Coal Mine Floodings in Alberta Worry Environmentalists

Heavy rainfall in Alberta caused floods and excessive surface runoff at energy installations, including coal mines, leading environmental groups to urge the province’s energy regulator for additional action.

The Alberta Energy Regulator posted on its website Tuesday that some coal mines in the Hinton and Grande Cache areas reported wastewater being discharged into the environment. It said the mixture of surface runoff and sediment was above approved water-quality limits and from unauthorized sources.

On Tuesday, the Alberta Energy Regulator said that a few coal mines in the Hinton and Grande Cache districts had informed them that they had released wastewater into the environment. The report concluded that the surface runoff and sediment mixture originated from authorized sources and was of poor water quality.

“There have been no reported impacts to public safety,” according to the statement.

The regulator reported that rainfall along the eastern Rockies had been decreasing, however, it would keep a close eye on the situation throughout the province and respond to any new emergencies at energy sites.

But the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is worried that the regulator hasn’t provided them with enough information about the wastewater, possible contaminants, or even the sites of the spills, and their potential impacts on the ecosystem.

One of this week’s spills occurred on Monday at CST Coal, according to the regulator’s dashboard. The water came from a settling pond that overflowed into the Smoky River.

On Tuesday, wastewater was discharged from Prairie Mines and Royalty near Robb, Alberta, into both the Lovett and Erith Rivers and Chance Creek.

In both statements, it was said that the emergency situation has been resolved, however, the regulator refused to comment on Friday about how this would affect the companies.

“There have been so many incidents of that happening so far this year across mines across the province at both coal mines and oilsands mines,” said Gillian Chow-Fraser of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society on Friday. “It’s very clear that we’re putting a lot of stress on these rivers and these watersheds that so many people depend on.”

She also highlighted the importance of additional action on the part of the regulator to avoid future spills.

“It’s obvious that infrastructure needs to improve to buffer against these extreme weather events, which we know are going to increase with climate change,” she added.

“There needs to be more regulatory oversight to understand why these discharges keep happening and how we are going to stop them.”