In this series we’re going to take you from start to finish through the life of an open-pit coal mine in Alberta. Keep reading below to lean about how project and exploration consultation occurs, or click on one of the stages below to learn more. Consultation Regulatory Approvals Exploration Mining Impacts Reclamation Lasting Impacts How is coal exploration approved? Deciphering AER’s “public” project consultation process. Despite the reinstatement of the Coal Policy in February, coal exploration activity such as drilling and road construction is moving ahead.&n ..read more

In December 2020 CPAWS Southern Alberta hosted the panel discussion: ‘Coal in SW Alberta: what you need to know’. Community representatives from across the region joined to discuss the impact coal development could have on their communities. Over 200 participants joined the session live and the recording can now be watched below:     Be sure to write your elected officials and tell them to Stop the Grassy Mountain Coal Project and protect the Rockies! send my letter ..read more

Brooke Kapeller and Katie Morrison A grazing mountain goat nanny and kid You might remember back in June we wrote about our concerns with the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) process when Elan Coal Ltd. was given approval to start their operations despite timing restrictions in place to protect bighorn sheep and mountain goats. The application should not have been approved and the fact that permission was granted one business day after submission was further grounds for serious concern. It also meant that our concerns were not even registered by the AER as the application had already been appro ..read more

 COAL IN ALBERTA —A TIMELINE— On June 1, 2020, the Government of Alberta rescinded the 1976 Coal Policy — opening up 1.5 million hectares of sensitive lands in Alberta’s headwaters area for potential coal exploration and development. Albertans fought hard against this, and continue to fight for a new land management policy that will protect the Eastern Slopes from coal development. Read on to learn more about how it all started, and where we find ourselves now. 1976 The Government of Alberta publishes “A Coal Development Policy for Alberta” —commonly known as the 1976 Coal Policy. This po ..read more

Becky Best-Bertwistle, Katie Morrison and Drew Yewchuck When the Government of Alberta rescinded the Coal Policy in May they defended the move by saying, “ […] all proposed coal projects will be submitted to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and rigorously reviewed based on their merit.” Recent experiences with this regulatory system have seriously put this claim into question. Let’s take for example a Statement of Concern (SOC) that we recently submitted regarding an application from Elan Coal Ltd. The application was for permissions to undertake high impact activities — road build ..read more

Join us for our Day of Action and call your MLA!  Keep reading to learn more on how YOU can take part. The Coal Policy Committee is required to submit their recommendations for a new coal policy to the Minister of Energy. Last week, due to overwhelming amounts of input, they were granted an extension until December 31st   This gives you the opportunity to ask the government for the report to be made public for increased transparency, and accountability.  The public has the right to know: What the recommendations from the coal policy committee are  How t ..read more

In this series we’re going to take you from start to finish through the life of an open-pit coal mine in Alberta. Keep reading below to learn about the exploration activities that take place, or click on one of the other stages below to learn more. Consultation Regulatory Processes Exploration Impacts Reclamation Lasting Impacts Coal exploration is still happening in Alberta, even though it shouldn’t be As we learned in Life of a Mine Part 3: Exploration, environmental degradation can happen before a coal mine is even approved for development. Unfortunately, onc ..read more

Sarah Shibley & Drew Yewchuk Public Interest Law Clinic, University of Calgary. Alberta recently rescinded the 1976 Coal Policy. The 1976 Coal Policy consisted mostly of general policy goals government would consider when approving coal projects, although most of these requirements were given little consideration. The one part of the policy that was seriously applied was a land-planning system that divided the province into categories on which coal mining would be generally allowed, generally not allowed, and not allowed. Is Alberta phasing out Coal? Alberta committed to ‘phasing out coal ..read more

The Alberta Chapter of The Wildlife Society (ACTWS) is an organization of wildlife scientists, managers, and enthusiasts. We are part of The Wildlife Society, an international organization, which has been influencing the future of wildlife and wild places for the benefit of generations to come for more than 80 years. As a Chapter, we work to implement The Wildlife Society mission in an Alberta context, basing our work on robust science to meet the needs of Alberta wildlife and their habitats. Our chapter’s Conservation Affairs Committee has been involved in many land-use planning and wildlife ..read more

 GRASSY MOUNTAIN COAL PROJECT —A TIMELINE— On June 17th, 2021, Benga’s Grassy Mountain Coal Project was denied by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) as a part of the Joint Review Panel process. The panel's report concluded that the coal project’s environmental effects were NOT worth the low-moderate economic benefits, and that the project would result in the loss of lands used for traditional activities by Indigenous peoples. CPAWS has been involved in the fight against the Grassy Mountain Coal Project since 2015, and this outcome was an important win. The rejection of the project by the ..read more