Open pit coal mining was a topic of discussion for Rocky Mountain House town council this week.

The controversial subject had council discussing the possibility of having that type of work taking place near Rocky and surrounding areas.

However, council in Rocky is not on board with bringing open pit coal mining to the eastern slopes. A lobby group in Alberta is strongly suggesting to not allow open pit coal mining in the Rocky Mountain House area, with the group asking for a follow up letter from Rocky Mountain House town council to Premier Jason Kenny and Minister Sonya Savage that would support those recommendations.

The lobby group has previously done a presentation in front of Rocky town council when the coal debate first came up last summer. Council is wanting to send a letter saying they oppose any kind of coal mining, and that it is not the way to go because once they say no, it would be final.

The coal committee in charge of trying to bring open pit coal mining to the Rocky Mountain House area has had some problems similar to those in B.C., with the issue of water. Rocky is also acknowledged as being at the head of the Saskatchewan River where millions of people get their drinking water from, which could take down the potential for less tourists to come through the community because of the effect it could have on the local environment.

Council has not fully ruled out open pit coal mining yet, but would like to see more public information and more public consultation done around the issue. As a result, council has voted to send a letter to the premier and energy minister, saying they are still interested in the outcome of the public consultation, and would still like to see a more clear path forward from the coal committee where they could address some of the Town’s concerns.

The letter would also request more information from the lobby group that they are welcome to come back in front of council once they have received all public consultation information.