Exciting news everyone! The report detailing whether the project is in the public interest of Albertans has been released! Link to the FULL REPORT at the end!

Good afternoon everybody! 

Today, the Joint Review Panel has released its report on the Grassy Mountain Coal Mine. This is the panel responsible for delivering its recommendation on the project to the federal government. Back in January of this year, many of us sent comments to this same panel outlining our rejection of this project.

The good news is that the panel has decreed this project is against the public interest! In the report, the Joint Review Panel stated that Benga had "overly optimistic assumptions" that resulted in the "underestimating" of the negative effects of the project on "surface water quality and human health". This led to the Panel losing "confidence in Benga's assessment", as the project would have "significant adverse environmental effects"!

After going into more detail into the harmful effects of the project, the Panel also concluded it would have "low positive economic impact on Alberta and Canada", and a "moderate positive economic impact" on Crowsnest Pass.

Eventually, the Panel decreed that the project is "not in the public interest", and that the harmful effects on the environment "outweigh" the economical gains. As such, the Panel exercised its right and DENIED Benga's applications!

However, it is not fully clear if this project is completely dead. We will send out updates as we get more news of the consequences of the Panel's ruling.

Regardless, this is excellent news for all of us who have fought for months to get this project denied. Albertans already knew this project was not in their best interest; the Panel's findings confirmed it! This is a huge boost to our efforts to protect our Rocky Mountains for generations to come. It is time to celebrate the results of our collective actions!

With gratitude,

Concerned Citizens of Alberta's Administrator

Link to full report: https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/documents/p80101/139408E.pdf

P.S. Big thank-you to Andrew Maranta for the incredible photo!