US Edition‘A First Step’: Crowsnest Pass Mayor Excited About Northback Drilling Approval
- On May 15, 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator gave the green light for Northback Holdings Corp. To proceed with its coal exploration activities near Grassy Mountain.
- The project was originally rejected in 2021 due to a panel ruling that environmental harms outweighed economic benefits, but it was revived after exemption from Alberta's open-pit coal ban.
- Northback received permits to divert water from a nearby end pit lake disconnected from other water bodies, amid concerns from drought-affected southern Alberta farmers about water use.
- The regulator noted the project would not affect downstream water quality or quantity, and a local vote favored it with 72% support in Crowsnest Pass last December.
- The project is expected to create jobs for local and First Nations residents and support ongoing coal resource evaluation through a $5 million exploratory program.
36 Articles
36 Articles
‘A first step’: Crowsnest Pass mayor excited about Northback drilling approval
The mayor of Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta says the Alberta Energy Regulator’s approval of a controversial coal exploration project on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains is long overdue.
Bowen Island Undercurrent
'A first step': Crowsnest Pass mayor excited about Northback drilling approval
CALGARY — The mayor of Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta says the Alberta Energy Regulator's approval of a controversial coal exploration project on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains is long overdue. "I think they finally woke up.
Alberta regulator approves Northback coal exploration project in Rockies
The Grassy Mountain project was rejected in 2021, when a panel ruled the mine's likely environmental effects on the fish and water quality outweighed potential economic benefits. The project was revived two years later.
Calgary Herald
Alberta Energy Regulator approves Northback request to explore for coal at Grassy Mountain
The Alberta Energy Regulator has approved Northback Holdings' request to explore for coal at Grassy Mountain along the Rocky Mountains.
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