Critics questioning Nixon’s intentions on water and coal

By Tim Kalinowski on April 22, 2021.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com

Critics are calling out Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon for not being open and honest with Albertans when it comes to his government’s intentions on the issue of water allocations from the Oldman River for the purposes of coal mining.
In a recent Op-Ed published in the Lethbridge Herald Nixon claims that his government is not planning to change water licences, allocations or regulations in the Oldman to advance coal mining in the Eastern Slopes, despite allegations to the contrary being circulated in the public.
“I recognize that there is ongoing confusion about the Oldman water allocation order, and claims that the allocation has been changed without input from Albertans,” says Nixon in his letter. “This is simply untrue.”
Nixon did acknowledge that meetings with local municipalities have taken place in which he addressed how the current allocation structure could be more reflective of the needs of water users, but states these conversations were not held solely for the purpose of finding the necessary water for coal mines to operate successfully in the Eastern Slopes.
“In November 2020,” he states, “Alberta Environment and Parks held early conversations with municipalities to get input on the proposals to set aside 20 per cent of the original unallocated order volume for aquatic environment needs, and replace specific water volume limits for irrigation, industrial, and other purposes with one overall limit for all listed users.
“To be clear,” Nixon adds, “these proposals do not, in any way, increase the water available for water allocation for any specific uses. No increase is being proposed for any specific industries — that includes coal.
“In fact, these early conversations with municipalities are about ensuring there is enough water available for the health of Alberta’s fish and other aquatic species, an issue that is not addressed in the current water allocation order.”
Lethbridge-West MLA and Opposition Finance Critic Shannon Phillips says Nixon is simply trying to put a new gloss on the situation after communities, irrigators and other stakeholders got wise to his government’s intentions to reallocate reserve water from above the Oldman River for “industrial” purposes almost certainly related to coal mining.
“The Minister’s interpretation of no possible changes to water allocations is belied by the Minister’s own powerpoint presentations to municipalities on opening up volumes above the dam, and expanding the authorized uses to industrial uses,” Phillips says. “That’s very clearly what was proposed by the department to some affected municipalities prior to this issue really gaining steam in the public in terms of its opposition.”
Phillips says the UCP has already shown it is clearly looking out for the best interests of Australian coal mining magnates and not the best interests of Albertans impacted by coal mining as evidenced by its own publicly released correspondences, and its cozy relationship with coal mining companies which had asked for the 1976 Coal Policy to be rescinded. She says this is now further proven by the fact that its recent public consultation on a new Coal Policy excluded panelists from considering water and land impacts from its scope of inquiry.
“The entire government approach to this issue of expanding coal development into previously protected areas, reversing a 45-year policy of protecting mountains from open-pit mining, has all been done under the cover of darkness in an attempt to obfuscate their real plans from the very beginning, and no one trusts this Environment Minister’s, or the Premier’s, or any UCP member’s word, on this issue,” states Phillips.
“We cannot expect this UCP government to listen to the vast majority of Albertans. All we can expect when they respond to these issues is to find ways to get around the will of the people.”
During last week’s Alberta Urban Municipalities Association spring meeting Village of Coutts Mayor Jim Willett made national news when he challenged Minister Nixon publicly on this omission, asking if the government intended to launch a second consultation process to address the issue of coal mining impacts on Albertans’ water and land since they were not allowed to be considered under the current Coal Policy consultation process.
“We continue to constantly consult on water use inside our province,” Nixon responded at the time, “and there will be some other conversations taking place when it comes to water management inside the province in the coming months that have some overlap with coal. But the reality nothing has changed when it comes to water licences, water approvals, the Water Act, or environmental legislation when it comes to water around coal. All of the strict water rules remain in this province, and they have not changed, and they will not be changed in any way associated with coal.”
Willett did not on that day, and still does not a week later, find Nixon’s reassurances all that reassuring.
“No, I am not satisfied at all,” states Coutts. “I think it is strange that on one hand they are announcing all of the money for expansion of the irrigation system, but the irrigation system is only as good as the amount of water that you’ve got. You can’t tell me if you give a coal mine up above everybody else a water licence to pull water out of that river before it gets down stream, we are going to have as much water to work with, and then, on top of that, you get the pollution.”
Willett said his community recently experienced what it is like when a problem in the headwaters impacts the lives of everyday citizens downstream. Coutts was one of the local communities affected when a drop structure failure in Montana abruptly shut off all water crossing the border into the Milk River last year.
“The headwaters suddenly disappeared on our river, and we had to go without for the better part of a year,” he remembers. “We saw how farmers had to struggle with both (the irrigation) and the watering of livestock, and our drinking water. That’s the kind of thing that can happen if you start giving away water on the other side of the dam.”
Willett says if the provincial government was actually sincere about creating a new coal policy which addresses the needs of all Albertans they wouldn’t have banned one of the most important subjects Albertans care about from even entering the discussion– the widespread and scientifically documented impacts on water quality and supply which emanate from open pit coal mining.
“It boggles my mind that we say we are going to talk about coal policy, and put restrictions on the panel that they can’t talk about water,” he says. “Water is one of the major concerns. People are very concerned about what mining is going to do to that.”

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