The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) recently found itself in the hot seat after failing to immediately notify the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation of a tailings spill north of Fort McMurray that happened over nine months ago.
A similar incident occurred earlier this month near Grande Cache, but this time, the AER was left in the dark. On March 4, 2023, over a million litres of coal fines escaped from coal mining company CST Canada Coal Ltd.’s (CST Coal’s) settling pond.
Settling ponds are used in coal mining to treat and discharge wastewater from coal washing. This is the process of removing impurities from coal before it is burned.
Coal fines are the nasty things removed from coal during the coal-washing process. These consist of finely crushed materials like rock, ore, and, of course, coal.
Coal fines can also contain all sorts of toxic substances; however, settling ponds are meant to trap coal fines. Emphasis on ‘supposed to.’
As previously mentioned, CST Coal’s settling pond released more than a million litres of coal fines on March 4, 2023. These coal fines ended up in the Smoky River, which runs through Grande Cache.
But this isn’t anything new for CST Coal. Previously, on December 29, 2022, more than 100,000 litres of coal wash wastewater were released from the company’s coal mining project.
In both instances, CST Coal apparently notified its stakeholders and Rights holders, including local Indigenous communities. However, the company failed to immediately inform the AER both times.
Whether CST Coal reached out to its stakeholders and Rights holders has yet to be revealed. When asked, the nearby Aseniwuche Winewak Nation could not confirm whether CST Coal had contacted it or not.
Similarly, Greenview refused to say whether it had been informed or not. No matter the case, CST Coal is responsible for spilling waste well over its approved limits.
Thankfully. There are currently no reported impacts on the public or wildlife, but CST Coal isn’t out of the hot seat.
The AER is now investigating the owner of the coal mining project, and CST Coal is trying to figure out the cause of the spills.
The company will be required to put together a prevention plan to help prevent spills like this from happening again.
As for now, CST Coal could face some pretty hefty fines depending on the cause of the spills.
To put things into perspective, Teck Coal Ltd. had to pay $60 million in fines after the company was caught depositing harmful coal waste rock into Fording River in BC.
But is a hefty fine enough, or is it just a slap on the wrist? How do we prevent incidents like this from happening in the first place?
