August 24, 2005

Government cleared after approving road to re-opened mine

EDMONTON

The federal government did not contravene its own environmental legislation in evaluating an open-pit mine near Jasper National Park, the Federal Court has ruled.

In a ruling this week, the court found 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 Cheviot mine’s design since it received approval in 1999.

Five environmental groups took the case to court, claiming the changes to the mine, located about three kilometres from the national park boundaries, required a new environmental assessment and are detrimental to wildlife in the area.

The Cheviot project 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, said Jill Seaton, chairwoman of the Jasper Environmental Association.

“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 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.

Canadian Press

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