For the Record: No Good Reason to Proceed with Coal Exploration
A letter to Anti-Environment Minister Schulz
Good Afternoon Minister Schulz, (To: epa.minister@gov.ab.ca, cc: minister.energy@gov.ab.ca, Banff.Kananaskis@assembly.ab.ca, Calgary.Buffalo@assembly.ab.ca, Livingstone.Macleod@assembly.ab.ca, Banff.Kananaskis@assembly.ab.ca, Calgary.Buffalo@assembly.ab.ca, Calgary.Glenmore@assembly.ab.ca, Nenshi@albertandp.ca, Premier@gov.ab.ca)
Thank you for facing the Southern Alberta community last week. For me, it is exhausting to have to stand up for your clean drinking water, hear you lie to us, and receive your anger when we are not buying it. Just because you say it, does not make it true.
If you proceed with allowing coal exploration or development in the Eastern Slopes you are going against the collective wishes and wellbeing of the people of Alberta and Saskatchewan. And you are going against all of the scientific and economic evidence that tells you NOT to proceed.
What you know, for the record:
1) There is NO way to mine which will not pollute our water: there is clear evidence that bioaccumulation of pollutants from legacy mining practices at Grassy have occurred, making fish toxic to eat. This likely is also why trout populations have decreased, too. Information from your office:
Fish remain high in selenium long after mountaintop coal mines close.
There is evidence coal contamination in the snow pack:
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.4c02596
Evidence of its created atmospheric pollution:
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00677
Evidence its in the rivers:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749124000423
2) Even if closed pit mining works, it has been noted by Atrium in their statement of claim that "closed pit" mining is too expensive so they will simply sue us instead.
3) You know there is evidence that the coal reserves at Grassy Mountain are grossly overstated, that there are likely only 2.5 years of economic reserves. These statements are on the record with the Alberta Energy Regulator. As one who took the Grassy site tour, I can tell you it is obvious there is no economic resource there. It was shut down for that reason. Clearly.
Cornelis Kolijn has made it perfectly clear that Teck left for economic reasons and Gina made a bad purchase. The lawsuits you keep pumping up are not what you claim they are. Your role is to MINIMIZE legal exposure for Albertans, not promote the plaintiff's claims. This exploration project will NOT delineate anything. The scope is too small to prove resource potential, if anything the new cores will prove how little resource there is. Again, the site was deemed uneconomical by both the provincial and federal government just 3 years ago. Cornelis is interviewed along with the former head of Science in Alberta Environment, explaining all the reasons NOT to invest in coal and to incorporate science into your decision-making processes.
4) There is no market for the coal, the quality is inadequate for metallurgical coal, and even if it were metallurgical coal quality, green hydrogen is the new form of steel making in major centers (China and India). https://www.ey.com/en_in/insights/mining-metals/how-green-hydrogen-is-transforming-india-s-steel-sector
5) Pro-coal supporters, such as Joseph Fournier, use the Western Standard to provide misinformation to the public. He points to studies carried out under laboratory conditions, which is the only way to contain toxicity: under lab conditions. It is dangerous for your office not to be broadcasting the (above) 4 papers, work carried out by government scientists, and instead allow lab condition studies to be the prevailing argument in the general discourse here. Your department would be wise to provide the public with the overwhelming evidence your office holds and make clear statements against the misleading statements by this organization.
6) The Milk River Irrigation District has been closed down FOR THE SUMMER. It's my understanding farmers are looking to the Old Man to make up for their lost volumes. The Old Man basin is not properly protected and over allocated. Proceeding with using any water for any kind of coal mining activity when our agriculture and beef sector is facing total losses is the most irresponsible action your government can take for us. Industry water should be cut off as much as possible right now, this is a recipe for disaster and you are the ones holding the bag as continued disasters strike. https://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2025/06/18/were-in-really-tough-shape-milk-river-irrigation-area-shut-down-for-summer-at-midnight-monday/
Please do NOT proceed with Grassy or any other Eastern Slopes coal exploration, listen to Albertans who are looking out for you. Water is life! Not fossil fuels.
Sincerely,
Jenny Yeremiy, P. Geoph | Host & Public Activist | Mohkinstsis | Calgary, Alberta
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