Mountain top. Mining will contaminate streams

By Letter to the Editor on March 20, 2021.

Editor:
Some weeks ago Sonya Savage (Energy Minister) announced there would be “no mountain top removal” on our eastern slopes That was supposed to quiet down the outcry from disbelievers of the mining process in our headwaters. Now our premier has just recently announced that if you leave 10 per cent of the mountain top undisturbed, it is really not considered mountain top removal. Can you believe that?
So really then we are back to square one in our concerns. It appears the government is headstrong in going ahead with strip mining in our headwaters regardless of definition and regardless of the majority of Albertans being opposed to it. They just don’t get it.
There is no process to date that prevents selenium and other toxins from entering our streams. Tech mines in B.C. have been struggling with this problem for years and keep trying but to no avail.
Our MLAs need to realize that open-pit mining is unacceptable in our Eastern Slopes. If it is allowed, it’s inevitable that our streams will be contaminated. This water serves all of southern Alberta. Water is our lifeline. Should we be concerned?
Garry Hackler
Cowley