I am an Albertan. I was born here and have lived most of my life near Edson. My parents lived in Mountain Park, Alta. after WWII until the coal mine closed in 1950. My older brother was born there. I have spent some of my working life at a few of the different coal mines in the area. I have lots of friends who are or have been coal miners in the local open pit operations. Many have left the area to pursue employment at new mining operations elsewhere, and more than a few are still here.
When I tour down to the Coal Branch and see the changes that have been wrought to the landscape by the mining operations since I was last there, I am astounded. A recent view of Cheviot Mountain, behind the location of the old townsite of Mountain Park, speaks loudly to this.
With all the discussion around selenium and other chemical compounds that are known to leach out of coal mine excavations, I thought I would dig deeper into what effects that might have had on the McLeod River whose headwaters are all the small creeks and streams in that area of the foothills.
In the late 1990s, much testing was done by Alberta Environment, and Alberta Fish and Wildlife on these waters, and significant excesses of selenium and other chemicals were found in both the water, and the aquatic life that lives in those waters. These contaminants lead directly back to the mining operations. A problem was identified. The last public report I can find on this is from 2005 and it is not encouraging. I have inquired many times with Alberta Environment and Parks, including the area limnologist who specializes in surface water, and found nothing more current. Why is there no follow up?
When I hear the premier, a provincial minister or a backbench MLA from our current government quote the often-repeated phrase, “We have the highest environmental standards, and the best regulatory controls,” I can only conclude that it is just hot air.
And who remembers when a settling pond at the closed Obed Mountain coal site gave way and washed its entire contents down a valley to the Athabasca River, clearing out a valley in the process? I hope this has not been forgotten.
I do not know why our current government is so doggedly clinging to their position of major expansion of coal mining on the eastern slopes. The 2019 report from Alberta Energy shows royalties returned to the province from both thermal coal and metallurgical coal production for all of Alberta, was about $12 million (less than half of the war room’s budget), so I don’t think there is a great argument for the economics.
Do we really want to continue a boom/bust cycle, watching local towns' economies go from overheated to stone cold on a short-term basis?
If you have concerns about these issues, now is the time to make your voice heard.
Silence implies consent.
Brian Ficht, Yellowhead County
