CALGARY — The head of the Alberta Energy Regulator has cancelled an application hearing for a potential coal mine, a move that he acknowledged is "without precedent."
The hearings had been scheduled for a proposed underground coal mine in Grande Cache, Alta., owned by Summit Coal Inc., which would produce about 3,562 tonnes of coal per day.
The decision by Rob Morgan, chief executive of the regulator, reverses those of hearing commissioners that had denied requests by Summit to cancel the hearings. Commissioners at the province's energy watchdog previously said the company hadn't provided the legal basis to support cancelling the hearings.
"My decision should not be construed as a means by which parties can circumvent hearing or other AER decisions they disagree with," Morgan wrote in his decision, adding he would otherwise respect the independence of hearing panels. However, the "very unique circumstances in this situation" led him to take action, he wrote.
The regulator will now decide whether to approve the mine.
"I recognize it is without precedent for a non-hearing commissioner decision-maker to consider a reconsideration request of a procedural decision made by hearing commissioners," wrote Morgan, the former CEO of Strathcona Resources Ltd. chosen in February to lead the regulator.
The two environmental groups participating in the hearing -- the Alberta Wilderness Association and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society -- said Morgan's decision lays the groundwork for companies that wish the sidestep the hearing process.
Morgan wrote in his decision that the number of groups in favour of the project vastly outweigh those opposed, saying the two environmental groups would not be directly or negatively affected by the mine.
He also wrote that the lack of dissent from local groups weighed heavily on his decision: "(T)he social and economic effects of the project as well as the interests of local landowners strongly support that the decision be varied, and the hearing be cancelled."
Four Indigenous groups near the coal mine that had previously opposed the project had withdrawn their objections, he added. Those four communities in June signed "impact benefit agreements" with Valory Resources Inc.
The two environmental groups said in a statement that Morgan "robbed" the public and concerned locals of an opportunity to voice their concerns about the mine's environmental impact.
Alberta NDP energy critic Nagwan Al-Guneid criticized Morgan's decision on social media, saying the regulator is blocking key voices from being heard.
"This cancellation weakens the regulatory standards and procedures in the way Alberta develops its projects," Al-Guneid wrote.
Morgan added in his letter that the groups' submissions will be sent to regulator staff overseeing the mine's environmental impacts if it is approved. "Their submissions will still be ‘heard’ and considered by the AER, just not at an oral hearing," he wrote.
His decision comes after the commissioners overseeing the hearings had dismissed Summit's requests to have them cancelled earlier this summer.
Summit had argued that the Alberta Wilderness Association and Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society wouldn't be directly affected by the AER's decision, and that the two groups "have a long history of fervent opposition to natural resource development projects in Alberta," the commissioners wrote in late July. Summit also contended that the environmental groups were using the hearing process for fundraising, and that they had not raised new issues that would benefit the hearing.
The three commissioners disagreed with Summit's arguments, saying the company hadn't provided "prior decisions, evidence or a legal basis" sufficient for the hearing to be cancelled.
In a later decision published in early August, the commissioners adjourned the hearing until Feb. 26 after Summit had requested a later hearing date "to reassess whether to proceed" with the mining project.
In that decision, the commissioners warned about a letter that had copied Morgan and the regulator's board chair, along with another letter to Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean. The commissioners remarked that ministers and Alberta Energy Regulator executives don't have the authority to conduct hearings.
"The panel reminds all participants that correspondence and submissions in this proceeding should be addressed to the panel and to the parties, and not to external persons," they wrote.
In a letter dated July 28, Brian MacDonald, president of Valory Resources, wrote to Jean that it was "concerned and disappointed with Alberta's regulatory processes" and claimed the regulator was "prioritizing the interests of two organizations that are staunchly opposed to coal development and resource development in general." MacDonald copied Morgan and the regulator's board chair, Duncan Au.
"We are available to meet with you at your convenience to discuss our concerns and frustrations," MacDonald wrote to Jean.
Jean's office wrote in a statement to The Canadian Press: "We respect the authority of the Alberta Energy Regulator. It would be inappropriate for the minister to comment on matters before the AER."
Morgan, in his letter cancelling the hearings, said the regulator doesn't need a request to make such a decision: "It can do so on its own initiative, if it becomes aware, by any means, of facts or circumstances that cause it to decide to reconsider a decision."
Summit was acquired in the spring by Valory Resources.
Valory did not respond to a request for comment but has said the mine would generate 200 direct jobs and operate for 15 years.
-- With files from Lisa Johnson
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2025.
Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press
