Alberta government lifts ban on coal exploration in Eastern Slopes

The Alberta government has lifted a ban on coal exploration in the Eastern Slopes and the Rocky Mountains, a move that the regulator says will allow suspended projects to resume.

The provincial government said Monday night the direction from the minister amounted to "housekeeping" following moves it already announced in December to modernize its coal policy. 

But a natural resources and energy law expert says it will once again open up large tracts of land to coal exploration and potentially undermine ongoing legal cases coal companies launched against the province for billions in damages following a series of policy changes.

"It means that projects that had already got exploration permits, those permits are effectively now reinstated, and exploration can start again on those properties," said Nigel Bankes, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Calgary.

"The Eastern Slopes is open again for coal activities."

Four separate statements of claim are scheduled to be heard at the same time this April, alleging Alberta's decision to change coal mining rules cost them financially and resulted in a "de facto expropriation" of their coal assets.

"Instead of waiting for the spring session [of the legislature], they have made this decision now. And I think the reason is to take the wind out of the sails of those compensation claims," Bankes said.

In a letter sent to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) on Jan. 15, Alberta Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean wrote that he had decided to cancel three previous ministerial orders from 2021 and 2022 to reduce regulatory confusion.

The letter went on to say that the AER must lift the suspension on all coal project approvals that were put on hold under the rescinded orders. Expiry dates for the approvals would also be extended to account for the time they were suspended, the letter states.

In an email to CBC News, a spokesperson with the AER wrote that companies with approvals that were paused by earlier orders can move forward again, and new applications for coal projects can now be submitted.

"Until Alberta's modernized coal policy is ready, coal exploration and development applications will be subject to the land categories outlined in the 1976 coal policy for Alberta when evaluating coal applications," Renato Gandia wrote in an email.

In December, Jean said the province was developing rules that would shape the future of coal mining in the province. The province has said those eventual new rules would not permit mountaintop removal mining, which it noted has never occurred in Alberta. There would also be no new open-pit coal mines approved for the Eastern Slopes region.

The 1976 coal policy was previously scrapped by the Alberta government in 2021, but was later reinstated temporarily following a period of public pushback. 

One of the biggest consequences of the revocation of the policy from 1976 was that the department of energy started to issue hundreds, if not thousands, of coal leases immediately, Bankes said.