A former mining pit, now full of water sits at the base of Grassy Mountain north of Blairmore, Alta, on June 27. Northback Coal hopes to gain approval to restart work on the mine, which has been abandoned since the 1950s.Gavin John/The Globe and Mail
Cradling her acoustic guitar, Monica Field angled herself toward three Alberta Energy Regulator commissioners to protest a proposed Southern Alberta coal development – via song.
“It’s back, it’s back, the zombie mine,” she crooned. “Risen from the dead, how can it go ahead? What must we do to kill it one last time?”
Ms. Field’s song was a particularly unusual chapter during two days of unorthodox, quasi-judicial hearings this week, which featured emotional pleas, audience outbursts, allegations of intimidation and corruption, and last-minute additions to the list of presenters.
The community centre in Pincher Creek, Alta., played host to the hearings. Although the size of the crowd varied over the two days, most of the time around 50 people gathered inside, many clutching Tim Hortons cups to defend against the late fall chill and winds that slice through this part of the world. They sat on hard plastic chairs separated into two sections, mostly sticking with their own camp as though it was a wedding; pro- and anti-coal replacing bride and groom.
They were here to speak to applications from Northback Holdings Corp., a subsidiary of Australian mining giant Hancock Prospecting. Northback is seeking permission to conduct coal exploration, drilling and water diversion on an old mine called Grassy Mountain. The applications are not for a mine proper but for exploratory activity that the company would use to develop project plans.
Ms. Field’s lyrics reflected the fact that a mine plan for Grassy Mountain under Northback’s predecessor, Riversdale Resources Ltd., was already rejected by a joint federal-provincial review. That was in 2021. A year later, Alberta banned new coal exploration. But “advanced projects” are exempt from the ban, and Northback insists it’s on that short list. The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) – after receiving guidance from Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean – agreed to send the applications to a public hearing.
A resident shovels snow near a sign supporting coal mining on Nov. 25, the day of a plebiscite on whether to support a new coal mine in Crowsnest Pass, Alta.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Tuesday and Wednesday marked the first set of hearings for individuals and groups that the AER deemed “limited participants.” Hearings for full participants, including several local First Nations, municipalities and a landowners’ group, will begin in January.
Those speaking against Northback’s applications this week included environmentalists concerned about local grizzly and trout populations, ranchers worried about how water use at a future mine and during early-stage drilling would affect an already-parched watershed, and residents of Crowsnest Pass and Piikani First Nation who spoke to the potential of air and water contamination from coal dust and selenium.
On the other side were business owners who have already contracted with Northback on early activities, security and gravel companies based on the nearby Piikani First Nation, and Crowsnest Pass residents who said the mine would bring much-needed jobs and economic development to a region with a shrinking tax base.
It’s a divisive topic, but there is much support for Northback’s plans in Crowsnest Pass.
On Nov. 25, more than half of the municipality’s residents turned out to vote in a non-binding referendum on whether they supported a project to mine steelmaking coal on Grassy Mountain. Close to 72 per cent of them voted “yes.”
Mayor Blair Painter said in an interview Friday that the council will use the result to lobby the provincial and federal governments. It is also considering seeking a legal opinion about annexing land from the neighbouring Municipal District of Ranchland.
Grassy Mountain is in Ranchland, but the site is accessed via Highway 3 in Crowsnest Pass. Ranchland steadfastly opposes a new mine and has taken the AER to court, challenging the fact the regulator is considering Northback’s applications at all.
Emotions ran high during the hearings, but there was one thread that weaved throughout the two days of presentations, on both sides of the argument: a deep sense of duty to and love for the Rocky Mountains and eastern foothills.
Mine supporters said Northback will operate at the highest environmental standards, and invoked the fact that Crowsnest Pass was built on coal mining. Indeed, rusted remnants of the industry and disused coal mine shafts litter Grassy Mountain today – something Northback has promised to clean up should its plans be approved.
Those against the applications countered that economic development should move with the times, and the environmental risks of re-establishing an industry from the past are too great.
Residents enter a polling station to cast their votes in the Nov. 25 plebiscite. More than half of the municipality’s residents turned out to vote in the non-binding referendum on whether they supported a project to mine steelmaking coal on Grassy Mountain and close to 72 per cent voted 'yes.'Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Participants from both sides often voiced their displeasure that they had to be there at all. Supporters of the mine argued that AER hearings for drilling permits were almost unheard of, while those in opposition countered that the mine plan has already been rejected once and should not be relitigated.
But Ken Allred, a Crowsnest Pass resident in the pro-mine camp, said in an interview he wasn’t annoyed about having to present to the commissioners.
“No, it’s a duty. We’ve got to speak up for what we believe in,” he said.
Ms. Field, the songstress who lives just east of Crowsnest Pass, said in an interview she felt compelled to participate to raise the issue of potential effects to the region in the future should it be mined for metallurgical coal.
“Because coal mining was such a good living off and on for many decades, that’s what people know and that’s what people want. They want to go back to those good times. But that may not be the best path forward,” she said.
And if the Grassy Mountain issue continues?
“I’m seriously thinking that if I have to come to another hearing, it might be time for puppets.”