Minister's Response

Physical activities

Summit Coal Inc. is proposing the construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of an underground metallurgical coal mine located approximately four kilometres northeast of Grande Cache, Alberta. As proposed, the Summit Mine 14 Project (the physical activities referred to as the Project) would have a coal production capacity of approximately 3,562 tonnes per day. The Project would have a surface footprint of 53.5 hectares and a subsurface area of approximately 512 hectares. Project operations are expected to begin in early 2023 and continue until 2032, followed by two to three years of restoration.

Decision

The Project does not warrant designation.

Reasons

Pursuant to section 9 of the Impact Assessment Act (the IAA), I, Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, considered the potential for the Project to cause adverse effects within federal jurisdiction, adverse direct or incidental effects, public concerns related to these effect, as well as adverse impacts on the Aboriginal and Treaty rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. In forming my opinion, I took into account the analysis prepared by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

I am of the opinion that the designation of the Project is unwarranted for the following reasons:

• The legislative processes that currently apply to the Project and related consultations with potentially impacted Indigenous peoples provide a framework to address the potential adverse aforementioned effects and impacts, and concerns raised by Indigenous peoples. These processes include:
  • the provincial legislation, as applicable, such as the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, Coal Conservation Act, Water Act, Public Lands Act, Historical Resources Act; and
  • the federal authorizations, approvals, and reporting that may be required under the Fisheries Act; the Species at Risk Act; the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994; and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
• The Project must be carried out in compliance with provincial and federal legislation, including Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, Coal Conservation Act, Water Act, Public Lands Act, Historical Resources Act, the Fisheries Act; the Species at Risk Act; the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994; and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.