Grainswest - Fall 2025

Fall 2025 grainswest.com 29 T he proposed reopening of the Grassy Mountain coal project on Alberta’s Eastern Slopes has prompted questions about selenium and downstream water quality among scientists, citizens and farmers. In a January Grainews column, retired agronomy research scientist Ross McKenzie raised concerns about selenium mobilization and its persistence in watersheds downstream from the Eastern Slopes. In July, ecotoxicologist Guy Gilron responded in a letter to the editor, arguing that guideline exceedances do not necessarily translate into risk and that regulatory controls exist, characterizing McKenzie’s warning as alarmist. The Irrigation District Water Quality (IDWQ) program discontinued selenium monitoring and reporting after 2015, so irrigation program results are not available. In written replies, regulators did not provide intake specific selenium limits or note the required actions tied to an exceedance at irrigation intakes. Alberta specific evidence on soil and crop uptake under Prairie irrigation conditions is also limited. The possible impact of Eastern Slopes’ coal mining can’t be known without data. In his column, McKenzie noted the critical level for selenium in irrigation water for Alberta is 20 micrograms per litre (20 μg/L). Evidence-based decision- making will require current, irrigation relevant selenium data, clear intake limits that trigger defined actions and Alberta specific soil and crop research to resolve these unknowns. A BRIEF HISTORY OF GRASSY MOUNTAIN Grassy Mountain is not a new coal mining project. The site was first mined in the early 20th century and then left largely unreclaimed. In 2018, a joint federal–provincial review panel convened to assess a proposal from Benga Mining Limited. The Australian company had applied to initiate a new open-pit metallurgical coal mine at the site, which triggered a federal environmental assessment and the provincial approvals process. Following hearings, the panel found the project “not in the public interest” in June 2021. In December 2024, Alberta announced the Coal Industry Modernization Initiative, which banned new open-pit and mountaintop-removal mines while it allowed certain “advanced projects,” including Grassy Mountain, to continue through review. In May 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) approved Northback Holdings’ exploration program at the Grassy Mountain site. Northback is the successor to Benga Mining Limited. PERSPECTIVES FROM COUNCIL TO FARM GATE The Grassy Mountain file remains contentious, drawing sustained public attention and concern from researchers, local officials and farmers. The National Farmers Union (NFU) opposes reopening Grassy Mountain and calls for reinstatement of the 1976 coal policy, citing selenium risk to farmland and public water supply in the drought-stressed Oldman system. “This rollback of Alberta’s coal policy represents a serious threat to farmers…. The principal threat lies with selenium contamination,” said NFU Alberta board member Glenn Norman. “The provincial government needs to reinstate the coal policy from 1976 in its entirety,” added member Neil Peacock. The Province’s 1976 Coal Development Policy created four land categories and barred surface mining on Category 1 Eastern Slopes headwaters. Grassy Mountain lies within the Municipal District of Ranchland No. 66 at the Oldman headwaters that supply downstream irrigators. District reeve Ron Davis described the basin as low flow with rationing in recent years and said the area experiences very strong winds that can move dust long distances. “There probably hasn’t been enough study on how it would affect grain growing,” he said, referring to selenium buildup in water and soil. Retired provincial biologist Lorne Fitch said the concern is about pathways and persistence rather than single measurements. “Selenium is one of these elements that bioaccumulates, and so it grows in magnitude as it moves through the food chain. They cannot trap all of the water that runs off a mountaintop mine.” His remarks align with peer-reviewed field work led by Colin A. Cooke, a senior aquatic scientist for the provincial government. The report, published in June 2024, found elevated selenium immediately below legacy waste rock in the Crowsnest system, lower concentrations in Crowsnest Lake and a sediment core record that indicated accumulation during mining years that persists above pre-mining levels. Cooke did not respond to requests for comment. “ Selenium is one of these elements that bioaccumulates, and so it grows in magnitude as it moves through the food chain. They cannot trap all of the water that runs off a mountaintop mine.” – Lorne Fitch