New Alberta government research has found windblown dust from mountaintop removal coal mines has polluted a pristine alpine lake to the point where its waters are as contaminated as lakes downwind from the oilsands.
Alberta's Opposition New Democrats want the provincial government to end any uncertainty about the future of the province's Rocky Mountains by legislating that no new coal mines will be permitted there.
Provincial fire bans and restrictions are also in place across southern Alberta, including in the city of Lethbridge's river valley and in the town of Three Hills due to limited water supply.
A southern Alberta town has become what it says is the first municipality to endorse a community−developed policy that calls for a permanentban on new coal exploration and development in the Rocky Mountains.
One of the companies that had planned to build an open-pit coal mine in the Rocky Mountains has signed an agreement with an Alberta government agency to work toward converting the project to renewable energy.
Montem Resources is one of the companies considering the Alberta government's decision last month to extend a pause on coal development on the summits and eastern slopes of the Rockies.
"Environment Canada got pushback," said Bill Donahue, an environmental scientific consultant and former head of monitoring for the Alberta government. "It dramatically reduced the proposed standards in terms of their stringency."
Alberta's energy minister says she has received two reports that will determine the future of coal mining in the province's Rocky Mountain foothills and eastern slopes.
