A sprawling expansion of a massive thermal coal mine has been approved by Alberta’s provincial regulator — clearing the way for the operator to extend the life of the project well into the next decade, despite opposition from conservation groups.
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) issued regulatory permits to Coalspur Mines for an expansion of its operation at the Vista Coal Mine near Hinton, Alta., which would turn the largest coal mine in Canada into the largest in all of North America.
The approval will allow the company to expand the open pits of its surface coal mine westward, with new mining operations expected to cover more than 630 hectares of land along the Rocky Mountain Foothills near the gates of Jasper National Park.
Approval was granted for the project by the AER without a regulatory hearing, despite formal objections over the project’s potential environmental impacts.
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Conservationists fear the mine will damage local watersheds and at-risk species downstream, including the endangered Athabasca rainbow trout and threatened bull trout.
Excavation plans for the mine cut through headwater streams in the Athabasca drainage basin and environmentalists fear that the expansion will result in the direct destruction of local creeks and leave area watersheds polluted with contaminants such as selenium and arsenic.
Groups including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society Northern Alberta Chapter had submitted formal statements of concern calling for the application and permits to be denied.
Regulatory documents show approval for the expansion was granted July 20, 2026, when the AER decided a public hearing was not warranted and issued the final permits.
Tara Russell, program director for CPAWS Northern Alberta, said the decision demonstrates a lack of regulatory accountability.
The mine’s approval contradicts a federal pledge to phase out thermal coal exports by 2030, Russell said, adding the provincial regulator has “no teeth” to enforce environmental protections and Alberta needs an outright ban on eastern slopes coal mining.
“This is just another great example of the AER moving away from any platforms of public scrutiny on these large, extremely impactful projects,” she said.
“It’s extremely disappointing “
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In a statement to CBC News, the AER said the operator has met all provincial approval conditions.
The AER said its technical review “considered the environmental, social, economic, and cultural impacts of the proposed activity and assessed Coalspur’s plans to mitigate any resulting adverse impacts.”
Officials with Coalspur Mines have not responded to requests for comment from CBC News.
The green-light for construction comes amid broader debate over regulation of coal production in Alberta’s eastern slopes and federal efforts to phase out thermal exports by 2030.
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The expansion has faced years of delays as the federal Impact Assessment Agency considered whether the Coalspur project warranted a federal review.
In 2020, then-federal environment minister Jonathan Wilkinson ordered a joint federal-provincial review of both the expansion and the underground test mine. But that review collapsed when the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Ottawa’s Impact Assessment Act was unconstitutional.
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In December 2024, the federal Impact Assessment Agency announced the project did not meet the threshold for review.
In 2025, just three months after the Alberta government lifted its moratorium on new coal mine development on the eastern slopes, formal applications to the AER were submitted for the expansion.
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In a statement to CBC News, Alberta Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean said he respects the decision of the regulator, noting the Coalspur expansion was an “advanced project” under the rules for reviewing mines.
“Extending the life of an existing operation that employs Albertans and contributes to our energy security is a practical outcome, provided it is meeting all environmental and regulatory requirements,” said Jean.
Coalspur urged regulators to proceed without a hearing, stating in filings that it remains committed to responsible operations and abiding by all regulatory requirements imposed by the AER.
The company cited a mandatory 100-metre buffer along critical habitats to preserve wildlife corridors, alongside ongoing progressive reclamation. The expansion sits above the Athabasca River Valley, in an area of forest home to 22 species at risk.
According to regulatory documents, Coalspur plans to operate the new and old parts of the mine as a single complex. Once expanded, the operator plans to increase production at the mine to 15 million clean tonnes annually and extend the mine’s lifespan by 12 years.
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The operations of the Vista Coal Mine will include surface open-pit mining, highwall mining and construction of a freshwater pipeline.
Permits allow Coalspur to divert up to 5,406,000 cubic metres of water annually. Wetlands reclamation is expected to take upwards of 20 years.
In letters informing objectors of its decision to issue permits, AER director Steven Van Lingen said a public hearing was unnecessary, maintaining that environmental concerns were adequately addressed through permit conditions.
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These conditions include mandatory water release limits designed to safeguard downstream water quality and endangered fish habitat. Among them, an end pit lake, which will be created as part of the mine’s reclamation, was initially estimated to take more than 160 years to fill and become fully functional.
Now, according to approval conditions issued by AER, the company must submit a plan to make that happen within a 10-year timeframe after mining operations come to an end.
Kennedy Halvorson, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA), which also filed a statement of concern against the project, said those responses have not satisfied her concerns surrounding the project.
She said seeing the project bypass any public hearing is disappointing. Such forums, Halvorson said, bring critical information to light and keep operators accountable.
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The AWA remains concerned proposed mitigations will not fully protect local hydrology, peatlands or endangered species, like the Athabasca rainbow trout, Halvorson said.
The mine’s plan to divert water from the McLeod River into McPherson Creek also poses serious risks, particularly during dry conditions, she said.
In its own application, the Coalspur acknowledged its operations could completely curtail baseflow at the headwaters of McPherson Creek and said wastewater from the tailings will seep into the creek “approximately 11 to 160 years” after the mine shutters.
“Mitigations — they don’t prevent harm, they just reduce harm,” said Halvorson. “And sometimes that level of harm is still too much for species at risk or ecosystems to bear.”
