Court stops proposed mine

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For the controversial Cheviot mine, it's a case of two strikes and you're out -at least for the time being.

The coal mine, proposed for just outside Jasper National Park, received the second of two major blows in late April. That blow was delivered by a court ruling which quashed federal approval of the mine.

Justice Douglas Campbell ruled that a federal-provincial panel failed to conduct a proper environmental review of the project. Campbell said that the panel ignored the cumulative effects of the mine as well as other proposed projects in the area, which opposes the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

"We are ecstatic," said Diane Pachal of the Alberta Wilderness Association. "This is not only a victory for the area [Jasper National Park/Cardinal Divide], but for environmental law as well."

"While the Mountain Cree Camp opted out of our intervenor status in the environmentalists' court case, we are still pleased that this mine is on hold," said Buff Parry, spokesperson for the 160-member Mountain Cree Camp (formerly the Smallboy Camp).

"Having this mine in the midst of Mountain Cree land would have been devastating to the camp," said Parry.

In addition to posing a threat to the endangered grizzly bear, the mine would dump huge amounts of rock into the areas streams, which would destroy bird habitats like that of the Harlequin duck.

These areas are protected by the Migratory Birds Convention Act and have been at the heart of a lengthy legal battle between environmentalists and Cardinal River Coals.

Cardinal River Coals, the parent-company of the Cheviot mine, has until mid-May to determine if it will appeal the court's ruling.

The first strike against Cheviot came in March when Cardinal River Coals announced that it would be delaying construction of the coal mine for at least one year. The decision to hold off on construction, according to company officials, was due to the environmental review and the weakness of international coal prices.

The Cheviot mine would replace the existing Luscar mine, which will run out of coal in the next two to four years. The $250-million project would preserve over 400 jobs in the Hinton area.

'Our desire is still to move smoothly from the operation of one mine to the other," explains Logan. "Construction of the Cheviot mine could take up to two years so there is a time factor to our decisions."