City reaffirms opposition to coal mines
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on February 26, 2025.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com
Lethbridge city council on Tuesday unanimously supported an amended motion calling on the City of Lethbridge to reconfirm that it is opposed to any and all coal developments that risk damaging the Oldman watershed.
The amended official business motion, presented by Councillor Belinda Crowson, also called upon council to have administration at the March 13 meeting of the Economic and Finance SPC give a presentation on potential concerns about future coal mining for the watershed and the City’s water supply.
However, the motion was divided into two parts and changed, with council instead voting on a motion to have administration make a presentation to the Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee on April 10 on potential concerns related to future coal mining for the Oldman Watershed and the City’s water supply.
That motion passed by only a 5-4 margin after a lengthy debate about whether having the meeting was a moot point, given how council had just stated it was opposed to mining.
Several councillors, including Crowson, Ryan Parker and Jenn Schmidt-Rempel, stated they felt it was important for the public – who will get a chance to speak at that SPC – to have more information on potential impacts to the water supply here.
Councillor John Middleton-Hope, who supported the motion, stated he wanted all relevant parties to be invited to speak, including Northback Holdings, the company that wants to start a mine at Grassy Mountain on the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies.
But Councillor Rajko Dodic and Acting Mayor Jeff Carlson argued that, by having the presentation, it might create the impression council was wavering on its opposition to mining.
Dodic told council several mining companies are now involved in lawsuits against the province and it would be unlikely any would speak at such a meeting.
“I just want us to say no to coal mining, period,” Dodic told his peers.
Deputy Mayor Nick Paladino questioned whether the meeting was out of the City’s jurisdiction, stating that if mining is approved on the Eastern Slopes, the matter wouldn’t be brought to city council to address.
Council previously addressed mining on the Eastern Slopes earlier in its term. In October 2023, it directed Hyggen, who supported Tuesday’s motion to have the administration presentation, to write a letter on its behalf to the Alberta Energy Regulator about mining concerns.
And on Oct. 19, 2020, the previous council adopted a resolution put forward by Crowson and fellow Councillor Rob Miyashiro directing then-Mayor Chris Spearman to send a letter to provincial officials including the premier, Minister of Environment and Parks and the Lethbridge East MLA highlighting city governance’s concerns about water quality while referencing the Oldman Watershed Council’s submission to the joint review panel on the Grassy Mountain project.
In an interview with The Herald last week, Spearman said it’s overdue for council to tackle the subject “but I’m glad to see them moving forward.”
15-14
Good.
Phew…. for a minute there I was afaid the City of Lethbridge is opposed to coal mininng on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains where the headwaters of the Oldman River are born.
However, it seems there’s a germ of common sense prevails when you parse the actual words of the amended motion to be. “opposed to any and all coal developments that risk damaging the Oldman watershed”.
In other words, if an objective analysis shows unequivocally that coal developements can proceed so long as there is no reasonable risk of damage to the watershed.
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, here I AM.
Clowns, indeed! In Columbo fashion, just how would “no reasonable risk” be assessed?
If you believe that coal mining has no environmental risks, you are very mistaken.
And there is this.
Selenium can be removed from water using a variety of methods, including reverse osmosis, adsorption, ion exchange, and biological techniques.
Reverse osmosis
Uses membranes to separate water from unwanted minerals
Can remove up to 99% of selenium
Cost-effective, easy to maintain, and easy to use
Adsorption
Uses materials like activated carbon, activated alumina, or metal oxides
Biochar-based adsorbents are eco-friendly and inexpensive
Bioremediation through adsorption is a cost-effective alternative
Ion exchange
Uses ion exchange resins to filter selenium
Ion exchange resins are highly efficient, even when they become clogged with other ions
Coagulation
The US Bureau of Reclamation has developed a process that mixes selenium-laden water with ferrous iron hydroxide solids
The selenium is removed from the water and trapped in the iron hydroxide floc
Biological techniques
microbial reduction, aerobic wetlands, biochemical reactors, microalgal-bacterial treatment, bioremediation, and phytoremediation.
For someone who thinks it is too expensive to pay teacher’s aides a living wage, you sure don’t seem to mind spending it on water treatment!
I’m sure you know it is much less expensive to avoid contaminating source water to begin with.
Tell us, buckster, why you are so supportive of coal mining, when you are against everything else? Are fake promises of jobs and royalties so much more compelling to you than a clean environment?
As I said, it is impossible to remove selenium contamination from water. There is no means to do that. If you recall Canadian history, and are familiar with geography (maps, basically), you will know that the First Nations, Metis, and early explorers used these rivers in the way that we use roads and highways today. We are east of the Continental Divide, and therefore our rivers flow from west to east, in most instances. These rivers go from Alberta, into Saskatchewan, and into Manitoba. They also connect to numerous lakes. Selenium contamination will go a long way.
In British Columbia, west of the Continental Divide, the rivers flow from east to west, and go south along the way, also connecting to other creeks, rivers and lakes. The coal mines in British Columbia affect the water in Montana, Idaho and in Washington State, from selenium contamination. Their governments don’t like it.
It was Ralph Klein who reduced the royalty rate for coal to just 1%. Automation will take over most of the jobs, while the mountains, the water and the environment will be ruined. A foreign billionaire will be wealthier.
Peter Lougheed enacted the 1976 Coal Policy for good reasons. That was to protect the mountains, the water and the environment from harm. The UCP doesn’t care about that at all.
There are no technological ways to remove selenium contamination in water. It’s impossible. Once it’s in the water, it can’t be removed.