A local environmentalist intends to renew her efforts to have a permit for incinerating creosote-soaked rail ties in Kamloops lifted after she learned on Thursday that the document stands.

Ruth Madsen admitted she was mistaken in thinking that the permit issued by the Ministry of Environment to Aboriginal Cogeneration Corporation in 2010 had expired after three years.

“We’ll continue to celebrate, but what we’ll do is just go back to the appeal,” Madsen said. “It’s still under appeal.”

Jason Bourgeois, environmental management section head with the ministry, confirmed that the permit remains in place.

According to Section 18 of the Environmental Management Act, the ministry can exercise its discretion to cancel permits after a three-year period if the holders don’t exercise their rights.

Two years ago, in the face of fierce public opposition, ACC president Kim Sigurdson declared that he was withdrawing his Kamloops proposal and looking elsewhere for a site for the gasifier operation.

But a permit would not be cancelled without first involving the permit holder, Bourgeois said.

“Until this morning, we hadn’t put our minds to it,” he said. “It’s not that frequently used because the process doesn’t usually unfold this way.”

He said he contacted Sigurdson in Winnipeg to clarify the matter.

The ACC permit has proven to be one of the more complicated processes with the various twists and turns encountered, Bourgeois said.