Advocacy
Vista Coal Mine Phase II – Request for Support
Coalspur has reached out to the Hinton and District Chamber of Commerce requesting letters of support from Hinton area businesses as Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guibeault considers another third-party request to designate its Vistas Coal Phase II project for further assessment.
The latest designation request, the third one that’s come before the Minister since 2020, was submitted Aug. 7 by Ecojustice on behalf of the Keepers of the Water Society and the West Athabasca Watershed Bioregional Society. The previous two designations were set aside in federal court.
Coalspur has submitted a template letter for use in whole, or in part, or just for reference if the wish to submit letters to the minister. Letters should be sent no later than Oct. 1 by email to:
vistamine-minevista@iaac-aeic.gc.ca.
A fact sheet on Phase II has also been provided to the Chamber for consideration. It can be found after the letter template.
Vista Coal Mine Phase II Expansion Project
Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
9700 Jasper Avenue, Suite 1145
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4C3
Telephone: 780-495-2037
Email: vistamine-minevista@iaac-aeic.gc.ca
The Honourable Steven Guibeault MP
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
200 Sacre’-Coeur Boulevard
Gateneau, QC K1A 0H3
September 26, 2024
Dear Minister Guibeault,
We write today as residents and/or business owners in Hinton, Alberta, to express our support for the Vista Coal Mine Phase II Expansion Project.
Hinton is a rural community that has a long history centred around the extraction of natural resources, including more than a century of coal mining in and around our town. The Hinton area relies on these industries to sustain our communities and we strongly encourage the federal government to not designate for assessment this project and the estimated 10 years of mining activity and economic impact.
Vista Coal directly employs 460 people with high-paying jobs, and countless other positions through their contractors and suppliers, most of whom call Hinton home. Hinton has around 10,000 people and an estimated 3,000 households and we ask the Minister to consider the impact of potentially losing more than 400 families in a town our size, which is a looming reality as Phase 1 progresses to completion and Phase II faces additional delays.
Back in 2020, Vista Coal’s kick off of Phase I helped mitigate the community impacts from the closure of the Teck Coal Cheviot Mine operation, absorbing much of that operation’s work force and continuing the community support that the coal industry has shown since the early 1900s. Cheviot was closed because it had run its course, that is the nature of this volatile industry and our community can accept those realities.
However, Vista Coal has a viable phase that has twice been designated under the Impact Assessment Act, and both times the federal courts have set that designation aside. Approval of Phase II has been delayed several years already, and we understand that a new request for designation has been submitted Aug. 7 by the Keepers of the Athabasca and the West Athabasca Bioregional Society.
We respect the fact that these organizations are participating in the regulatory process, but as a resident/business in the Hinton area we ask you to honour the court’s previous decisions and not consider designating this project again, causing further uncertainty and delays to a project that is of ultimate importance to the Hinton area.
Besides the previously outlined economic impacts, please also consider the almost 50 non-profit and community groups – from Indigenous groups, to sports organizations and social supports – to which Vista Coal has provided much-needed corporate support.
We understand that your purview is primarily environmental, and with that said please remember that we are a community of hunters and fishers, hikers and mountain bikers, who value the ecosystem and beautiful backyard in which we live. But we have seen this backyard sustained over the centuries in co-existence with crucial economic activity like coal mining, forestry and oil and gas.
Also, from a regulatory perspective, we note Vista Coal outlines that:
– the Phase II portion of the Vista Mine is not a new mining project, rather it is a continuation of the existing mine. As production from the existing Phase I mining area ramps down, production from Phase II will ramp up.
– current production levels will be maintained. The average annual coal production from the Vista Mine will not increase with the Phase II approval.
– Mined areas are progressively reclaimed and the overall disturbance footprint will stay the same as Phase II is mined.
Thanks for your consideration in this matter, and we hope that you will carefully consider the perspectives of Hinton and area residents as part of your deliberations.
Sincerely,
Phase II Information
Vista Mine Phase II Fact Sheet
– Phase II of the Vista Mine is not a new mining project, but rather is a westward
extension of the Phase I permit boundary.
– As production from the existing Phase I mining area ramps down, production from
Phase II will ramp up. Current production levels will be maintained. The average annual
coal production from the Vista Mine will not increase with the Phase II approval.
– The Vista Mine is the most progressive and environmentally friendly mining operation in
Canada. Mined areas are progressively reclaimed and the overall disturbance footprint
stays the same as Phase II is mined.
– Coalspur’s reclamation liability is currently fully funded.
– Coalspur has fully reclaimed 60 hectares of previously mined out area and has another
80 hectares of area with vegetative soil placed ready to plant.
– In the absence of Phase II, when Phase I reserves are depleted, the mine would cease to
operate and there would be an associated decline in revenue and employment in the
town of Hinton.
– An application for Phase II was finalized an submitted provincially in March 2024.
– Phase II will utilize the existing infrastructure of Phase I including conveyor belts, raw
and clean coal storage areas, coal preparation, rail loadout, etc. No new infrastructure
is needed to mine Phase II.
– Phase 2 is expected to produce approximately 4 million clean tonnes of coal annually
with annual operations expenditure of approximately $250 million. An estimated 76%
of the expenditures will accrue to Alberta.
– The Vista Project is well capitalized with over $800 million spent on mine infrastructure
that will be utilized for Phase II.
– Phase II is expected to generate over $260 million of royalties and taxes for Alberta over
the life of the project with an additional $180 million in federal taxes.
– Phase II will generate over $16 million of local taxes over the life of the project.
– The Vista Mine employs over 460 people, many of whom live in Hinton supporting the
local economy and businesses.
– Estimated labor costs will exceed $60 million annually.
– Employment opportunities are created by direct jobs as well as many more indirect jobs
in the surrounding area.
– Coalspur hires locally first and uses Alberta-based contractors as often as possible when
needed.
– The Vista Mine offers opportunities for qualified local Indigenous businesses and
employment opportunities for qualified Indigenous workers. Roughly 7% of the Coalspur
Phase I hourly workforce is Indigenous. Coalspur has established a process which
ensures regular communications regarding activities and opportunities with local
Indigenous communities.
– Direct impacts to all waters frequented by aquatic species at risk have been avoided in
the mine plan for Phase II. The water management plan and flow augmentation plan
are designed to mitigate potential impacts by treating mine wastewater and ensuring
adequate flows are maintained in the adjacent creek. Monitoring through water
quality, flow monitoring, groundwater level and quantity monitoring, benthic
invertebrate monitoring, aquatic monitoring will occur throughout the project to ensure
successful mitigation.
– Water sampling from Phase I which is immediately adjacent to the Phase II area has
demonstrated that there are no impacts to selenium concentrations in waters
downstream of the mining operation. This is unlike other mines in southern Alberta and
in BC.
– Coalspur will avoid removal of fish and fish habitat in the mining of Phase II.
– At the end of mining, the land will be reclaimed to equivalent or greater land capability.
This is evident in reclamation work done to date on Phase I.