From Erin Hasinoff to the Joint Review Panel re: Comments on the Grassy Mountain Coal Project

Reference Number
790
Text

Dear Madam or Sir,

I was raised in Lethbridge and my family has had land in Gladstone Valley since 1961, which is within 30 km of the proposed mine. The land was purchased by my grandfather, which we have conserved while respecting neighboring ranchers' land-management practices. I am watching a catastrophe unfold. I am opposed to this project because of its long-term environmental, human, and economic costs to Alberta, and Canada. The provincial government's actions are selfish and misguided, and they directly undermine our collective natural heritage. A peer-reviewed scientific environmental hazard assessment of the Benga Mines proposed project states "the operation of the mine will create a ticking environmental time-bomb due to selenium pollution" of the Old Man River watershed. Although the project is situated in southwestern Alberta, the extent of its impact is unknown and the long-term costs of the project to the federal government can only be underestimated. This project erodes the area's cultural history and rich biodiversity. There is inadequate media coverage of this seizure, and there has been no meaningful consultation with members of the Piikani Nation (Piikani) and the ranching communities directly impacted by this process, and who both revere and consider the waters of the Old Man River to be life sustaining. As the Rainforest Action Group reports, Benga Mining has a history of not involving stakeholders, flipping its mines, and generating speculative economies, which do little to sustain the communities they impinge upon. This project needs to be stopped immediately.

Dr. Erin Hasinoff

 

Erin Hasinoff, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Division of Anthropology
American Museum of Natural History, NY

Submitted by
Administrator on behalf of Erin Hasinoff
Phase
Review of the Environmental Impact Statement by a Review Panel
Public Notice
N/A
Attachment(s)
N/A
Date Submitted
2020-11-05
Date modified: