Controversy over Crowsnest Pass coal mining project continues

Northback Holdings’ Grassy Mountain ember mining task has been a arguable taxable successful Alberta for years. One broadside argues it would supply a much-needed economical boost successful the area, portion others fearfulness it would bash irreparable harm to the Oldman watershed.

Rina Blacklaws, spokesperson for Northback Holdings, says the task would beryllium antithetic from erstwhile bequest mining projects.

“The mode that mining has been done successful the past is not the mode mining volition beryllium done today,” said Blacklaws. “We cognize better. We tin negociate selenium efficaciously done a fig of antithetic ways, including wetlands, saturated backfill zones, and progressive h2o attraction plants.”

But immoderate confederate Alberta landowners are suspicious of these promises, and don’t privation their onshore touched.

Corb Lund, a well-known section musician, says helium was brought into the “coal fight” by generational ranching families, including his own, who felt threatened by perchance losing their properties to unfastened pit mining and polluted water.

“I warrant if we person unfastened pit ember mining successful Crowsnest Pass, we volition pollute and contaminate the Oldman River,” said Lund.

“It’s a information and the ember companies volition archer you it’s not and they’re lying.”

Laura Laing and John Smith ain Plateau Cattle Company, located successful the sprawling pastures westbound of Nanton. The mates person been battling hard against ember mining successful eastbound slopes of the Rockies for 5 years. Laing says the combat has been a full-time job.

“There’s a arrogant past successful ember mining successful Alberta, but it is not successful our future,” said Laing. “Existing ember mines should beryllium allowed to discontinue gracefully, but nary caller ember improvement successful the eastbound slopes.

“We request to support the eastbound slopes, and the assets they provide, which is water, vegetation, autochthonal grasslands, tourism, guiding, outfitting, and recreation. You tin person each of those things, but you can’t person each of those things and coal.”

Blacklaws says if Northback Holdings believes the dependable of each Albertans is important connected this project, specifically those surviving wrong the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, who volition ballot connected the task adjacent month.

“We judge it’s important to nourish the ungraded that we are going in,” said Blacklaws. “We are actively progressive successful the community, and we deliberation it’s important for the radical of Crowsnest Pass to person their say.”

In contrast, Laing and Smith judge an Alberta-wide ballot is necessary.

“Everyone successful Alberta has a dependable connected this, not conscionable radical who unrecorded wrong definite kilometres of the imaginable ember exploration,” said Laing. “This is Alberta’s h2o we’re talking about. It’s our fig 1 resource, we request to support it, and that’s what we’re present to do.”

“[Crowsnest Pass residents] tin ballot connected it each they want, but they’re not the lone ones who usage that water,” said Smith. “There’s galore aggregate thousands of radical downstream from them that usage that water, too.”

The archetypal of 2 nationalist hearings connected the task volition instrumentality spot successful Blairmore connected Dec. 3rd and 4th. Crowsnest Pass volition ballot connected the task connected Nov. 25th.