Landowners, mayors divided over coal project exploration approval in Rockies

Joel Dryden · CBC News

· Posted: May 17, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 infinitesimal ago

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)'s caller support of ember exploration connected the eastbound slopes of the Rocky Mountains is drafting speedy absorption from landowners, mayors and assemblage groups crossed confederate Alberta.

The statement implicit revival of ember improvement successful the portion has agelong been contentious, with supporters arguing it could bring economical improvement to communities that request it. On the different hand, those opposed to the task rise concerns astir semipermanent risks to onshore and water. 

On Thursday, the AER approved Northback Holdings' applications with conditions to behaviour a ember exploration programme astatine the Grassy Mountain site, which is located successful the Municipal District of Ranchland. 

In a written decision, the regulator said the applications met each regulatory requirements and that the exploration programme was successful the nationalist interest. 

It added that the applications weren't for a ember mine, but for an exploration programme astatine the existing unreclaimed Grassy Mountain excavation site.

"The exploration programme is designed to amended Northback's knowing of the grade of the Grassy Mountain ember deposit, get earthy ember samples, and structurally exemplary the ember seam complexities," the determination reads.

It adds that if Northback decides to proceed with excavation applications astatine Grassy Mountain successful the future, it indispensable travel a "rigorous regulatory process that each assets improvement applications indispensable follow," and that accepting the exploration applications "does not represent support of a ember mine."

Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter welcomed the regulator's determination and referenced Northback's committedness that the excavation would employment astir 300 radical astatine the occupation tract should it determination ahead.

He added he recognized the biology statement besides astatine play.

"We each privation cleanable water. I privation cleanable water. All the residents of Crowsnest Pass privation cleanable water," helium said successful an interview. 

"This gives an accidental for Northback. If they are palmy with moving up with the mining application, past we tin consciousness assured that they volition bash this wrong the regulations of the state and the national authorities erstwhile it comes to cleanable water."

Concerns implicit selenium

Last year, residents of Crowsnest Pass voted decisively successful favour of the task successful a non-binding vote, with much than 70 per cent of voters voicing their support. 

However, the excavation is not really located successful the Crowsnest Pass, but successful the adjacent Municipal District of Ranchland, which has agelong stood successful absorption of the project. 

"The decision, of course, is precise disappointing, though not unexpected," said Ron Davis, reeve of the M.D. of Ranchland, successful an interview.

Grassy Mountain was antecedently rejected successful 2021 by the national government, which said the task would apt origin important adverse biology effects, including "on aboveground h2o quality, including from selenium effluent discharge." 

In its opposition, Ranchland had noted biology concerns tied to selenium, but the regulator stated successful its caller determination that those concerns didn't use to the exploration work.

The AER said that based connected its conclusions, "impacts from the exploration programme connected the prime and quantity of h2o and connected downstream users of the Oldman River are unlikely."

The 'elephant successful the room'

Still, immoderate landowners and biology advocates accidental the improvement sets the signifier for ember mining successful a captious watershed that provides drinking h2o to much than 200,000 people.

"The elephant successful the country is that this is not astir an exploration licence … It's astir the adjacent measurement oregon ticking the container to bash the adjacent steps toward going for a mine," said Norma Dougal, who is connected the committee of directors for the Livingstone Landowners Group.

"What we are wholly expecting is to person to spell backmost and discarded our clip astatine a full-blown hearing. When it's already been shown that a excavation astatine Grassy is not successful Alberta's champion interest, economically oregon environmentally."

Davis, the reeve of Ranchland, said helium expected that Northback wouldn't beryllium conducting exploration if they didn't person involvement successful opening a ember mine. He added the M.D. continues to clasp biology concerns.

"Southern Alberta is simply a precise water-poor area. And the nonaccomplishment of immoderate h2o sources oregon watersheds are detrimental to confederate Alberta particularly," helium said. 

"And of course, that goes on with the different problems of contamination of the h2o resources that we have, which are meager astatine best."

Others successful the portion were waiting to spot however the adjacent steps would play out. Fort Macleod Mayor Brent Feyter said his assembly hasn't yet formally discussed the approval.

However, he believes drilling is simply a indispensable portion of knowing what a imaginable excavation could look like.

"Overall, drilling is necessary. That's our idiosyncratic view, conscionable if determination is going to beryllium something, they request to cognize what's determination and however champion to negociate it," Feyter said. 

"We're not trying to skirt astir the concerns. On the different hand, we besides admit that ember is simply a request for a batch of products utilized nationally, internationally."

Northback's permits volition beryllium valid for 5 years, the regulator's determination states. The past 3 years are to beryllium utilized for reclamation work.