Alberta reinstating 1976 coal policy
EDMONTON• The Alberta government is reinstating the 1976 coal mining policy it revoked last spring after public outcry. The four categories that lay out where and how coal leasing, exploration and development could occur are back in place and future coal exploration approvals on sensitive Category 2 lands in the Foothills and Rocky Mountains will be prohibited until the government does consultations on a new coal policy.
energy Minister Sonya Savage made the announcement on Monday.
The reversal comes after growing public pressure including from country singer Corb Lund and from multiple towns within the region, as well as a court challenge.
“What we’re doing today, keeping the 1976 coal policy in place and committing to consult on a modernized policy, is what we should have done in the beginning. We didn’t do it then but we’re going to do it now,” Savage said.
The 1976 policy, brought in by Peter Lougheed’s government, was ended by Savage in June. At the time the government said the policy was outdated and redundant. Category 2 lands are the most sensitive lands along the southern rocky Mountains and Foothills that weren’t already part of protected areas like national or provincial parks. That policy blocked surface coal mines in about 1.4 million hectares of wilderness.
“We intended to manage coal on an equal footing with other mineral resources, like oil and gas. We felt that this would streamline regulatory matters, and provide more certainty for governments and stakeholders,” Savage said Monday.
“However, Albertans’ views are clear. They expect us to manage coal differently.”
Current exploration on Category 2 lands will continue. Four exploration projects were approved under the 1976 policy and another two after the policy was rescinded.
“That means that the 1976 coal policy did not preclude coal lease exploration. And it also means that putting it back won’t necessarily end exploration. Further, reinstating this policy does not affect current coal exploration and mining on any other categories of land,” Savage said.
A temporary halt on coal lease sales on Category 2 lands, announced in January, remains in place.
The two projects that were approved while the policy was rescinded are exploratory work at the Cabin ridge Property approximately 50 km north of Coleman which was approved Sept. 25 and exploration work by elan Coal approved Sept. 10, according to the Alberta energy regulator.
Many who opposed the government’s decision to unilaterally revoke the policy worried industry could contaminate the headwaters of rivers that all of southern Alberta depends on.
Craig Snodgrass, mayor of High river, who had previously raised concerns about the government’s decision to revoke the policy, took to Twitter to thank Savage for reinstating it.
“Lots of questions to come but reinstating the 1976 coal development policy is the right thing to do. Allows us to breathe and begin proper public consultation as to how coal mining looks in our future,” he said.
The government was also criticized for not consulting with the public prior to making the decision. Lougheed’s policy came after two years of consultation. Now Savage says details of a consultation period will be released in the weeks ahead.
“It will be lengthy, it will hear the input of all Albertans on all views related to coal. We want to take the time and get this right and hear Albertans,” she said.
NDP Leader rachel Notley said reinstating the protections for Category 2 land is a good thing but said the government’s handling of the situation is painting the province in a bad light for investors. She said there must be meaningful consultations, including with Indigenous people, and there must be multiple opportunities for people to participate.
Chris Smith, parks coordinator for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society of Northern Alberta, said he’s happy and cautiously optimistic but there are details the government still needs to clarify.
On Monday, the government also said no mountaintop removal will be permitted but Smith said CPAWS is waiting for some details as to what that encompasses.
“does that include all open-pit mines? does that include strip mining? does that only include mountaintop removal, whatever that might be defined as? There’s a lot of different styles and mountaintop removal isn’t exactly a very technical term so we don’t know what exactly is covered in that restriction,” he said.
Smith said whatever type of consultation the government chooses to do now needs to allow all parts of the Alberta public to have meaningful input.
“This is really showing just how easy it is for a government to just remove a policy that, as we’ve seen, a lot of people really cared about and it took a really strong upswelling of public outcry for the government to backtrack on that,” he said.
“So, as we do these consultations and look at developing this coal policy or new coal regulations for the modern day, how do we make it so that it can’t just be swept away on a Friday afternoon, with no fanfare? How can we make sure that if this happens again that there’s a public discussion on it?”
A representative of the Coal Association of Canada said it had no comment about the decision at this time.