Edmonton is about to become the “industrial heartland” of Alberta, and the proposed Dodds-Roundhill coal and gasification project is one of several projects that citizens should oppose.
Sherritt International Corp. and the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Fund have formed the Carbon Development Partnership in order to construct the coal gasification plant in Beaver County, approximately 80 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. The coal required for the operation of this plant will come from a 312-square kilometre strip mine adjacent to the plant. There is a proposal to build a second unit once the first gasification unit is operational.
Beaverhill Lake, just a couple kilometres north of the mine itself, is an important staging area for a multitude of waterfowl. More than 270 species of bird have been recorded making use of the lake either as a migration stopover or a breeding ground. The area is already under stress from oil and gas developments, and local landowners and wildlife advocates are protesting the development.
In the last three decades the lake has shrunk to one-sixth its peak size of 140 square kilometres; that decrease is partly a result of natural drought conditions, but manmade pressures have exacerbated the situation.
The huge strip mine planned by Sherritt will totally disrupt the main source of water flowing into the lake. Amisk Creek and its tributaries will be severly affected, as well as many smaller lakes and ponds, all of which help maintain the level of the water table.
Sherritt has considerable experience with surface mining, and they have promised to restore the land. If all goes well, the land can be used for agriculture after six years. But such efforts at restoration are not entirely successful in many cases because of the profound disruption of the soil.
Coal gasification is a relatively efficient process compared to traditional coal burning utilities, but there are still serious environmental concerns. Apart from the obvious physical damage done to the environment, mining releases methane into the atmosphere. Methane is at least 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide—a factor that must be considered when the Alberta Energy Commission issues any permits. Failure to do so would be extremely irresponsible.
In exchange for this environmental damage, Sherritt says it will bring prosperity to the area and provide jobs. I’ve spoken with some of the farmers in the area, and many would rather keep their land intact than work in an industrial plant.
And there are many more such projects on the horizon. The primary purpose of the Dodds-Roundhill mine is to supply synthetic natural gas to the enormous petrochemical complex planned for Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, northeast of Edmonton. Sherritt is only one of many international players who have committed to building a fully intergrated complex of refineries, upgraders, chemical, plastics, and fertilizer plants in the so-called “heartland.” If it all gets built, we’ll boast the second-largest concentration of petrochemical plants in North America.
A major problem with this type and scale of industrial development is water consumption. According to Sherritt’s own figures, the Roundhill-Dodds gasification development will use between 2.4 and 9 million cubic metres of water per year, which will almost certainly come from the North Saskatchewan River; the industrial heartland’s water requirements as a whole are unsustainable. Alberta Environment has not yet even studied the effects of these developments on water levels in the North Saskatchewan River.
Albertans, and especially Edmontonians, need to fight these developments before they are approved. It’s no use saying “oops” after our rivers have dried up and we’ve ruined our agricultural lands.

Editor’s Note: Peter Johnston is the deputy leader of the Alberta Green Party and ran in the recent provincial election in Edmonton-Glenora. This is his forth column in a five week series on energy in Alberta.