Environmental groups, coal miners battle over coal mine hearing costs

The battle over a coal mine in Alberta’s southern Rocky Mountains continues to rage six months after the Grassy Mountain project was denied.

The company and its opponents are still wrangling over costs for the hearing that turned the proposal down.

The Alberta Energy Regulator is pondering applications for $1.3 million in intervener funding from groups that opposed Benga Mining’s project.

But the coal mining company wants the regulator to drastically trim the requests, saying many of the groups are well-funded and didn’t produce much that was useful to the hearing.

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Environmental groups say their costs finance essential public debate.

They say Benga’s aggressive response will make it harder for citizens to examine the claims of resource companies in the future.

The groups have been waiting more than 250 days for a decision, well past the 90-day guideline.

A spokeswoman for the regulator says the issue is complex and there’s no firm date to release a decision.