Mine could be beneficial to Crowsnest Pass
By Lethbridge Herald on May 16, 2025.
Editor,
There are the vast majority of people who are against the coal mine in the Crowsnest Pass who have no idea where the water is coming from nor do they know the small amount that is needed every year. There were two areas that had been dug down to create deep pits on the coal mine that everyone is talking about. They have now been transformed into lakes at the top of the coal mine. These lakes contain frogs, salamanders, and a variety of insects that you would see around the lakes.
The water that is needed for the coal plant could be rotated in and out of these areas, and even then would take very little water to operate the plant for an entire year. My understanding is that the water consumption for a year is the same as the water consumption for one day irrigating our corn fields, and this would have little to no impact on our water in the Old Man River. Right now, there is slight leakage coming down from that coal area into two creeks, one going into Blairmore Creek and one going into Gold Creek.
If that mine were to become operational, the government would set aside a certain amount for its reclamation in case they bailed before doing so at the end of its life. This would totally restore the area including the seepage where at all possible. The reason that you aren’t hearing about this is because we have a very slanted liberal media who has not told you the truth, because it doesn’t fit their agenda.
This mine could be extremely beneficial to the Crowsnest Pass, especially as the land will finally be restored at the end. There is absolutely no hope of that happening as it sits right now. The last point it is important to make, is this really has nothing to do with the UCP government. They did make one major mistake when they closed down all the mines that had started up because of NDP policies in the previous term. This created an illegal nightmare that could have caused billions to the Alberta taxpayer which is why the UCP quickly restored what they had tried to take away.
It is now in the hands of the regulators, and the UCP government is keeping their hands off, as they should.
Jill Skriver
Lethbridge
9-8
The fact that it is now in the hands of the “regulators” is reason enough to be concerned. How does one “rotate water in and out”- pray tell. Remember the coal moratorium, scrapped secretly and then reintroduced once the public found out? This is the same government who could not care less about the environment, more about sovereignty and beholden to none other than one David Parker and the fringe of Albertans pushing for a referendum.
This is like creating damaging tailing ponds in the mountains so we would be damn fools to support that wouldn’t we ? What could possibly go wrong?
You can bet smith won’t care if it does, what are these Reformers getting out of all this is the big question with them so hellbent on getting it approved when collecting proper royalties and corporate taxes on our oil industry is all we would need to run this province properly like Lougheed did.
If anyone thinks these regulators (the AER) are autonomous from the UCP, they are mistaken. There is no such thing as clean coal. One of my great grandfathers was a coal miner in the Crowsnest Pass, in the early 1900s. He was present when the Hillcrest Mine explosion happened. Realizing the risks of that, he left coal mining.
Imagine someone being a grandfather. They can’t take their grandson fishing, because the water is so polluted and the fish can’t be eaten. Even farmers and ranchers are concerned about the pollution from these open pit coal mining operations affecting the water they rely on for their crops and livestock. The UCP simply do not care about Albertans. They want to make their wealthy corporate buddies even wealthier.
If the mine was to “rotate water in and out” of the lakes those lakes would be instantly polluted by the chemicals and fine coal in the plant discharge. All settling ponds in the existing mines are constructed by the mines to contain plant discharge and not allowed to flow into any fresh water source. The CNP will benefit if the Grassy Mtn mine is allowed to proceed but it will be short lived. Water contamination and environmental damage will destroy the ecosystem and Alberta tourism industry. When the price of coal falls or customers move on such the mine becomes unprofitable the operator will shutdown and and possibly abandon the site. This has happened numerous times in the industry as the coal market is historically volatile. Hopefully this govt recognizes that mining in the Rockies is not in the long term best interests of Albertans.
If Lougheed was so concerned about what it could do to us that he put protection on the mountains to stop it that’s good enough for me. He was thousand times smarter than any of these Reformers and their pals. He cared about looking after the well-being of all Albertans and was completely opposite to these idiots and the fools that support them, wasn’t he?
Peter Lougheed was a very wise man, and he was very forward thinking. Too bad many people in Alberta don’t bother to look at the great things that he did for this province. On various newspapers, all you see is people throwing childish insults at anyone who is smart enough to not support the UCP and Danielle Smith, because they are so bad. Ralph Klein was very bad, but the UCP and Danielle Smith seem to be an extension of what he did. No concern for public education, no care for public healthcare, so much money wasted on very costly debacles, while the vulnerable, seniors, teachers, students, rural property owners, the environment, and democracy in Alberta are treated with disdain.
One should take pause at the notion that jillo has the same number of votes as anyone. I intend to write a letter to the leader of the UN One-World Government to recommend the opening of some re-education camps in the region.
jillo (lol) extreme right wacko.
Lump, your vision does not appear to extend beyond your nose.
https://daveberta.substack.com/p/ten-questions-about-alberta-separatism