Fording River Extension Project

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Attachment CIAR, Information Request; Comments on Fording River Project

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of The North Fork Preservation Association
  • Reference number: 430
  • Submitted: 2026-02-19
  • Project phase: Planning
  • The North Fork Preservation Association (NFPA) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed Fording River Extension (FRX) of the Fording River coal mine by Elk Valley Resources (EVR), situated in the Elk River watershed of British Columbia. Geographically, the Elk River Valley is next door to the Canadian Flathead River Valley which becomes the North Fork of the Flathead River Valley once it crosses the international boundary and enters the State of Montana.   NFPA is a conservation organization which focuses on the North Fork of the Flathead River Valley. The mission of the NFPA is to champion the exceptional biodiversity and wildness of the North Fork of the Flathead River watershed in Northwest Montana. The North Fork of the Flathead River Valley is bordered on the east by Glacier National Park (GNP) and on the west by federal and state public land; only 4 percent of the valley is privately held. As such it is part of the Crown of the Continent, one of the largest intact ecosystems remaining on the North American Continent. It is a refuge for many threatened and endangered species, including grizzly bears, wolverine, lynx, bull trout and many species of concern. The NFPA, along with U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester, were instrumental in the long-term effort to protect the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage in Montana from mining and oil and gas development in the Canadian Flathead River Valley, culminating in the passage of the 2014 North Fork Watershed Protection Act.   Given the above efforts, we have considerable concern regarding the well documented selenium and nitrate contamination in the nearby Elk River Valley. Waste rock from Elk River ...

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Attachment Application 80702: Fording River Extension Project by Elk Valley Resources

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Crowsnest Conservation Society
  • Reference number: 427
  • Submitted: 2026-02-17 - 1:08 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • See the attached submission / Veuillez consulter la pièce jointe  
  • Attachment included
  • 1 Box 242 Blairmore, AB T0K 0E0 February 14, 2026 Impact Assessment Agency of Canada Pacific and Yukon Office 1800-1138 Melville Street 
 Vancouver, BC V6E 4S3 pacificandyukonregion-regiondupacifiqueetduyukon@iaac-aeic.gc.ca Re: Application 80702: Fording River Extension Project by Elk Valley Resources To Whom It May Concern, We are the Crowsnest Conservation Society (CCS), a charitable organization working together with community to inspire collective action to protect our natural world through advocacy, research, education and habitat restoration. We advocate for responsible land and resource management practices that prioritize conservation. The CCS is located in the Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, and currently has 281 active members, 488 newsletter subscribers, and 890 Facebook followers. Although the majority of our members reside in Alberta, we are geographic neighbours to the industrial activities within the Elk River Valley. That proximity means our residents are subject to some of the existing documented contamination of air and water that originates from the industrial activities in the Elk Valley. Another reason for this letter is that many employees of Elk Valley Resources live within the Municipality of the Crowsnest Pass and commute to work in the existing coal mines. We are writing to provide comments on, and to recommend substantive changes to, the DRAFT APPLICATION INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS (DAIR) for the Fording River Extension Project (FRX) submitted by Elk Valley Resources. Given the environmental sensitivity of the proposed project location, the history of previous regulatory decisions and fines related to the ...

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Attachment CIAR, Information Request Fording River Extension Project

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Nicole Corrado
  • Reference number: 434
  • Submitted: 2026-02-15 - 11:58 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • I noticed a lot of wildlife live here.  ?????Please preserve the trees at this location. Please do not harm animals with this project. Please do not use animal testing for pollution and effluent monitoring. https://www.change.org/p/stop-testing-sewer-water-on-laboratory-fish ?Please work with the Canadian Centre for the Alternatives to Animal Methods. https://www.uwindsor.ca/ccaam/ Please only use non lethal ways to live with geese, beavers, and other wildlife. Develop a Living With Coyotes program with the animal welfare organization Coyote Watch Canada. www.coyotewatchcanada.com (http://www.coyotewatchcanada.com) Please only use non lethal ways to manage wildlife. There are humane, non lethal ways to deal with beavers. Here's a great resource. https://thefurbearers.com https://www.change.org/p/stop-banff-from-killing-animals-after-conflicts https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/humanely-scare-away-canada-geese https://www.canadageese.org/nlcontrol.html https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/humane-goose-control-pdf.pdf https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-canada-geese This company makes non lethal products. https://margosupplies.com/ca-en/ ? Conventional rodent control uses cruel methods. The companies use glue traps, and snap traps, which, like legholds, can cause injury. They also ...

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Attachment Care about animals

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Beaconsfield Animal Services
  • Reference number: 424
  • Submitted: 2026-02-15 - 11:57 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • Participation notice: Public notice - Public comments invited on the draft guidelines and plans
  • I noticed a lot of wildlife live here.  ?????Please preserve the trees at this location. Please do not harm animals with this project. Please do not use animal testing for pollution and effluent monitoring. https://www.change.org/p/stop-testing-sewer-water-on-laboratory-fish ?Please work with the Canadian Centre for the Alternatives to Animal Methods. https://www.uwindsor.ca/ccaam/ Please only use non lethal ways to live with geese, beavers, and other wildlife. Develop a Living With Coyotes program with the animal welfare organization Coyote Watch Canada. www.coyotewatchcanada.com Please only use non lethal ways to manage wildlife. There are humane, non lethal ways to deal with beavers. Here's a great resource. https://thefurbearers.com/downloads/PDFs/Beaver%20Book%20-%202019-10-08%20The%20Fur-Bearers.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1fP2wOYQKbWREX0E5QzYBhZLf9VjwMov3p37Vh8ToW1-NeQvAoVATZhEg%0A%0A https://www.change.org/p/stop-banff-from-killing-animals-after-conflicts https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/humanely-scare-away-canada-geese https://www.canadageese.org/nlcontrol.html https://www.peta.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/humane-goose-control-pdf.pdf https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/what-do-about-canada-geese This company makes non lethal products. https://margosupplies.com/ca-en/ ? Conventional rodent control uses cruel methods. The companies use glue traps, and snap traps, which, like legholds, can cause injury. They also use rodenticide, which kills slowly and kills many non target ...

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Attachment Comment on Fording River Extension project

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Mark Connell
  • Reference number: 437
  • Submitted: 2026-02-15 - 7:50 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • Dear Impact Assessment Agency of Canada:   I am a citizen of the U.S. and a downstream neighbor of the Elk Valley mines, including the Fording River Mine. As is well known, the mines in the Elk Valley have been leaching toxic levels of selenium into the Elk Valley for many, many years, with that pollution then flowing south into Montana's Lake Koocanusa and Kootenai River at levels that are seriously out of compliance with Montana law. These are not just standards on paper, but are standards developed to protect aquatic life and ecosystems from harm, and fish in the downstream U.S. regularly show excessive levels of selenium when caught. Authorizing the proposed Fording River mine expansion now would have an additional significant negative impact on Montana's environment, our economy, and our outdoor way of life.   I urgently request an immediate halt to all permitting of the Elk Valley Coal mines until the province has addressed, mitigated, and reduced to acceptable levels the existing selenium contamination, as additional mines and the currently proposed mine expansion will only increase the unacceptable amount of pollutants in our waterways.   I also request that you share these comments with the province.   Thanks very much for your consideration.   Sincerely,

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Attachment Comments - Fording River Mine Extension

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Jennifer Ekstrom
  • Reference number: 428
  • Submitted: 2026-02-15 - 5:41 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • To whom it may concern:   I am writing on behalf of the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) to provide input regarding the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project. ICL has participated extensively in public processes related to selenium pollution in the transboundary Kootenai watershed, and now urge the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), and the Environmental Assessment Office of British Columbia (EAO), to pause the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project until the conditions outlined below have been met.   Founded in 1973, the mission of ICL is to create a conservation community and pragmatic, enduring solutions that restore and protect the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the land and wildlife you love. ICL’s seven strategic initiatives include confronting climate change, recovering Idaho’s wild salmon and steelhead, cleaning up the Snake River, protecting public land, restoring abundance and diversity of Idaho’s wildlife, safeguarding North Idaho lakes and waters, and reducing pollution. ICL achieves these goals through public outreach and professional advocacy. With offices in Boise, McCall, Ketchum, and Sandpoint, the organization is a consistent, statewide voice for conservation in Idaho and represents more than 30,000 members and supporters. ICL’s members and supporters care deeply about restoring and protecting the environment.    On behalf of these members and supporters, we ask that you pause the permitting process for the Fording River Extension Project until the following conditions are met: Selenium limits are met at the international ...

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Attachment FRX Comment Submission and Review Panel Request

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Wildsight
  • Reference number: 422
  • Submitted: 2026-02-13 - 8:28 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • Participation notice: Public notice - Public comments invited on the draft guidelines and plans
  • Hello,   Please see the attached comment submission and review panel request letter, thank you for your consideration.    
  • Attachment included
  • To: Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) Project: Fording River Extension Project (Reference No. 80702) Subject: Formal Submission on the Draft Federal Appendix and Joint Assessment and Engagement Plan We thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the Fording River Extension Project’s (the “Project”) Joint Assessment and Engagement plan and Application Information Requirements draft federal Appendix. Below are summaries of our biggest concerns and a request for these issues to be addressed via an independent review panel. There is no dispute the Project is exceptionally large. The Agency acknowledged as much in its 2020 Analysis Report. The well documented likelihood for the Project to cause adverse impacts in areas of federal jurisdiction necessitate a thorough, comprehensive and transparent process involving an independent review panel. Incorporating the suggestions set out in this letter are critical to achieve that goal. Expansion of Indigenous Inclusion On September 19th 2025, the BC EAO released letters to the Kainai, Piikani, Siksika, and Stoney Nakoda Nations, notifying them that they have been assessed as requiring consultation commensurate with the “low end of the Haida spectrum”. This includes notification and consultation at specific milestones, but goes further and includes language meant to exclude them from “economic accommodations or co-management arrangements”. These nations exist mainly in Alberta, but historically have used and occupied areas of BC, including the Elk Valley. These letters from the EAO limit consultation requirements, raising doubts about the legitimacy of the provincial environmental assessment procedure. This further accentuates the need ...

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Attachment Comment on Fording River Mine Extension

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: North Fork Preservation Association
  • Reference number: 383
  • Submitted: 2026-02-13 - 1:46 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • Participation notice: Public notice - Public comments invited on the draft guidelines and plans
  • The North Fork Preservation Association (NFPA) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed Fording River Extension (FRX) of the Fording River coal mine by Elk Valley Resources (EVR), situated in the Elk River watershed of British Columbia. Geographically, the Elk River Valley is next door to the Canadian Flathead River Valley which becomes the North Fork of the Flathead River Valley once it crosses the international boundary and enters the State of Montana.   NFPA is a conservation organization which focuses on the North Fork of the Flathead River Valley. The mission of the NFPA is to champion the exceptional biodiversity and wildness of the North Fork of the Flathead River watershed in Northwest Montana. The North Fork of the Flathead River Valley is bordered on the east by Glacier National Park (GNP) and on the west by federal and state public land; only 4 percent of the valley is privately held. As such it is part of the Crown of the Continent, one of the largest intact ecosystems remaining on the North American Continent. It is a refuge for many threatened and endangered species, including grizzly bears, wolverine, lynx, bull trout and many species of concern. The NFPA, along with U.S. Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester, were instrumental in the long-term effort to protect the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage in Montana from mining and oil and gas development in the Canadian Flathead River Valley, culminating in the passage of the 2014 North Fork Watershed Protection Act.   Given the above efforts, we have considerable concern regarding the well documented selenium and nitrate contamination in the nearby Elk River Valley. Waste rock from Elk River ...

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Attachment Comment on Fording River Extension project

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Lena Olson
  • Reference number: 328
  • Submitted: 2026-02-12 - 2:38 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • Participation notice: Public notice - Public comments invited on the draft guidelines and plans
  • Dear Impact Assessment Agency of Canada:   I write as a citizen of the U.S. and downstream neighbor of the Elk Valley mines, including the Fording River Mine.   I grew up fishing Lake Koocanusa and can say first hand that the fish populations are not abundant as they were 20 years ago. On a recent fishing trip with my father, we decided to research our observations, only to find that the selenium levels in the reservoir were directly impacting the fish population.   The mines in the Elk Valley leach toxic levels of selenium into the Elk Valley, as you well know, but that pollution flows south into Montana's Lake Koocanusa (Koocanusa Reservoir)and Kootenai(y) River at levels that are out of compliance with Montana law. These are not just standards on paper, but are standards developed to protect aquatic life and ecosystems from harm. Authorizing the Fording River expansion would have a significant, negative impact on Montana's environment, our economy, and our outdoor way of life.   Montana is transitioning from an extractive economy to a tourism economy.  Almost all of our watersheds have been contaminated by industry, leaving our rural communities suffering both economically and in degraded public health, and the tax-payers footing the bill for companies that won't hold themselves accountable. It has come to my attention that the Swiss company responsible for Elk Valley Coal mines has yet to address multiple encounters and policy ...

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Attachment Proposed Fording River Mine Expansion

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Charles E. Corsi
  • Reference number: 403
  • Submitted: 2026-02-12 - 2:28 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • Participation notice: Public notice - Public comments invited on the draft guidelines and plans
  • RE:  Propose Glencore Mine Expansion of the Fording River Mine   The Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited (PCTU), based in northern Idaho, is comprised of over 250 members.  PCTU is committed to the Trout Unlimited mission to protect, restore and sustain cold water fisheries and their watersheds that sustain them.  The Kootenai River watershed, headwatered in British Columbia, supports highly valued native fish populations and sport fisheries.  Fish populations in the Kootenai River in Idaho include native species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act (U.S.), and other native fishes which provide valuable sport fisheries and are the focus of other conservation efforts. Because water quality science, decisions and management in British Columbia affect cold water fisheries habitat, water quality, and populations downstream in Idaho, we offer the following comments on the proposed Fording River mine expansion:   It is our understanding the proposed mine expansion would open up nearly 5,000 acres (nearly 2000 hectares) to mine development.  Coal mining operations in the upper Kootenai River basin are already responsible for elevated selenium levels in the Kootenai River. Selenium concerns exist downstream on the Kootenai River into Idaho, where water quality studies have identified elevated levels high enough to pose concerns about negative impacts to reproductive success and health of native fishes, including federally listed (“Endangered”) Kootenai River white sturgeon.  Selenium can and will negatively impact Kootenai River salmonids (bull trout, rainbow/redband trout, westslope cutthroat trout, kokanee, and mountain ...

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Attachment Comment on Fording River Extension project

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Julie Chapman
  • Reference number: 406
  • Submitted: 2026-02-11 - 4:26 PM
  • Project phase: Planning
  • Participation notice: Public notice - Public comments invited on the draft guidelines and plans
  • Dear Impact Assessment Agency of Canada:   I write as a citizen of the U.S. and downstream neighbor of the Elk Valley mines, including the Fording River Mine. The mines in the Elk Valley leach toxic levels of selenium into the Elk Valley, as you well know, but that pollution flows south into Montana's Lake Koocanusa (Koocanusa Reservoir)and Kootenai(y) River at levels that are out of compliance with Montana law. These are not just standards on paper, but are standards developed to protect aquatic life and ecosystems from harm. Authorizing the Fording River expansion would have a significant, negative impact on Montana's environment, our economy, and our outdoor way of life.   I have been cheering on Canada in many areas as you stand up to Trump and to the awfulness of his regime...but I am unpleasantly surprised that you would consider expanding a mine that is already in need of mitigation and that is so badly polluting.   I firmly request a halt to the permitting of the Elk Valley Coal mines until the province has addressed, mitigated, and reduced existing selenium contamination, as mine expansions and additional mines will only increase the amount of pollutants in our waterways.   Further, I request that you share these comments with the province.   Sincerely,

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Attachment Comment on Fording River Extension project

  • Fording River Extension Project
  • Author: Administrator on behalf of Charlene Woodcock
  • Reference number: 458
  • Submitted: 2026-02-11 - 2:54 PM
  • Project phase: Impact Statement
  • Participation notice: Public notice - Public comments invited on the draft guidelines and plans
  • Dear Impact Assessment Agency of Canada:   Canadian mining corporations are infamous around the world for the environmental damage they commit.   As a citizen of the U.S. and downstream neighbor of the Elk Valley mines, including the Fording River Mine, I ask that you NOT add to this damage!   The mines in the Elk Valley leach toxic levels of selenium into the Elk Valley, as you well know, but that pollution flows south into Montana's Lake Koocanusa (Koocanusa Reservoir)and Kootenai(y) River at levels that are out of compliance with Montana law. These are not just standards on paper, but are standards developed to protect aquatic life and ecosystems from harm. Authorizing the Fording River expansion would have a significant, negative impact on Montana's environment, our economy, and our outdoor way of life.   I firmly request a halt to the permitting of the Elk Valley Coal mines until the province has addressed, mitigated, and reduced existing selenium contamination, as mine expansions and additional mines will only increase the amount of pollutants in our waterways.   Further, I request that you share these comments with the province.   Sincerely,

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