issues
CTV News has declared a number of seats across the province as election results begin to take shape Monday night.

Albertans head to polls in what's expected to be very close election between UCP, NDP
In Alberta today, the United Conservative Party is looking to win a second consecutive majority government while the NDP is fighting to regain the office it lost in 2019.
Singh calling for foreign interference special rapporteur Johnston to step aside
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside' from his role examining the issue of foreign interference before he embarks on public hearings.
New Democrat MP says she is target of foreign interference by China
New Democrat MP Jenny Kwan said Monday that Canada's spy agency has confirmed her long-held belief she is being targeted by the Chinese government, as the prime minister granted the NDP's wish to allow more party members to review top-secret intelligence.
Golden Knights reach 2nd Stanley Cup Final after Game 6 win over Stars
William Karlsson, William Carrier and Jonathan Marchessault are finally getting another chance in the Stanley Cup Final, after the first one that came so quick for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Caleb Martin helps Heat to 103-84 Game 7 win over Celtics and spot in NBA Finals
Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, and Caleb Martin had 26 points and 10 rebounds to help the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the Celtics 103-84 in Game 7 on Monday night and advance to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.
Canadian parliamentarians condemn Uganda's recently passed anti-homosexuality law
Canadian political leaders and parliamentarians are denouncing a new law passed in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties, including the death penalty, for certain cases involving homosexuality.
Free prescription drugs could reduce overall health-care costs in Canada: study
Overall health-care costs could be reduced in Canada by providing free prescription drugs to patients, according to a new study.
Northern B.C., Alberta and all of Ontario under 'high' to 'extreme' wildfire risk: What to know
There's a heightened risk of wildfires across the country during what has been one of the earliest fire seasons on record. From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, here's where the risk is highest.