Saturday, August 07, 2021

Ottawa blocks development of controversial proposed Alberta coal mine

By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted August 6, 2021 
The federal government said the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal 
project will not go ahead August 6, 2021. Global News


The federal government says the proposed Grassy Mountain coal project in southwestern Alberta cannot proceed.


Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement in a release Friday.

He said while mining is important to the economy, coal can include significant adverse environmental effects.

Wilkinson said the decision was based on information including the findings of a joint review panel report.

He said the project would have likely caused harm to surface water quality, to species including the threatened westslope cutthroat trout and endangered whitebark pine trees, and to the physical and cultural heritage of the Kainai, Piikani and Siksika First Nations.

Benga Mining Limited has said the proposed metallurgical coal mine in the Crowsnest Pass area would create hundreds of jobs and produce up to 4.5 million tonnes of coal per year over a mine life of approximately 23 years.

“The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations,” Wilkinson said in the release.

“It is in Canada’s best interests to safeguard our waterways for healthy fish populations like the Westslope Cutthroat Trout, respect Indigenous peoples’ culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future generations.”

Katie Morrison, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, applauded the federal government’s decision.

She said it reinforces the Alberta Energy Regulator’s earlier conclusion that the significant environmental effects of the open-pit mine would outweigh any potential benefits

“This is another win for clean water, fish and wildlife and for the many Albertans who have been worried about the negative effects of new coal mines on their communities,” she said in an email.

“It’s great news that the Grassy Mountain coal project has now been officially denied at both the federal and provincial level.”

When asked for comment on the federal decision, the Alberta government said a statement made in June by Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon, when the joint review panel denied an application for the mine, still stands.

In that June statement, the ministers said, “the Alberta government respects the joint review panel’s recommendation, which is the result of a rigorous review process carried out by the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.”

The ministers acknowledged that the panel determined the project would result in adverse environmental effects on surface water quality — particularly on westslope cutthroat trout and their habitat.

“All proposed coal projects are subject to stringent review to ensure development is safe, environmentally responsible and meets all requirements. In this case, the process worked as it should.”

Officials at Benga Mining Limited could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last month, Benga filed a request to appeal the decision by the review panel that rejected the project as being not in the public interest.

READ MORE: Appeals requested over Grassy Mountain Coal Project decision

In the court filing, Benga said the June 17 decision by the panel, including the Alberta Energy Regulator, contains errors of law and procedural fairness that warrant the granting of permission to appeal.

Later in July, two Alberta First Nations also filed separate requests to appeal the June decision.

The Stoney Nakoda Nation said the panel did not properly assess the impact that rejecting the project would have on Stoney Nakoda Aboriginal and treaty rights and economic interests related to the accommodation of those rights.

The Piikani First Nation filed a similar request.

Grassy Mountain coal project blocked by the Canadian government

Michael Franklin
CTVNewsCalgary.ca
Senior Digital Producer

Published Friday, August 6, 202


Coal exploration is shown on Vicary Ridge just south of the Oldman River, taken in fall 2020. (Courtesy Alistair Des Moulins/Alberta Hiking Association)

CALGARY -- A controversial open-pit coal mine project in the Canadian Rockies will not proceed because of its "significant adverse environmental effects", the government has decided.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement Friday that the Grassy Mountain coal project would seriously impact water, wildlife, plant life and the heritage of Canada's First Nations.

"After careful deliberation and review of available and relevant information, which includes the joint review panel's report, the minister concluded the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects under CEAA 2012," officials wrote in a statement.

"The Government of Canada has determined those effects are not justified in the circumstances and therefore, the project cannot proceed."

The panel, established with the Alberta Energy Regulator, highlighted the project's potential impact on surface water quality, the habitat of the westslope cutthroat trout – a threatened species of fish, the endangered whitebark pine, the little brown bat and the lands of the Kainai, Piikani and Siksika First Nations.

"The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations," Wilkinson said in a statement. "It is in Canada's best interests to safeguard our water ways for healthy fish populations like the westslope cutthroat trout, respect Indigenous peoples' culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future generations."

Meanwhile, other bands have filed an appeal of the review board's decision to block development.

The Stoney Nakoda Nation says the panel did not assess the impact rejecting the project would have on their treaty rights and economic interests.

The Piikani First Nation filed its own appeal on similar grounds as well.

The appeals are expected to be heard in September.





POTENTIAL FOR HUNDREDS OF JOBS


The Grassy Mountain coal project, which was to be built and operated by Benga Mining Ltd., would have produced approximately 4.5 million tonnes of processed coal per year for 25 years.

The company says it would have also created 500 jobs during construction and 400 more during its operational years.

Last month, CTV News learned that the company, operating as Riversdale Resources, was granted licences to divert water for drilling and dust suppression for exploratory boreholes for the project, located about seven kilometres north of Blairmore, Alta.

Benga also appeal the panel's decision on the project.

The Alberta government has not released any comment other than what was released by Ministers Nixon and Savage following the release of the panel's decision.


(With files from Terry Vogt and the Canadian Press)


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Questions raised over water licences for coal mining exploration, company says information 'factually incorrect'

'It was very shocking': Mixed emotions in Crowsnest Pass following panel review of Grassy Mountain coal project

Panel says Grassy Mountain coal mine in Rockies not in public interest


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