{"id":96909,"date":"2025-08-25T22:38:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T22:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/96909\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T22:38:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T22:38:08","slug":"alberta-energy-watchdog-ceo-cancels-coal-hearing-in-unprecedented-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/96909\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta energy watchdog CEO cancels coal hearing in unprecedented move"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

An AER panel had already decided that a hearing was required, but Rob Morgan, head of the Alberta Energy Regulator, quashed the panel\u2019s ruling in a move he acknowledged ‘is without precedent.’Jeff McIntosh\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The head of the Alberta Energy Regulator has, for the first time in the agency\u2019s history, cancelled an application hearing for a new fossil fuel project, in what environmental organizations say sets a worrying precedent. <\/p>\n

Rob Morgan\u2019s decision revolves around applications by Summit Coal Inc. for an underground mine near Grande Cache, Alta., roughly 430 kilometres west of Edmonton. An AER panel had already decided that a hearing was required and set the quasi-judicial proceeding for Oct. 21. <\/p>\n

But Mr. Morgan quashed the panel\u2019s ruling with his own decision \u2013 a move that he acknowledged in his Aug. 21 letter to the company and environmental groups \u201cis without precedent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy decision should not be construed as a means by which parties can circumvent hearing or other AER decisions they disagree with,\u201d he said, adding he was not inclined to exercise his discretion to reconsider decisions of hearing panels, out of respect for the process and the autonomy and independence of those panels. <\/p>\n

But he said the \u201cvery unique circumstances\u201d surrounding the case made him reconsider the hearing, such as the fact the AER has never conducted a hearing with no parties who are directly adversely affected participating, and that there were far more participants in the hearing who support the application than who oppose it. <\/p>\n

Mr. Morgan said a hearing would \u201cimpractical,\u201d as there is \u201ca need to deal with this expediently.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alberta settles with two companies in $16-billion coal case<\/a><\/p>\n

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Alberta Wilderness Association said in a joint statement Monday that Mr. Morgan\u2019s unusual move invalidates all the previous decisions made by the AER\u2019s own hearing commissioners and panel. <\/p>\n

\u201cDespite claiming otherwise, Rob Morgan has now set a precedent whereby companies unhappy that they must be accountable to the public concerns through processes explicitly outlined under the Responsible Energy Development Act can avoid the process altogether,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMorgan\u2019s decision undermines the authority and credibility of the AER, the hearing commissioners, and the panel appointed to review Mine 14, and the entirety of the public hearing process.\u201d <\/p>\n

If approved, Summit\u2019s Mine 14 will have a coal production capacity of approximately 3,562 tonnes per day, with a surface footprint of 53.5 hectares. It will operate for roughly nine years, extracting metallurgical coal \u2013 used to make steel \u2013 for the export market. <\/p>\n

In his decision, Mr. Morgan said the AER already monitors and regulates an existing mine permit for the project, but the environmental groups argue that it is more than 10 years old and based on environmental assessment that is even older.<\/p>\n

The AER determined on Oct. 3, 2024, that the Summit application should be sent to a hearing. <\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s coal mine reclamation regulations failing to protect water, fish, scientists say<\/a><\/p>\n

Mr. Morgan, a former oil and gas executive, took the reins of the AER<\/a> in February. His appointment drew the skepticism of many AER critics, who believe that the regulator puts the interests of the energy sector above those of Albertans and the environment. <\/p>\n

Despite the fact the AER is an independent body, Mr. Morgan said at the time he would take cues on how to operate the regulator from a report produced by the Premier\u2019s Advisory Council on Alberta\u2019s Energy Future, a five-member panel appointed by Danielle Smith. <\/p>\n

Mr. Morgan wrote in his decision on that Summit\u2019s application for an underground mine \u201cis expressly permissible under the Government of Alberta\u2019s recent policy statements on coal industry modernization.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kennedy Halvorson, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, said in a statement that Mr. Morgan\u2019s decision tears down any illusion that the AER can function as an independent and balanced regulator accountable to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is baffling that one man has unilateral power to cancel a public hearing on the request of a coal company, undermining all the other times the staff at the AER familiar with the project decided otherwise,\u201d Ms. Halvorson said. <\/p>\n

Summit did not return a request for comment Monday, but it had been opposed to the hearings. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: An AER panel had already decided that a hearing was required, but Rob…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":96910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,45,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-96909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}