Leachings from historic coal mines in southwest Alberta could poison and even kill off downstream fish populations, according to a new scientific study released as a Calgary-based explorer seeks to drill for coal in the region.
The Alberta government scientific study, published on May 27, points to the element selenium, which is released from weathered rock discarded from mountaintop coal mines and can be poisonous when it accumulates in fish.
Runoff from Crowsnest Pass, about 240 km south of Calgary, and where about 30 million tonnes of coal was mined by several companies from 1900 to 1968, enters the Crowsnest River watershed. Runoff from the old Tent Mountain coal mine flows into Crowsnest Lake.
Fish recovery threats
The non-peer reviewed study found that lake and its outlet, the Crowsnest River, are “highly stressed aquatic ecosystems.”
“Any new development of coal mining along the…
