On December 16, 1997, the provincial Ministry of the Environment permitted only a limited Environmental Assessment Board hearing on the site's hydraulic containment system. Heavy opposition was expressed in the hearings, but on June 19, 1998, the EAB approved the project. The opponents filed an appeal with the provincial cabinet, which was subsequently rejected that August. An appeal was then filed for a judicial review. In July 1999, that appeal was rejected by the Divisional Court of Ontario and was similarly rejected by the Court of Appeal for Ontario in October of that year.