article on cheviot mine

Edmonton Journal
2005.08.19
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Coal mine wins over wildlife in court ruling: Bird habitat, grizzly bears likely be to affected
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EDMONTON - A court ruling on the controversial Cheviot Mine project could spell disaster for wildlife in and around Jasper, local conservationist groups said Thursday.

The Federal Court ruled Wednesday in favour of Cardinal River Coals, which has had plans to build the open pit coal mine a kilometre east of Jasper National Park since the mid-1990s.

The court found that the Canadian

Environmental Assessment Act does not oblige the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to conduct an environmental assessment of the area, despite significant changes to the mine's design since it received approval in 1999.

Five environmental groups took the case to court.

They alleged the government failed to properly follow its own environmental legislation in evaluating the mining project.

They claimed the changes are detrimental to the surrounding wildlife.

CHEVIOT FOOTPRINT GROWS

The footprint of the Cheviot was expanded to include the adjacent MacLeod River valley, a sensitive bird habitat, and now covers 7,455 hectares. It also includes construction of a haul road between Cheviot and the Luscar Mine, which was scheduled for closure.

The original Cheviot was to be entirely self-sufficient, with coal being mined and processed on-site.

The new design uses the haul road to move coal mined from Cheviot to Luscar for processing.

The road will act as a barrier to the foothills for grizzly bears and could result in some getting run over, Jasper Environmental Association chairwoman Jill Seaton said Thursday.

"The grizzlies like to wander out of the park and into the foothills for many reasons and this road will block them," Seaton said.

"There will be coal trucks flying by there every six to eight minutes."

The original design called for a rail line in the place of the haul road, something that would have cause much less disruption, says Seaton.

GRIZZLIES AND JOBS

The Alberta Wilderness Association called the court ruling a disappointment.

"We felt quite confident that the law would protect this area and support our concerns," said executive director Christyann Olson.

"These habitats will become fragmented and diminished. Animals like the grizzly need that wide open space."

Mine debris that is chipped away to get at the coal deposits will be dumped on bird habitats, completely covering them, said Dianne Pahal, Alberta wilderness director of the Sierra Club of Canada.

"There could be upwards of 5,000 birds affected by this," Pahal said.

When the federal environmental approval was first given, Pahal said the Sierra Club was told the economic benefit of 400 new jobs outweighed the destruction of surrounding habitats.

According to the Sierra Club, Cheviot is employing only 120 workers.

"Now we're really wondering if the job-creation factor still outweighs the loss of the habitats," Pahal said.

Sierra Defence Fund lawyer Justin Duncan, who represents the five groups, said he is not yet sure if the environmentalists coalition will launch a court action in Canada's Federal Court of Appeal.