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IAAC.Grassymountain.AEIC@Canada.Ca Our File Reference: 191620 Gavin S. Fitch, Q.C. <contact information removed> Radha Singh, Assistant <contact information removed> Fax: (403) 303-1668 September 21, 2020 PLEASE REPLY TO CALGARY OFFICE SENT VIA EMAIL – [email protected] Grassy Mountain Coal Project Joint Review Panel c/o Impact Assessment Agency of Canada 160 Elgin Street, 22nd Floor Place Bell Canada Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3 Attention: Tracy Utting, Acting Panel Manager Dear Madam: Re: Benga Mining Limited/Riversdale Resources - Grassy Mountain Coal Project Application Nos. 1844520 and 1902073 Pursuant to the Panel’s June 29, 2020 Notice of Hearing (Ref #365) and updates of September 4, 2020 (Ref #519) and September 14, 2020 (Ref #529), this is to advise of the evidence which the LLG intends to present at the public hearing. Attached hereto are four reports prepared by expert witnesses retained by LLG: 1. “Engineering review of the EIA design, operation, and reclamation plans for the proposed Grassy Mountain Project” by McKenna Geotechnical Inc., dated September 21, 2020; 2. “Comments on Air Quality and Meteorology concerning the Grassy Mountain Coal Project” by Jim Young Atmospheric Services Inc., dated September 21, 2020; 3. “Review of Human Health Risk Assessment, Benga Mining Grassy Mountain Coal Project” by John Dennis, PhD, SolAero Ltd., dated September 21, 2020; and 4. “Review of Grassy Mountain Coal Mine Economic Impact Assessment” by Chris Joseph MRM PhD, Swift Creek Consulting, dated September 21, 2020. Edmonton Office Calgary Office Yellowknife Office 600 McLennan Ross Building 1900 Eau Claire Tower 301 Nunasi Building 12220 Stony Plain Road 600 – 3rd Avenue SW 5109 – 48th Street Edmonton, AB T5N 3Y4 Calgary, AB T2P 0G5 Yellowknife, NT X1A 1N5 p. 780.482.9200 p. 403.543.9120 p. 867.766.7677 f. 780.482.9100 f. 403.543.9150 f. 867.766.7678 tf. 1.800.567.9200 tf. 1.888.543.9120 tf. 1.888.836.6684 Visit our website at www.mross.com - 2 - We estimate that each of these witnesses will take approximately one hour to present their evidence. The LLG also intends to have some of its members provide the Panel with their perspectives as local residents and to explain in their own words why they oppose the Grassy Mountain Project. At this time, we anticipate the following LLG members will make presentations, each of which should be between 10 minutes (Mr. Trafford) to 30 minutes (Mr. Lawson) in length: 1. Bill Trafford, President of the LLG 2. John Lawson 3. Bobbi Lambright 4. Sid Marty or Andrew Nikiforuk Depending on how the public hearing actually unfolds, the identity of the LLG’s lay witnesses may change. As per the Panel’s September 4, 2020 correspondence, the LLG intends on making a brief opening statement at the commencement of the hearing. We anticipate taking 15-20 minutes for our opening statement. Finally, the LLG intends on making full and detailed closing argument after the conclusion of the evidentiary portion of the public hearing, as directed and permitted by the Panel. Thank you. Yours truly, <Original signed by> GAVIN S. FITCH, Q.C. GSF/rs Enclosures cc: Livingstone Landowners Group Attn: John Lawson, Bill Trafford and Bobbi Lambright 00191620 - 4127-9998-6471 v.1 5223 Laurel Drive, Delta, BC Canada V4K 4S4 [email protected] Gavin S. Fitch, Q.C. September 21, 2020 Partner MGI# 2211-002 Joint Review Panel for the Grassy Mountain Coal Project McLennan Ross LLP 1900 Eau Claire Tower 600 - 3rd Avenue SW, Calgary, AB T2P 0G5 Subject: Engineering review of the EIA design, operation, and reclamation plans for the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project (Reference Number 80101) Dear Sir, McKenna Geotechnical Inc is providing engineering review services to the Livingstone Landowners Group (LLG) through their legal counsel, Gavin Fitch QC of McLennan Ross LLP. The Group is concerned about the operational risks and long-term environmental impacts associated with the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project in southern Alberta. Riversdale Resources has applied to the Alberta Government for a 25-year open-pit metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain. The property is immediately north of Blairmore. It is in the watersheds of Blairmore Creek and Gold Creek, which discharge into the Crowsnest River. The property has been disturbed by resource extraction activities in the past, including underground and surface coal mining, but retains many of its pre-disturbance environmental values. McKenna Geotechnical was asked to review Riversdale’s Grassy Mountain Coal Project – Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)1 and its 12 addendums produced over the past five years. The work totals more than 17,000 pages. In this report, I will refer to the original EIA document and the 12 addendums together as the “EIA”. 1 This application package is collated on the webpage by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (2020). See list of references at the end of this letter. McKenna Geotechnical Inc Page 1 Engineering review of the Grassy Mountain Coal Project application September 21, 2020 This report provides a review of elements of the EIA through the lens of landform design,2 with a focus on engineering design and reclamation.3 It summarizes the scope and background, offers 17 observations on aspects of the EIA relevant to LLG’s concerns, provides context, describes the major risks, and sets out recommendations to the Joint Review Panel (JRP).4 It is intended to provide a balanced review based on the available information, with a focus on whether the present design manages the environmental risks. As noted below, the opinions expressed are based on a review of the EIA and the author’s mining and landform design experience. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Livingstone Landowners Group (LLG) has significant concerns about the operational and long-term environmental risks associated with the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project in southern Alberta. The LLG represents landowners and supporters of the Livingstone-Porcupine Hills area, who fear the mine will have numerous environmental impacts, including impacts on water quality and quantity (and downstream fish populations), wildlife habitat loss, and setbacks to the conservation of whitebark pine and limber pine ecosystems. The property has been disturbed by various historical resource activities, including underground and surface coal mining, but many pre-disturbance environmental values remain intact. Grassy Mountain is in a particularly sensitive ecological area, demanding a far more thorough approach than that recommended by the Proponent. McKenna Geotechnical was asked to review the Project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with respect to mine design, operation, and reclamation plans. Dr Gord McKenna of McKenna Geotechnical has reviewed Riversdale’s Grassy Mountain Coal Project – Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and the 12 addendums, totalling over 17,000 pages of related material. This report is part of LLG’s submission to the Joint Review Panel (JRP), which plans to hold hearings on the Project starting in October 2020. While Dr McKenna has worked for several coal mines in BC and Alberta, he has not been involved with any of the mines in southwestern Alberta. In conducting his review of the material, Dr McKenna made 17 key observations and associated recommendations. Overall, the Project EIA presents overly optimistic goals that will be hard to achieve. The design is deficient in some critical areas – a situation that should be rectified before any approval.. The design needs to be more robust in several key areas. For residual risks, the adaptive management program being 2 This letter uses footnotes to provide definitions of technical terms that may not be familiar to the reader. Landform design is “an emerging process used to successfully reconstruct mine land. It allows industry, regulators, and communities to work together to manage costs and risks, minimize liability, and produce progressively reclaimed landscapes with confidence and pride. It involves setting out a clear design basis, producing designs and plans to achieve that basis, assesses risks, develops detailed contingency plans, and establishes a monitoring plan that will allow contingencies to be implemented as needed, all under a well-defined governance system that includes periodic audits” (LDI 2020). 3 Reclamation refers to decommissioning (removal of debris and extraneous infrastructure), resloping of disturbed land, placement of covers and reclamation material, and revegetation. 4 Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Alberta Energy Regulator (2018). McKenna Geotechnical Inc Page 2 Engineering review of the Grassy Mountain Coal Project application September 21, 2020 proposed is inadequate, constituting little more than trial and error with a vague monitoring program; instead, the Proponent needs to base its approach on the observational method, just as a geotechnical designer would for a dam with an engineering risk assessment, pre-designed contingencies in the event of deficient performance, and an integral monitoring program to detect when the contingencies need to be applied. In particular, the design requires considerable improvements in addressing source control for selenium, and needs a much stronger cover design to safeguard the region’s ecological qualities, including water quality and wildlife habitat. The improvements in designing for the collection of selenium, and associated contingencies, should be made now, prior to the Project’s approval. The Proponent needs to prove the design is capable of managing selenium in the creeks, and that the contingencies are sound. Fundamentally, the detailed monitoring program and the contingencies need to be an integral part of this design. To guide the work, the author posed four questions that were chosen to address the main issues faced by mine operators, the regulator, and local communities, who need to work together to mine efficiently while managing environmental risks. Question 1: Does the proponent’s mine design do all that is needed to reduce environmental risks? Answer: No. The existing design basis does not adequately address the environmental risks.
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