Alberta government lifts coal mining moratorium, critics say it's 'open season'

Grassy Mountain, peak to left, and the Grassy Mountain Coal Project are seen north of Blairmore, Alta., Thursday, June 6, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

EDMONTON — Alberta’s government has quietly rescinded its moratorium on new coal exploration and development in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

It’s a move critics say means the province has declared open season on renewed coal mining.

In a letter to the Alberta Energy Regulator posted to its website Monday, Energy Minister Brian Jean said lifting a 2022 moratorium will “reduce regulatory confusion” around coal mining.

Jean also directed the regulator to give “due consideration” to the government’s new policy intention, first announced in December. Under that plan, the government said it will require companies to show how they can prevent toxic selenium from leaching into watersheds. However, that policy, led by industry consultations, has yet to be fully developed or implemented.

The end of the moratorium comes as five coal companies are taking the Alberta government to court, seeking more than a combined $15 billion in lost revenues and sunk costs that they say they’re owed as a result of the government’s back-and-forth policy manoeuvres.

They’re expected to appear in court in the spring.

Concerns about coal mining peaked in 2020, when the province announced it would remove rules that had protected the eastern slopes of the Rockies from open-pit coal mining since 1976 and began issuing leases.

After a deluge of public pushback, the United Conservative Party government reinstated the protections and stopped selling exploration leases.

The 1976 coal policy remains in effect, restricting all exploration and development on Category 1 lands, which include parks, wilderness areas and wildlife sanctuaries.

Nigel Bankes, professor emeritus of law at the University of Calgary, said other than those lands, “it’s open season” for coal development in areas currently leased.

He also said it appears the government made the move to kill the legal action against it. “It’s very likely it knocks the foundation out from those cases,” said Bankes in an interview.

He said it was bad decision-making that put the province in a vulnerable legal position in the first place, but said they have options.

“(They could) pass a statute saying, ‘We are not paying compensation,’” said Bankes. He said Albertans should be concerned about renewed mining, particularly those who live downstream of potential projects.

“People thought we put coal to bed,” he said.

“What Albertans are learning is that’s actually not what this government thinks.”

Jean’s office said in a statement Monday evening that the ministerial order is a “housekeeping” change to implement what was announced in December.

“This does not open the door for coal development projects hoping to get approval before the new rules come into force,” the statement said, adding that the regulator will be expected to keep the goals of the incoming policy in mind when looking at coal exploration applications.

That includes a ban on any new open-pit mining, although critics said last month that term wasn’t clearly defined by the government.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society’s Alberta chapter said the change means new coal mine exploration and development on more than 1,880 square kilometres of leases could begin as early as the spring.

The move also comes as a contentious mine project being proposed in the Crowsnest Pass by Northback Holdings progresses through the regulatory approval process. The wilderness society said it means the Grassy Mountain project can proceed without a big regulatory hurdle.

The society said companies are already being informed that their exploration permits are reactivated.

Kennedy Halvorson, a conservationist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, said the government’s latest move is premature, as the government had said it was in the process of developing its new coal policy.

“It opens up a lot of lands for exploration and development that have been protected in the last couple years while the government was meant to be seeking clarity on how they move forward with this industry,” she said.

“It seems like all of these companies can now pick up kind of exactly where they ended off in that process and start to push their applications through the regulatory process before we have answers.”

Opposition NDP environment critic Sarah Elmeligi said the UCP is opening the eastern slopes for coal mining and development, while also creating confusion and uncertainty.

She said the UCP’s policy shifts created the opportunity for coal mining companies to expect compensation, and now the government is telling them the moratorium was just a pause.

“But by doing that, they’re breaking the promise they made to Albertans that they would protect the eastern slopes,” Elmeligi said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2025.