Southern areas plan for life without coal mining

“It has meant a lot,” one local says. “I can see a lot of the young families moving.”

CORONACH As local governments in southern Saskatchewan eye an economic future without coal, a veteran of the industry says he is uncertain what types of development in the area will be sustainable.

“I have no problem with windand sun-power. But if the wind don’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, I don’t know what you’re going to do — put a crank on it?” scoffs 93-year-old Harold Siggelkow, a longtime Coronach resident who owned the local mine on the southeast side of town from 1946 to 1947.

Several town governments in the area — Coronach, Bengough, Rockglen and Willow Bunch, along with the rural municipalities of Happy Valley, Hart Butte, Poplar Valley, Bengough and Willow Bunch — are trying to find an answer. They have signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue joint economic development that doesn’t rely on coal mining, in response to the federal government ordering coalfired power plants in Canada to be shut down by 2030.

The local governments are hoping the Deep South Economic Partnership attracts more residents and investment dollars to the area, finds sectors for economic growth and supports employees who will potentially be out of work after the Poplar River power plant shuts down.

Coronach administrator Catherine Mackay-wilson said the looming coal phase-out “strengthened our need to realize the power of a region more than an individual town on its own.”

Coronach also commissioned consultancy firm MBD Insight to do a socio-economic impact study. Analyzing Coronach and the surrounding RM of Hart Butte, MBD’S report estimates the closure of the coal mine and its power plant will cut the area’s population by 573 people (67 per cent), trim 388 jobs (67 per cent), and reduce the area’s GDP by $390 million (89 per cent).

“Prior to it going industrial, when it was domestic-use, (people) depended on it. Every house in town burned coal and all had an ash pile by spring ... It was the mainstay of the people being here,” said Siggelkow.

From 1910 to 1950, 19 locally-owned coal mines were operational around Coronach. The setups were small, not expected to turn much profit, Siggelkow said. In the two years he owned the Coronach mine, he only had three employees; together they put out 30 to 40 tons of coal per day, priced around $2.25 per ton. They worked through winter, leaving mine maintenance for the

summer.

“We went down at 8 o’clock in the morning, come up for dinner, come up for supper, and went down after supper. And we would be there anywhere from 10 o’clock to 1 o’clock in the morning,” he said.

The coal industry has “brought prosperity,” said Leanne Kuski, who runs daylong tours of the Big Muddy and Coronach areas. Her knowledge of south Saskatchewan’s history rivals Siggelkow’s.

“We were able to keep our school; we built additions onto the school when the power plant and the mine came to the area (in the early ‘80s),” Kuski said. “So it has meant a lot to people … I can see a lot of the young families moving (in the future).”

Mackay-wilson and Coronach’s mayor, Trevor Schnell, are using guidelines from the MBD report as targets. The report recommends transitioning power plant employees to new jobs, encouraging entrepreneurship, expanding and attracting businesses, building on the area’s tourism and finding new resource development. They’re also looking forward to the pending arrival of a regional development specialist to help define those goals.

“There are some people who have retired from (the power plant) and they want to stay here,” Kuski said. “They are hoping to keep the community alive through changing it from an industrial town to a different type of town.”

Siggelkow said he’s open to diversifying the area’s resource base, but he’s not convinced it’s time to close the door on coal, saying it “has been the most economical source of fuel and the most stable supply of fuel that there is.

“I think there should be more work in taking the sulphur out of the coal; that’s the problem. I think there should be more work done to take that out of it, before it goes up the chimney,” he said.

“They just seem to shrug their shoulders and say, ‘Coal is black, we’ve gotta get rid of it,’ instead of trying to do more.”

I have no problem with wind- and sun-power. But if the wind don’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, I don’t know what you’re going to do.