Concerns

Cheviot Mine

Current Situation

The haulroad to the mine has been built. The Court of Queen's Bench has ruled that Ben Gadd has the right to appeal approvals for the Cheviot haul road. The case is scheduled to be heard January 24 and 25, 2005 at Crestwood Hotel, 678 Carmichael Lane, Hinton AB between 8am-6pm both days. Open to public viewing only.

The Federal case hearing against the Cheviot Mine will occur the week of May 23, 2005 at the Federal Court in Edmonton.

Background

The proposed Cheviot Mine is located in the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains in west central Alberta. The terrain in the valley is gently rolling with elevations ranging between 1700 to 1800m. The mine will cover an area approximately 23 km long and 3.5 km wide (3000 ha). The mine permit area to the north and east is bounded by Cadomin Mountain and RedCap Mountain. To the south and west, Cheviot Mountain and Tripoli Mountain. Prospect Creek marks the western end of the development area.

The Cheviot mine was first proposed in 1996 but was not developed due to poor economic viability and public opposition. The current Cheviot project has changed from the original project. AWA believes that these changes are significant enough to require a new environmental impact assessment.

Differences between original and new Cheviot Mine Projects

• Access Corridor:
• 1997
• Upgrade Grave Flats road (existing road) for access
• Construct railway
• 2000
• Addition of McLeod River Valley to the mine permit to operate Cheviot as a satellite of Luscar
• Construction and operation of a 22km high speed haul road for round the clock transport of raw coal to Luscar. Haul road to parallel Grave Flats road and McLeod River
• Transmission Line installation:
• 1997 - Transmission Line installation
• 2000 - New location to parallel haul road and Grave Flats road
• Coal processing Plant and operation:
• 1997 - Construction and operation of a new plant at cheviot
• 2000 - Use of 40 year old plant at Luscar instead of previously planned shut down and reclamation
• Surface Mine Development:
• 1997 - 64 M CMT of coal
• 2000 - Plan to mine less than half the amount of coal - 28M CMT.  Total area of the mine to remain the same but with a different sequence in opening the pits.

AWA has been strongly opposed to the Cheviot Mine since it was first proposed in 1996. Due to the ecological significance of the area AWA would like to see (1) alternative locations for mining, (2) the use of alternative technologies such as underground mining to minimize the impact of the mining activity, (3) alternative economic options proposed to the mine. There is long term, sustainable economic viability by protecting wilderness. The economic success of a region relies on diversity. The mine will not provide job security in the long term because cannot predict the demand for coal or the coal market. The mine will cause serious damage to this diverse area and leave fewer options for the development of a more sustainable long term tourism industry in the area.

Read about the history of the area and this project.

Cardinal Divide mining

Primary Environmental Concerns

• The Cardinal Divide region has long been an AWA Area of Concern.
• The proximity of the mine site to Jasper National Park (1.8km), part of the UNESCO Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site. Cheviot mine would jeopardize Canada’s ability to meet international obligations under World heritage convention. The long term protection of the ecological integrity of Jasper may be compromised.
• The mine pits are located in prime wildlife habitat and would disrupt wildlife migration and movement corridor routes in and out of Jasper through the area. Primarily, it is a known travel route for Alberta’s dwindling grizzly bear population. Project would have significant adverse effects to grizzlies at the local and regional scale.
• The integrity of the adjacent Whitehorse Creek Wildland Park which is prime protection zone.
• The majority of the mine site is zoned as Critical Widllife Zone.
• The mine site area is ecologically significant as it supports 4 environmentally significant areas (ESAs) of national significance.
• The proposed mine site is a unique complex of plants and animals in alpine tundra and sub alpine landscape not glaciated during the last continental ice age. One of the most extensive continuous vegetated alpine habitat complexes in the front Ranges of the Alberta Rocky Mountains.
• A total of 477 plant species were reported in cheviot Mine area. Of these, 35 are considered provincially significant and 3 are nationally significant (including Erigeron redicatus). Many of these were located within alpine/arctic environments. Many of these plant taxa species were ranked provincially as “imperilled” and four were considered “critically imperilled and rare”. 34 species of plants listed as critically imperilled, imperilled or rare.
• Loss of individuals in provincially and nationally significant species populations.

Impacts to Vegetation

• Destruction of native vegetation including portions of 2 ecologically significant communities including White Dryad-Kobresia.
• Reduced floral and vegetative diversity.
• Increase abundance in non-native species.
• Conversion of ridged and rolling landscape to terraced landscape.

Impacts to Wildlife

• Area home to 76 species of birds, 40 species of mammals.
• Proposed mine site is habitat for many rare and threatened species including 29 species of birds and mammals listed as being “at-risk” in Alberta.
• Loss of critical habitat for grizzlies, elk, and wolverines. Of these grizzlies and wolverines are considered at risk. Grizzly bears and wolverine listed as vulnerable by COSEWIC (1995). Canada lynx, Brewer’s sparrow, osprey and cougar are blue listed in Alberta Forestry Land and Wildlife (1991). Six species of mammals and 2 species of birds are yellow listed including little brown bat, moose, common look and golden eagle.
• The area supports critical wildlife habitat crucial for the endangered bull trout and the maintenance of specific fish populations. Mine would have significant adverse effects on fish and fish habitat.
• Loss of critical habitat for harlequin duck and bull trout. McLeod River system supports a regionally significant concentration of Harlequin Ducks (9-14 pairs breeding on Mackenzie River upstream of Whitehorse Creek, McKenzie Creek and redcap Creek). Impacts on watersheds and tributaries which are known nesting sites and habitat for harlequin ducks.
• Mine permit area and mine disturbance area holds ungulate winter range including that for moose, elk, wildlife corridors, mineral lick and springs.

Birds and mammals of concern recorded at Cheviot Mine area

• Woodland caribou, osprey, golden eagle, grizzly bear, wolverine, harlequin duck, fisher (CRC and AB. Env. Protection 1996).
• Harlequin ducks found nesting in Prospect and near Harris creeks. Literature indicates that even a slight increase in adult mortality could lead to long-term populations decline (Goudie et al. 1994). The McLeod river population of harlequin’s was deemed regionally important (from hearing response by the Government of Canada and panel p.12).
• Harlequins listed in Alberta as species potentially at risk of extirpation. Highest concentration of breeding harlequin ducks in western Canada.
• Prime breeding habitat for bull trout.
• Majority of cheviot Mine project area is zoned as “critical wildlife” under Coal Branch Sub-regional IRP Plan (1990).

Watershed Concerns

• Cardinal River Headwaters:
• Geological features, rare plants and animals, diverse mountain habitat, rare vegetation type, key ungulate habitat.
• Diverse geomorphology including waterfalls
• Abundance of periglacial features.
• McLeod River Headwaters:
• Geological features, rare plants and animals, diverse mountain habitat, rare vegetation type, key ungulate habitat.
• Whitehorse Creek:
• Geological features, rare plants and animals, diverse mountain habitat, key ungulate habitat, important bat cave.

Cheviot Mine Description from 1997

In 1996 Cardinal River Coals Ltd (CRC) proposed an open pit surface coal mine and coal processing plant to be known as the Cheviot Mine, backed by Edmonton Based Luscar Ltd. and CONSOL Energy Canada Ltd. The mine was to be located on public land in the heart of the Cardinal Divide region 70km south of Hinton and 2 km from Jasper National Park boundary. The $250 million mine project was to secure 450 permanent positions over 20 years and would supply 3.2 million clean metric tonnes per year of metallurgical coal (coking coal) primarily to steel mills in Asia. The Cheviot project was set to replace the aging and depleting Luscar Mine operations located 22 km to the north. Luscar coal reserves were depleting and required the establishment of Cheviot to maintain workforce and supply their export customers. Upon approval, mine development would have begun in 1999.

The cheviot mine development area encompassed about 3000 hectares with 2739 hectares of land directly impacted by the development. Development of the Cheviot Mine would involve:

• Construction and operation of a coal processing plant
• Development of surface cole mine including facilities
• Restoration of existing Mountain Park rail line
• Upgrading existing Grave Flats access road into Cheviot Mine area
• Installation of a new transmission line for electrical power to cheviot mine

Project Description

• Access
• Access corridor needed to provide a road, rail line and power infrastructure to service cheviot mine
• Upgrade or improve existing rail line and 12km long Grave Flats Road in the McLeod River Valley. Upgrades would straighten and widen the road
• Requires a 138 volt transmission line
• Mine
• Mine is a truck and shovel open pit operation
• Mine is to be comprised of 26 pits- of which 14 pits were to be refilled and made into artificial lakes to enhance wildlife habitat
• Each pit was to be mined successively to reach final pit limits
• Pits will be mined in sequence, backfilled and reclaimed
• Thousands of tons of waste rock removed fro mining activity to be piled in valley bottoms and dumped and left in stream valley habitat for Harlequin ducks and migratory song birds. Rock placed into stream beds preventing nesting to threatened harlequin. This practice would be direct contradiction of the Migratory Bird Convention Act which states that no harmful substance shall be allowed in migratory bird habitat.

Summary of Concerns for New Cheviot Mine project

• The newly proposed Cheviot Coal Project is fundamentally different from that review by the EUB/CEAA process in 1997 and 2000. The current development requires a new review to assess the changes.
• DFO has duty under CEAA to prepare an EIA including all modifications of the project
• There are no federal authorizations granted for the project.
• The project must be reviewed as a whole project not as a piece meal approach. The lack of an EIA for the whole project is unacceptable.
• New information has been collected since 2000. There is no EIA of this entire new project including the assessment of the cumulative impacts in relation to other projects in the region and the continued operation at the Luscar mine.
• EIA and review must include an assessment of the feasibility and effectively of mitigation or compensation measures.
• The mine was first proposed in 1996 but was not developed due to poor economic viability and public opposition. The new mine faces this same fate.

Land Zoning and Use

• Coal development has been designated within the proposed cheviot mine area under Provincial zoning policies such as Coal Development Policy for Alberta (1976), Eastern Slopes Policy (1984), and the Coal Branch Sub-Regional Integrated Resource Plan (1990).
• Cheviot Mine permit area and McLeod river corridor are located on public lands . The mine would fall entirely within the Edson Forest District. A small portion to the east falls within the FMA of Weldwood which covers 1070 km of mine permit area.