Moves by the province to allow more open pit coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies has farmers, ranchers, conservationists and other residents worried.

Bobbi Lambright with the Livingstone Landowners Group says the government has changed water rules, making water available to the mines directly from the headwaters.

"We were already extremely concerned about the headwaters because most of these mines would actually be located right in the heart of mountain sub-basin which supplies most of the water for southern Alberta," she says.

She says cutthroat trout are already endangered and the release of chemicals from the mines, like selenium and arsenic would devastate the fishing and tourism industries.

"There just seems to be a continuous assault on the eastern slopes of the Rockies in terms of activity that's been undertaken by the coal companies and being encouraged or actually directed by the Provincial government."

Lambright says the Province may be doing it to boost jobs and the economy but that's not likely to work.

"For one thing the royalty payment that's required is quite low, it's only like one per cent and the coal companies get to deduct their costs with respect to all of the mine development and operations before they're paying anything consequential in terms of royalties."

As for jobs, she says employment depends on the market price available for coal and when it drops there are usually short and long term layoffs and closures.

She says the government in December of 2020 opened up another 2,000 hectares of land for coal mining in the same environmentally sensitive area and they've since awarded those leases.

Lamplight wants concerned Albertans to contact their MLA's or federal representatives.

 

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