What’s the Latest on Coal Development in Alberta?

by | Jun 30, 2021 | News | 0 comments

You may have heard a few recent developments about coal exploration and mining in Alberta. In fact, there have been several updates since our last article about coal. The latest new development is that the Joint Review Panel for the Grassy Mountain Coal project has completed its review of the project and determined that that the “adverse environmental effects on surface water quality and Westslope Cutthroat Trout and its habitat outweigh the positive economic impacts of the project and the project is not in the public interest”. The panel has denied the provincial permit applications and advised the federal Environment Minister not to approve the mine.

This is great news and we, at Trout Unlimited Canada, are pleased with this decision. TUC participated in the public hearings for the project in November and advised the panel to reject the application due to risks to water quality, fish communities, and aquatic habitat.

What else has happened?

In February, the Coal Policy was reinstated and Alberta Energy launched a survey to kick off a public engagement process. Based on what was heard in the survey, coal exploration projects that had previously been approved were halted in April. The public engagement process is continuing and there are opportunities to share your thoughts on coal policy here. Despite the ruling on Grassy Mountain, there are still several other projects in various stages of the exploration and approvals process.

One of the major limitations to the engagement process being led by Alberta Energy is that it is limited to coal development specifically. Although TUC is pleased that the provincial government reinstated the Coal Policy and halted exploration, we maintain that a Coal Policy does not replace land use planning and environmental oversight. The fact that all of Alberta’s stream-dwelling native trout are listed as “at-risk” under provincial and federal legislation is an indicator that existing environmental assessment processes, combined with policy and legislation have not been enough to protect these resources. TUC has continued to correspond and meet with the minister of Alberta Environment and Parks and will continue to stress the importance and need for additional protections to these critical headwaters and habitats – not just from the threats posed by coal development.

Recently, the Federal Environment Minister announced that the federal government will conduct an environmental review of any new coal project that could release selenium, a known contaminant that is released from metallurgical coal mines. This came following a Private Members Bill, backed by an 18,000-name petition, which was introduced in the House of Commons by Edmonton MP Heather McPherson. Although the Minister did not agree to a regional environmental assessment of coal mining in the Rockies as requested by McPherson, we are hopeful this additional federal oversight will help to protect our headwaters.

Minister Wilkinson also recently confirmed that the Tent Mountain Mine, proposed by Montem Resources should undergo a federal review by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada because of its potential for releasing selenium and the project’s potential impact on treaty rights.

Additionally, the federal government also recently announced a new policy statement on thermal coal development. The policy states that “the Government considers that these projects are likely to cause unacceptable environmental effects within federal jurisdiction and are not aligned with Canada’s domestic and international climate change commitments”. While not entirely banning new or expanded thermal coal mines, it will likely make these projects much more difficult to get approval.

What can you do?

There are still opportunities to be engaged. Continue to educate yourself on the issues and share your thoughts with elected officials. The provincial engagement on a coal policy will continue over the coming months.

For more information or to share your thoughts, visit: https://www.alberta.ca/coal-policy-engagement.aspx

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