By Emma Graney

July 16, 2018 - An Alberta, Canada coal mine slated to open in 2021 is at the center of a review by the provincial and federal governments.

The Grassy Mountain Coal Project is a proposed open-pit metallurgical coal mine planned for a legacy mining area near Blairmore in southwestern Alberta, Canada.

According to government documents, the Riversdale Resources mine is set to cover 2,800 hectares around 150 kilometres southwest of Calgary, 13 kilometres east of the B.C. border. It will have the capacity to produce up to 93 million tonnes of coal over its 24-year mine life.

A joint review of the project by the Alberta Energy Regulator and federal environment ministry was given approval last week via an order-in-council.

Why a Joint Review?

Energy regulator spokesman Shawn Roth said in an email the idea is for the panel to work together to evaluate the project, avoiding potential duplication, delays and confusion that could arise from separate reviews.

The joint panel will determine whether the Grassy Mountain project meets Alberta’s Responsible Energy Development Act, the federal Environmental Assessment Act and other relevant regulations.

“The next step is for the panel members to be appointed. Once that happens, the panel will start its path forward and will provide a schedule for public participation,” Roth said.

“During the process, the public will be able to ask questions about the project and any questions brought forward will be considered by the panel.”

The federal environment ministry said in an email the Grassy Mountain project was sent to the independent review panel after “considering its potential to cause significant adverse environmental effects and concerns expressed by the public and Indigenous groups in relation to these effects.”

The provincial and federal governments often collaborate on such reviews after they signed the Canada-Alberta Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation in 2005. The Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project in northeastern Alberta is currently facing a similar review.

That project includes the construction, operation and reclamation of an oilsands surface mine with a production capacity of about 260,000 barrels per day of bitumen. It’s located around 110 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

The review panel has set a public hearing in Fort McMurray for Sept. 25. 

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