Act now to stop the Grassy Mountain coal mine

 

January 15th, 2021 is your last day to submit comments and feedback on the Alberta Government’s plan for the Grassy Mountain coal mine on the eastern ranges of the Rocky Mountains. Below is a community submission that summarizes the key issues and provides links to support the movement to counter open pit coal mining in Alberta’s mountains.

Read more about mining in the mountains at the ACC’s StateoftheMountains.com.

Do you know what MountainTop Removal (MTR) coal mining looks like? Do you know anything about the Alberta government’s recently-rescinded Coal Policy that has historically prevented this type of mining since the 1970s? If not, you might be surprised to know that MTR mining is now back on the table in Alberta’s mountains.

Starting in October, there have been hearings for the development of an MTR mine 8 km north of Blairmore in the Crowsnest Pass, on the most eastern range of the Rockies. Over five weeks, a panel of six people representing the Alberta and Federal governments have heard oral submissions, and are now deciding whether to approve or deny the mine. The panel is also accepting written submissions until January 15th. So I am writing to you to let you know why it is imperative that you get involved.

Figure 1: Southwest Alberta. Click to enlarge.

Understanding the area

Just to get you oriented, here is a map of SW Alberta (you can click to enlarge the map). The area circled in green is the south end of Kananaskis Country. The blue rectangle encloses the public lands farther south which used to be protected by the Coal Policy but are now "open for business," according to the UCP. The red dot in the middle of the area is the location of the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Mine which is the one for which the hearing is being undertaken. If you look to the west, there are orange lines under Sparwood and Elkford. You can see that they sit in a valley that runs all the way up to Kananaskis Country. The three faint grey shapes outlined in orange in that valley are the existing MTR mines there.

Figure 2: Google satellite view, showing the current mining area in relation to the ACC’s Elk Lakes Cabin.

Below is a satellite view of the same area. The red line along the mountain tops in the middle of the photo forms the Alberta-BC border. Immediately to the left of the border, you can see the three MTR mines in the Elk Valley as brownish scars, taking up about a quarter of the green space. If you now look to the east, it is easy to see just why Peter Lougheed enacted the Coal Policy in the first place. The distance between the BC border and the Livingstone Range, which is the white line to the right, is only 20 kms. After that, the land falls immediately to prairie and ranches. That's it, that's all for mountains in SW Alberta. Importantly, that narrow band of low mountains between the peaks provides the water for SW Alberta. The small fly fishing streams here are the headwaters that feed the Crowsnest and Oldman Rivers. Also, with the heavy industrialization of the Elk Valley to the west, this narrow strip is a key connection point between the wildlife corridors established to the north in Kananaskis Country and south in Waterton. (ACC members will notice the Elk Lakes Cabin is not far up this valley.)

Figure 3 via CPAWS and Livingstone Landowners Group.

Above is a map of the southern half of the blue rectangle in figure 1. The red section is the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Mine which is the one that is in the final stage of approval right now. The other blocks of colour are areas that became free for mining when the UCP rescinded the Coal Policy and which mining companies are now exploring. They fill a large percentage of the public land between the peaks. Perhaps the best, and maybe the only real way to change this is to convince the Joint Review Panel for The Grassy Mountain Mine to deny the first proposal.

How Mountaintop removal mining is done

There is lot of background info available online about how MTR mining works, but basically, the site is cleared of trees and soil, then explosives are used to break up the top of the mountain, and that rock debris is moved to the valley bottom. This will be done many times until the coal seam is exposed. The coal is removed and shipped, and the process continues down to deeper coal seams until all the coal is gone and the valley is filled with rock. It is the fastest possible way to get at the coal, and a get-rich scheme for the companies involved. But it comes with big costs. One of these is that the burning of coal causes climate change. Another is that although companies are required to reclaim sites, it is very difficult and very costly. The Teck Resources mine in the Elk Valley (below) has been in production since the 1970's and almost none of it has much tree cover. The elevation and climate here do not favour quick growth. Soil make take hundreds of years to be replenished enough to sustain a diverse ecosystem.

Teck Resources mine in the Elk Valley. Photo by Garth Lenz via the ACC’s 2020 State of the Mountains Report.

Teck Resources mine in the Elk Valley. Photo by Garth Lenz via the ACC’s 2020 State of the Mountains Report.

Water issues related to MTR mining

Beside the obvious loss of beauty, there is the big problem of water. Water moves in only one direction: down. If it isn't contained at the mine site, it percolates through the toxic coal tailings towards the valley floor, where it meets the broken rock of the mountain top — rock whose heavy metals and other toxic materials have been exposed — and flows into streams.

From the picture above you can see what a monumental task it would be for Teck to keep contaminated water from entering the environment. In the past few years, it has become apparent that they haven't. A non-metal element called selenium released during the mining process is leaking into the Elk River. Selenium is toxic in amounts over one part per billion. The selenium that is leaking into the area’s waterways has been killing and deforming fish, and the town of Sparwood can no longer get their drinking water from the river. Montana is in the process of taking steps to enforce environmental safeguards at the US border, and Teck has pled guilty to three violations of the federal Fisheries Act. Teck has paid their fines and is continuing to mine while looking for a way to fix the problem.

MTR mining and wildlife concerns

Toxic water is one of the environmental concerns we would like to avoid in Alberta. There is also the issue of the severe negative impacts such an industrialized form of mining will have on wildlife including birds and their habitat. The Grassy Mountain Mine will run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This involves bright lighting at night, many large vehicles on roads, and incredible levels of noise. During the hearings, a local man who hiked the Grand Enchantment Trail from Phoenix to Albuquerque testified that where the trail passed close to the Morenci Mine, he could hear the noise for two days.

Southern Alberta also has constant and powerful winds which will pick up coal dust containing heavy metals and spread it over hundreds of square kms affecting air quality, and coating the vegetation that wild things eat. All these same issues affect the people who live here or come to visit.

I hope that this information has convinced you to take action. Below are some things you can do.

What you can do

1. Write a letter before January 15th and send it to the Joint Review Panel Members for the Grassy Mountain Coal Mine. Your letter doesn't need to be long or complicated; it just needs to be a paragraph or two about your values, or your concerns. If you feel the mine is a poor idea for Alberta, ask them to deny the application. Here's the link to submit a letter: https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80101?culture=en-CA

2. Write a letter to Premier Kenney, Environment Minister Jason Nixon, and your local MLA telling them that you are against MTR mining in SW Alberta and believe that the government was ethically required to ask Albertans before rescinding the Coal Policy.

3. Support the groups that presented submissions at the hearing for Grassy Mountain.

4. Forward this message on to friends you think might be unaware of the coal mining issue, would be distressed if they knew, and would be energized enough to take action. The more of us who speak up, the more likely it is that we will be heard.

5. Find out more information about MTR mining. Here are a couple places to get you started.

https://appvoices.org/end-mountaintop-removal/mtr101/
https://thenarwhal.ca/alberta-coal-mining-rockies-elk-valley/

 
 
Brenda Davison9 Comments