ECON 4355/5355 - Case Study Requirements & Questions – Sandy Pond As indicated in the case study general guidelines, provide a brief introduction to your report. Your introduction should highlight the main points and lead the reader to the specific questions below that you are going to address. This is an analysis type of report, so you need to use a paragraph format. You may use any style format for your references (MLA, APA, Turabian, or Chicago) but it is important to be consistent. Your papers will be read by other faculty in the College as part of our AACSB assessment program. List each question and provide your narrative below it. Keep in mind that some of the questions may require outside material and references. Make sure you provide correct citations to that material. Use 12 point font, normal 1.15 inch margins, and 1.5 line spacing for your paper. Length of paper will vary with the detail of your answers but it should be at least 8-10 pages. Instead of being designed as a management decision-making exercise, this case places you in the position of environmentalists as you decide what course of action to initiate evaluating both ethical and economic issues. Harvard Business Review Summary: In July 2009, Vale NL began building a $2.17 billion nickel refinery in Long Harbour, Newfoundland and Labrador. The refinery would bring economic prosperity by creating 1,600 to 2,000 jobs during construction and 400 to 500 permanent jobs in an area of high unemployment. The project's environmental assessment process began 2006 and the company had successfully completed the required environmental impact statements for the government. A major environmental issue was the disposal of tailings from the refinery, and the approved solution was to store them in a natural lake known as Sandy Pond. Members of several environmental NGOs had opposed the use of the lake as a "tailings impoundment area" and formed the Sandy Pond Alliance for the Protection of Canadian Waters (SPA). The use of natural lakes was allowed, but SPA believed that the regulation that permitted the use was inconsistent with environmental legislation. SPA had to decide how to challenge the use of tailings ponds at Long Harbour and elsewhere in Canada, and whom to target in its efforts. Learning Objectives: Through this case study and your analysis you should be able to: 1) Explain the perspective of an ENGO in conflict with a company's decision based on an understanding of how ENGOs function; 2) Become acquainted with environmental legislation and regulation, in particular, an anomaly in Canada's approach to protecting the environment; 3) Analyze the dilemma created when balancing the impact on the environment with economic development; 4) Identify the types of influence on corporations that may be available to ENGOs; 5) Debate the possible effectiveness of ENGO influence in a particular incident. Answer in detail the following questions: 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using natural bodies of water for disposal of mine tailings over human-made ponds? Compare Sandy Pond to other similar mining operations. Which method do you believe is more appropriate and why? Prepare a list of pros and cons supporting each alternative? Is there any sort of win-win solution, or is this a straight forward trade-off?

2. In the case study who supported the use of Sandy pond as a tailings impoundment area, and who opposed it? Can it be argued that the ENGOs are the only stakeholders representing the natural environment? Why?

3. Can the dumping of toxic waste into Sandy Pond be justified because it creates jobs in an area where unemployment is high? What should be the trade-off between damage to the environment and job creation?

4. What type of influence can the ENGOs have on the issue of dumping of toxic waste into Sandy Pond and what tactics should they use? What ethical issues are involved for the ENGOs?

5. Examine the course of action available to Bill Montevecchi and his associates and determine which action they should take to stop Sandy Pond from becoming a tailings impoundment area. Justify your recommendation.

6. How would the management of Vale NL view or analyze the efforts of the SPA to challenge the pollution of Sandy Pond? Are there any corporate ethics involved in their decision making?

7. Would you personally be willing to have a lake or pond in your community be used as a tailings impoundment area under the conditions presented in this case? Explain. Your answer here should also address the principal lessons learned from the case study and its applicability to other industry situations.