Opponents to Grassy Mountain coal project voice their concerns

Riversdale hopes to start construction in the fall of 2021 after purchasing the land for the project in 2013. Although this could result in an economic boost for the province, many people are not enthusiastic about the Grassy Mountain coal project.

Early Tuesday, Oct. 27, some opposed to the project held a conference to share their thoughts, hosted by the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA).

DR. ANDREA HULL

Dr. Andrea Hull MD, CCFP is a Calgary-based family physician. Hull is also involved with CAPE Alberta, a group of health professionals focused on a number of issues, including the Alberta coal phase-out and climate change advocacy in the province.

“Not only do our Rocky Mountains and foothills define us as Albertans, but access to these natural places is really important for our health,” she commented.

“It is well understood that time and nature improves our emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing. The areas under threat are the very places that give Albertans bragging rights about our spectacular backyards and that support a thriving tourism industry.”

Dr. Hull said especially during a time filled with restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to protect natural environment and spaces families can go enjoy time together safely.

She also raised concerns over the impacts the project could have on local waterways.

“Coals are being proposed at the headwaters of the Oldman River and North Saskatchewan River. Effectively, this could threaten the drinking water for over a million Albertans particularly in Lethbridge and Edmonton,” she said.

“We already have examples of horrific water contamination from these kinds of mines. Coal mines in B.C., just across the border, have polluted fresh water with high levels of selenium, which is toxic to humans and aquatic life.”

Dr. Hull added there is “growing evidence” that living near coal mines is harmful to human health.

ERICA GUGLIELMIN

Erica Guglielmin is with Extinction Rebellion’s Calgary chapter.

The group is a global environmental movement. Guglielmin alluded that coal mining is not the way of the future.

“The science that solidifies between our way of life and the way we extract our resources, the link between that and the consequential environmental damage is solid, it’s established,” she said.

“For decades, we’ve pushed this problem out of mind and on to the next generation and frankly, we’re running out of time to diversify in the wrong direction. We’re running out of time to take steps backwards that will have disastrous consequences.”

She said it’s time to fully start protecting ‘our natural world’.

“With that, I guess all I can say is that the only place for coal in 2020 should be in our history books, in the past.”

BILL TRAFFORD

Bill Trafford is the president of the Livingstone Landowners Group. Trafford said the group has a number of issues with the Grassy Mountain coal project.

“As you probably all know, the rivers coming out of the eastern slope are the source of water for all southern Albertans, so for drinking, for irrigation, for all purposes and water is life,” he stated.

“The damage to the ecosystem because of the selenium is also very high. Selenium is known to kill fish and there’s a number of endangered species in the area that would be impacted by this.”

DAVID MAYHOOD

David Mayhood, M.Sc. is an aquatic ecologist with FWR Freshwater Research Ltd. However, he spoke on behalf of the Timberwolf Wilderness Society, which he is a director of.

“We filed evidence to show that it cannot possibly be built as designed without destroying critical habitat for westslope cutthroat trout, a species protected as threatened under Canada’s Species at Risk Act,” Mayhood stated.

“SARA (Species at Risk Act) forbids destroying any part of a critical habitat of a SARA-listed species…there are no provisions in SARA that would allow the federal government to issue a permit to destroy critical habitat for the purpose of surface mining coal.”

Mayhood suggested that Riversdale’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) “significantly underestimates” downstream risks that would come from increases in annual precipitation caused by climate change.

“It also underestimates modeled future increases in precipitation intensity, duration and frequency arising from climate change,” he said.

“These underestimates increase the likelihood of catastrophic failure of critical mine infrastructure, such as tailings, dams and ditches. That in turn would destroy designated critical habitat and offsetting artificial habitat.”

He added that Timberwolf’s filed evidence shows that the proponent’s EIA fails to account for a ‘significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.’

“In short, Timberwolf asserts that the Grassy Mountain Mine not only cannot be approved as designed, but no conceivable change in the mine plan would make it legal under SARA to either approve it or to build it.”

IAN URQUHART

Ian Urquart, PhD is the Conservation Director for the AWA. He said the AWA is asking the joint review panel to reject the project.

“We believe the Grassy project is bad for the landscape, bad for the climate and also bad for the economy,” he said, adding it’s taken more than five years to get to the point where hearings can start.

“Quite simply, [this is] because the joint review panel has viewed Benga’s [Mining] impact assessment submissions over the years, dating back to 2016, as inadequate and lacking.”

Urquhart said Benga Mining’s submissions “may be sufficient now” to hold a hearing after so many years, but “they are not in AWA’s views sufficient to approve this project”.

He mentioned impacts the project could have on ground water, claiming Benga’s modelling on water impacts is more optimistic than it should be.

“Benga’s open-pit mine will permanently lower the water table under Grassy Mountain by up to 430 metres; that’s greater than the height of two Calgary Towers,” he said.

“In addition to permanently lowering the water table, the Grassy Mountain Mine likely will reduce the flows of water through Gold and Blairmore creeks. These creeks, as Dave [Mayhood] alluded to a minute ago, are critical habitat for westslope cutthroat trout, a threatened species coveted by fly fishers.”

He added that lower flows could result in higher water temperatures, reducing further the chances of that species surviving on the Alberta landscape.

The review panel’s public hearing is expected to last the entire month of November, with a final decision on the project anticipated to take several months.

by Justin Goulet

Opponents to Grassy Mountain coal project voice their concerns

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