High River's mayor says he and the many others protesting coal mining on the eastern slopes got what they asked for Friday.

Craig Snodgrass says he was happy to hear energy minister Sonya Savage put a halt to any coal mining activity still going on in Category 2 lands.

"This is exactly what we've all been asking for and kudos to the committee for making this recommendation based on all the comments they've received back through the first phase of the engagement survey so it proves that these guys are listening and they're serious and on to the next steps here," he says.

Snodgrass says he was especially happy to hear that all options appear to be on the table.

"I think that that was the other thing that really impressed me between committee chair Ron Wallace and minister Savage is both of them were making it very, very clear that the outcome could very well be there will be no future coal development in Alberta,"

He was also glad that they clarified that if water and land use are the primary concerns it can be put into the survey and they will take it seriously.

"The minister's trying to keep things under the umbrella of energy and she said it twice that I heard, that if the sentiment from Albertans is no future coal development in certain areas, or all of it, then there's no need to go into water and land use because there's no coal development," he says.

He says local Livingstone-McLeod MLA Roger Reid should pay more attention to his constituents.

Mayor Snodgrass says he's had a number of meetings with minister Savage but hasn't met with the chair of the consultation committee Ron Wallace.

However he says they will meet Tuesday April 27.

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