A handful of new charges laid against a B.C. resource company is reinforcing concerns many people have voiced over coal projects in Alberta.
On July 10, Climate Change Canada Enforcement charged Teck Coal Limited for five contraventions of the Fisheries Act.
The company is alleged to have deposited "deleterious" (harmful) substances into "water frequented by fish, or in any place where the deleterious substance may enter any such water."
This follows an investigation from Environment and Climate Change Canada that was started on March 7, 2023.
Deleterious substances can include oil, chemicals, and pesticides, all of which pose harm to fish.
Conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, Kennedy Halvorson, says environmental fallout from coal mining is very difficult to avoid.
"Companies will say that they have mitigation techniques to protect the environment, but the reality with mining coal is that you are going to be unearthing the coal as well as accompanying minerals and metals. You use a lot of water to do so, and often when you bring that to the surface, it then can be discharged into our watersheds when it rains."
Halvorson points to three studies published this year that outline harmful environmental consequences as a result of coal mining.
"We know, at least with Teck as an example, there was a study that came out recently that found the coal dust from their mines is blowing over the Rocky Mountains and landing in the snowpack along Alberta slopes, and this coal dust is really high in polycyclic aromatic compounds, which are carcinogens. Our snowpack is a huge part of what recharges our water every year, so it ends up melting and draining into our rivers... Another study came out recently that showed that the fish near the Teck coal mines is higher in concentrations of selenium, which is worrisome because selenium is associated with reproductive issues in fish and it's not great for us either."
She says the third study, published in Environmental Pollution earlier this year, suggests that the Tent Mountain and Grassy Mountain mines have been "impacting ecosystems downstream for decades."
These issues have extended south into the States, says Halvorson.
"The USA, downstream, is in talks with the government of Canada trying to remedy the issue because that's where a lot of the pollution ends up, and they have no control over it because it's something past their border. This isn't the first time Teck has been in the news for this, and unfortunately, I don't know if these fines are enough to get them to change their behaviour."
Her concerns stem not only from the impacts illustrated by these but from the fact that this isn't the first time Teck Coal Limited has been charged under the Fisheries Act.
In 2021, Teck was ordered to pay $60 million in fines after pleading guilty to two charges of depositing a deleterious substance following an investigation started in 2012.
"When companies are charged under some of these acts, unfortunately, the fines are usually not enough for meaningful action. They are just a drop in the bucket for these companies. They're not really punitive and they're not something that's going to get the companies to change their actions. It's like they'd just rather pay the fine than put the effort into trying to remedy the issue," says Halvorson.
Closer to home, residents, local politicians, and environmental groups have been voicing opposition to the proposed Grass Mountian Coal Project for several years, often pointing to the impacts of B.C. coal projects.
The latest chapter in the effort to reignite that project saw the Alberta Energy Regulator accept an initial application from the company Northback Holdings despite the coal exploration projects in the region having been previously turned down twice.
A public hearing is to be held, and a few groups including Alberta Wilderness Association, are currently awaiting confirmation on the date and location.