Coal development in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains sees pause extended following public consultations

Restrictions on coal mining in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains are being renewed and expanded following two reports written after extensive public consultations.

On Friday, Energy Minister Sonya Savage said she will maintain ministerial order in blocking all coal exploration and development in the region. The order will also cover a much wider area around Alberta’s summits and foothills.

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Coal development will now be blocked on all the lands originally covered by the province’s 1976 coal policy until land-use plans, which require public consultation and legislative approval, are complete.

Four coal projects that have already entered the regulatory process will be able to continue that work, if the proponents choose.

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“By keeping the 1976 coal policy firmly in place and halting coal activity in the eastern slopes, we are acting on the committee’s recommendation and allowing for additional planning for this unique area,” said Savage.

The two reports follow nine months of work from a panel that consulted widely across Alberta. The panel held 67 sessions with more than 70 groups and received 176 written submissions.

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Submissions from the survey, along with roughly 25,000 respondents have previously been made public and show major concerns from across Alberta with open-pit coal mining, specifically in the province’s best-loved and most environmentally sensitive landscapes.

“We heard a tremendous backlash from Albertans,” Savage said. “We saw that as a problem.”

Coal mining in the Rockies has been a hot topic in Alberta for two years, ever since the United Conservative government revoked the policy that had protected those summits and foothills since 1976.

Thousands of hectares were quickly leased for exploration, but a public outcry forced the government to halt those activities and pause lease sales until the panel reported.

The Opposition NDP responded to Friday’s announcement, raising concerns with the energy minister’s ministerial order.

“The UCP has already proven they can’t be trusted to protect our mountains,” said NDP energy Critic Kathleen Ganley. “They already opened up the Rockies for open pit coal mining with the stroke of a pen, and they could do it again under this plan.”

The NDP says legislation had initially been introduced to ban coal mining on the eastern slopes but the bill died when the UCP prorogued the legislative session last Fall.

“Albertans have been clear: they don’t want open-pit coal mining in the Rockies. If the UCP was serious about protecting our drinking water and downstream jobs, they would enshrine a ban in legislation,” said Ganley.

– With files from the Canadian Press