Selected timeline of events related to the Alberta coal policy controversy 1976 Then Progressive Conservative government under Premier Peter Lougheed introduced the Coal Development Policy, which governed coal exploration and development in Alberta by classifying land into four categories: Category 1, where no exploration or development was allowed, to Category 4, where all exploration and development, both surface and underground, could be approved if appropriate. The Policy blocked surface coal mines on a wide swath of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and the headwaters of Alberta's major watersheds. 1983 The last open-pit coal mine in Alberta's Livingstone Range, a sub-range of the Canadian Rockies which forms the eastern boundary of the Rockies in the south of Alberta, Grassy Mountain, closed in 1983. Newer mines that were "cheaper and safer" on the British Columbia side of the Crowsnest Pass began operating. For coal miners on the Alberta side of the Pass, who had worked in one of the five mines on the Alberta sideBlairmore, Frank, Bellevue, Coleman, and Hillcrestthis marked the end of a century when the region was the biggest coal centre in Alberta. 2012 or 2013 – Elan acquired coal lease applications in southwestern Alberta "for the purpose of developing a coal project". 2013 Benga Mining Ltd., a subsidiary of Hancock Prospecting and Northback's predecessor, originally conducted exploration work on Grassy Mountain from 2013 to 2016. Benga Mining Limitedthen a wholly owned subsidiary of Riversdale Resources began seeking approval from both the federal and provincial governments for the Grassy Mountain Coal Project (GMCP). 2015 Benga's proposal for an open-pit metallurgical coal mine located on "legacy mining lands", Grassy Mountain Coal Project (GMCP), was submitted. The Grassy Mountain Coal Project, proposed by Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart's company, has been a contentious issue in Alberta since 2015. The proposed area to be covered is . July 2016 – During the premiership of Rachel Notley, the Ram River Coal Aries Project was granted an exemption to Alberta's Coal Policy. Mining companies, including Atrum Coal, in their lobblying activities to have the Coal Policy cancelled, have cited this exemption. A 2016 letter to RRCC from the Alberta Government said that "as is the case elsewhere across Alberta, the permitting of surface mining activities is subject to regulatory review and approval, and subject to RRCC receiving the necessary approvals. Surface mining of the shallower portions of the Ram River property can be conducted." The Ram River area was classified Category 2 under the Coal Development Policy for Alberta from 1976, "in which underground mining may be considered, but development by surface mining is not normally considered." This letter led to several other companies applying for and receiving coal leases and exploration permits in Category 2 Lands. 2016 – Riversdale Resources submitted a 263-page description of the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). August 16, 2018 – On August 16, 2018, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the chief executive officer of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) announced the establishment of the GMCP Joint Review Panel (JRP) with three members: Alex Bolton, Hans Matthews, and Dean O'Gorman. The JRP's task was to fulfill the responsibilities of both the provincial and federal acts and requirements defined by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012) in regard to the GMCP. 2019 – According to Alberta Views, global investors, mainly from Australia, are interested in the region and are following the review process closely. 2019 – Northback, a subsidiary of an Australian company owned by Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting, acquired Riversdale Resources' for $CDN 700 million in 2019 which included the GMCP while the project was under review by the JPR. It is Northback's Grassy Mountain Coal Project (GMCP) that garnered the most attention. GMCP is a proposed open-pit metallurgical coal mine located on "legacy mining lands" north of the town of Blairmore in the Alberta side of the Rocky Mountains's Crowsnest Pass, a region with a century-long history of coal mining that ended in 1983. The proposed area to be covered is . The company claimed that the GMCP's production of coal would reach 93 million tonnes over twenty-three years. 2020 June 1 the United Conservative government under Premier Jason Kenney rescinded the 1976 Coal Policy, removing restrictions on coal mining exploration and development on three of four land categories based on environmental sensitivity. The UCP's new policy only protected Category 1 lands, while Category 2 lands—including the "moderately to highly environmentally sensitive" Livingstone Range—were opened to potential coal development. The revocation affected approximately of previously restricted headwater regions and did not include new land-management protocols. The policy change sparked public backlash, legal actions, and the issuing of new leases to coal companies. July 15 to September 15 With no land-use management plan in place, new exploration leasesincluding Montem Resources and Benga Mining Ltd.'s in December 2020were granted and applications were approved. AER approved lease applications in sensitive, former Category 2 lands on the Eastern Slopes. Over of lease applications were granted in Clearwater County (specifically in the Bighorn Backcountry) where the source waters for the City of Edmonton, and much of central Alberta and Saskatchewan come from. December – New leases were granted near the popular recreational areas of Goldeye Lake, Fish Lake, and Crescent Falls. A total of eleven leases were purchased by Montem Resources and Benga Mining Ltd. 2021 January 18 – The Government of Alberta halts sales in the former Category 2 lands and revokes the 11 coal leases issued during the December 2020 auctionthough these leases represent just 0.2% of the land area that had previously been leased. June In June 2021, the GMCP Joint Review Panel announced that the GMCP proposal was rejected because of significant environmental concerns, saying that it was not in the public interest. The Panel received significant evidence against GMCP from a variety of organizations and groups, including The Livingstone Landowners Group, The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), The Municipal District of Ranchland No. 66, the Timberwolf Wilderness Society, the Alberta Chapter of the Wildlife Society, the Crowsnest Conservation Society, the Oldman Watershed Council. In addition to these groups, several Indigenous groups, including the Káínai First Nation, Piikani Nation, Siksika Nation, Stoney Nakoda Nations, Tsuut'ina Nation, Métis Nation of Alberta – Region 3, Ktunaxa Nation, Shuswap Indian Band, and Samson Cree Nation provided information. The panel also received input from individuals, such as landowners adjacent to the project, and government bodies. The Government of Canada provided expert information through the review process. The Alberta Geological Survey provided information about the potential effects of the project on Turtle Mountain, Alberta. According to a 2021 University of Calgary Public Policy paper submitted to the Alberta Coal Policy Committee, which studied the implications of coal mining in the province, with a focus on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains, in 2020/2021 coal mining royalty revenue in Alberta accounted for 0.4% of natural resource revenue. From 1997 and 2017, coal mining accounted for 0.2% of the province's GDP in current dollars. The report says that the financial gains of allowing a hypothetical coal mine in the Rockies eastern foothills of, including $440 million in undiscounted additional tax revenues and $35 million in undiscounted employment earnings, would be outweighed by the drawbacks, such as the disruption to ranching and tourism, along with adverse environmental impacts on water, vegetation, air, and wildlife. The legal status of Northback's proposal for the Grassy Mountain Coal Project was under scrutiny due to conflicting interpretations of its "advanced project" designation. Northback Holdings Corporation, previously known as Benga Mining Ltd., has resubmitted a proposal for the Grassy Mountain project after it was initially rejected by both federal and provincial regulators in 2021 on the grounds that it was not in the public interest.
2022 Beginning in 2020, there was significant opposition to the UCP government's decision to remove protections from lands safeguarded under the 1978 Coal Act without public consultation, leading to widespread public backlash and legal actions. In response, the government reinstated the 1976 Coal Policy and, in March 2022, implemented a moratorium on coal exploration and development in the Eastern Slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains. Alberta's energy minister Sonya Savage announced via ministerial decree that "no new applications will be accepted" for coal exploration, except for "advanced coal projects." July Ongoing policy changes led to the first major legal challenges from coal companies, with Cabin Ridge filing a $CDN 3.441-billion lawsuit against the Alberta government. The company argued that the province's rescission of the 1976 coal policy signaled there were no unique restrictions to developing a metallurgical coal project. In September 2022, Elan filed its own multibillion-dollar lawsuit at Calgary's Court of King's Bench. September – Elan filed its multi-billion-dollar lawsuit at Calgary's Court of King's Bench. 2023 August and September Gina Rinehart's Northback Holdings Corporation submitted their proposals to "conduct a large coal exploration program on Grassy Mountain'. Along with the Coal Exploration Program, the request to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) included a Deep Drill Permit and a Temporary Diversion License, all aimed at collecting site-specific technical data related to the Grassy Mountain Project. September 19 – Grassy Mountain was described as a "key piece of land in Alberta's coal mining debate", according to Global News. September 19 – Grassy Mountain was described as a "key piece of land in Alberta's coal mining debate", according to Global News. December – The $CDN 15-billion combined lawsuits as of December 2023, alleged that changes in coal mining regulations by the Alberta government had resulted in significant financial losses and a "de facto expropriation" of their coal assets, and negatively impacted their investments and property rights. Alberta's policy changes resulted in legal action from five Australian coal companiesEvolve Power Ltd. (formerly Montem Resources Ltd.), Cabin Ridge Holdings Ltd. and Cabin Ridge Project Ltd., Atrum Coal Ltd. and its subsidiary, Elan Coal Ltd., Black Eagle Mining Corp., and Northback Holdings, seeking damages from the Alberta government. December – To address concerns over environmental impacts, Minister Jean announced the Coal Industry Modernization Initiative (CIMI) which would include communication with stakeholders including municipalities, First Nations and Albertans in 2024 and 2025., CIMI was allegedly included policy aimed at preventing selenium contamination in Alberta's watersheds. This initiative was influenced by pollution issues linked to Teck Resources in the Elk Valley, which have played a significant role in shaping public opinion and government policy regarding coal mining in the region.
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