In their June 17, 2021 final report, the joint provincial-federal review panel composed of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) denied Benga Mining's application for the Grassy Mountain Coal Project because of significant adverse environmental effects.
[1] The project was a flashpoint for widespread public outcry against the 2020 opening of previously protected areas in the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains to coal mining.
In December 2024, the Alberta government announced plans to ban new mountaintop removal and open-pit coal developments on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
[14] Steve Mallyon, managing director of Riversdale Resources, stated the justification for the project was based on the expected economic benefits from foreign investment, with commitments to customers in Asia and Europe.
[22] In an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Lund said that opponents of coal mining in the foothills included people from rural and indigenous communities, environmentalists, as well as some workers in the oil industry.
[24] Eight Alberta municipalities formally expressed concerns about coal mining in the eastern slopes, including Lethbridge, Turner Valley, High Level, Okotoks, and Canmore.
[25] They cited the importance of Crowsnest Mountain as a sacred cultural site,[26] and the danger to species such as grizzly bears, big horn sheep, bull trout, and elk, as well as the watersheds of the Oldman and Livingstone Rivers.
[28] In their June 17, 2021 final 680-page report, the joint review panel established in 2018 by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada(ECCC) said that the Benga Mining Limited, Grassy Mountain Coal Project was not in the public's best interest due to its environmental impact.
[29] The assessment cited concerns for surface water quality, the impacts on key species such as the westslope cutthroat trout, the whitebark pine, and the little brown bat,[30] and the loss of lands used for traditional activities by the Kainai, Piikani, and Siksika First Nations.
[14] Shortly after the joint review panel decision was published, hundreds of residents from the Crowsnest Pass area, who supported coal mining in the eastern foothills of the Rockies, gathered to express their disappointment.
[1][31] According to Alberta law, the costs of expert testimony, legal advice, and research incurred by citizens appearing before regulators are supposed to be paid by the project proponents.