'It was very shocking': Mixed emotions in Crowsnest Pass following panel review of Grassy Mountain coal project

For many people living in the Crowsnest Pass, the proposed Grassy Mountain coal project presented an opportunity to get back to the region's glory days.
However, a recent panel review found Benga Mining Limited’s Grassy Mountain Coal project is not in the public interest and has denied the provincial applications citing environmental concerns such as the impact on water quality, native trout species and biodiversity in the region.
For Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter, the report came as a shocking disappointment.
"Our community was founded on coal. That's what our community does and it has from day one," said Painter.
"Right now, there's a great demand for high-grade metallurgical coal. This would have definitely given us the opportunity to diversify our tax base."
According to the Crowsnest Pass Chamber of Commerce, the majority of businesses in the area are in favour of the project.
"There were over 150 businesses directly contacted and individually interviewed. 72 per cent said they would be positively impacted by the mine, five per cent said negative, and 13 per cent said not at all," said Chamber of Commerce president Sacha Anderson.
DIVISIVE SUBJECT
It's a divisive subject for many region's residents who have been weighing the economic benefits against the environmental impact of a new coal mine.
Painter said the financial perks would not only impact business owners, but everyone in the surrounding communities.
"Right now, over 80 per cent of our taxes are based on residential taxes and we do not have an industry," he said.
"So this would have taken a little bit of the burden off of all of our residents. Unfortunately how it sits today, that won't happen."
The project would have gone ahead in an area that was previously mined in the 1960s and 70s when environmental restrictions were much more lenient.
Grassy Mountain
However, times have changed.
"It was left in not very good environmental conditions," said Painter.
"[The project] would have given the opportunity to have the next 23 to 25 years of employment for our residents, and then when the project was done, the opportunity to clean it up."
In a statement, Benga Mining Limited, operating as Riversdale Resources, said:
"The capital expenditure for the proposed project is approximately $800M and approximately 500 jobs would be created during construction and 385 full-time site positions at full production."
However, the review panel report said that "Benga had inflated the job numbers and tax royalties. The review panel report said their projected royalty figure was five times higher than any existing coal mine in Alberta."
'GOOSE BUMPS'
For many Crowsnest Pass locals who have been battling the proposed coal development project on Grassy Mountain, Thursday's report from the review panel was overwhelming and emotional.
"Every time we talk about it, I get goose bumps going up and down my whole body. I'm ecstatic," said Susan Douglas-Murray, a Coleman resident who has lived in the area for more than 20 years.
Grassy Mountain
"Just about everybody I know feels the same way. We're just still trying to absorb the fact that this is quite likely to come to an end."
The Livingstone Landowners Group has been outspoken on the issue from the beginning, calling for an end to all mining activity on the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains.
The group's spokesperson Bobbi Lambright said, considering there are still seven active coal mine leases, their work isn't done, but this is a positive step.
"We're just so pleased that all of the information that was presented was taken to heart and it resulted in recognition by the panel that this was definitely the wrong thing to do," said Lambright.
"What we want at both the federal and provincial level is to see protection of the Eastern Slopes clearly defined in legislation."
The Grassy Mountain would have had a production capacity of up to 4.5 million tonnes of metallurgical coal per year for roughly 23 years.
Riversdale Resources said it will be consulting with legal counsel to review options moving forward.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Woman detained in Syria says Ottawa is forcing her to make agonizing choice in order to get her kids to Canada
A woman held in a detention camp in Syria, along with her three Canadian children, says the federal government is forcing her to make an agonizing choice: relinquish custody of her kids so they can be repatriated to Canada, or keep them in the camp where the conditions are dire. Her children are eligible for repatriation but she is not a Canadian citizen.

Loblaw ends No Name price freeze, vows 'flat' pricing 'wherever possible'
Loblaw will not be extending its price freeze on No Name brand products, but vows to keep the yellow label product-pricing flat 'wherever possible.'
Health Canada conducts safety review on breastfeeding drug amid psychiatric concerns
Health Canada is reviewing the safety of domperidone amid reports that some breastfeeding mothers in Canada and the U.S. have had serious psychiatric symptoms when they tried to stop taking the drug.
opinion | Don Martin: Trudeau meets the moment – and ducks for cover
Based on Justin Trudeau's first-day fail in the House of Commons, 'meeting the moment' is destined to become the most laughable slogan since the elder Pierre Trudeau’s disastrous campaign rallying cry in 1972, which insisted 'the land is strong' just as the economy tanked.
Ukraine on mission to ban Russia from Paris Olympics
Ukraine hopes to secure widespread international support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the Paris Olympics due to Moscow's invasion, the sports minister said on Tuesday.
Tyre Nichols case shows officers still fail to intervene
More disciplinary action may be coming now that the harrowing video of Tyre Nichols' treatment has been released. The Memphis police department is among many U.S. law enforcement agencies with 'duty to intervene' policies. Memphis police relieved two other officers of duty Monday and say the department is still investigating what happened.
How did a radioactive capsule go missing in Australia and how dangerous is it?
Australian authorities are mounting an extensive search for a tiny radioactive capsule believed to have fallen out of a road train that travelled 1,400 km in Western Australia. Here's what you need to know:
Banff National Park cave creature exists 'no where else': Parks Canada
A cave in Banff National Park has been recognized as a globally significant location thanks to a tiny creature found inside.
Family in remote northern Ont. reeling after daughter killed in fire, home destroyed
A family in the remote First Nation community in Peawanuck, Ont., is dealing not only with the death of their young daughter, but the loss of everything they owned in a Jan. 28 house fire.