Notice of Hearing

Regulatory Appeal of an Administrative Penalty issued December 16, 2024

Notice of Hearing
Regulatory Appeal
Proceeding ID 454
CST Canada Coal Limited
Regulatory Appeal of an Administrative Penalty issued December 16, 2024

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) will hold a public hearing for a regulatory appeal of the December 16, 2024, decision to issue an administrative penalty under section 237 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA). The hearing will be scheduled after requests to participate are filed. If the request for the regulatory appeal is withdrawn, the hearing will be cancelled. 

Description of the Proceeding
On January 14, 2025, the AER received a request for a regulatory appeal, under Division 3 of the Responsible Energy Development Act and Part 3 of the Alberta Energy Regulator Rules of Practice (Rules of Practice), of the AER’s decision to issue an administrative penalty under section 237 of EPEA. The administrative penalty was issued to CST Canada Coal Limited for a mine waste-water release at the CST Coal Mine, that occurred in December 2022 and failing to report the release immediately to the AER in accordance with the EPEA Approval No. 00155804-01-00. The CST Coal Mine is located at NE-10-058-08 W6M, approximately 20 kilometers north of Grande Cache, within the Municipal District of Greenview.

The AER granted the request for regulatory appeal on February 7, 2025.

The purpose of the hearing is to determine whether the AER should confirm, vary, suspend or revoke its decision to issue the penalty.

Where can I find information about the hearing?
All hearing exhibits filed in proceeding 454 are publicly available and can be found on the AER’s Hearings - Public Record System.

To find out more about AER hearing procedures, see Manual 003: Participant Guide to the Hearing Process or contact the hearing coordinator.

Elaine Arruda, Hearing Coordinator
Alberta Energy Regulator
Suite 1000, 250 – 5 Street SW
Calgary, Alberta  T2P 0R4
Email: Hearing.Services@aer.ca 
Phone: 403-297-7365

How can I apply to participate in the hearing?
CST Canada Coal Limited and the AER’s Regulatory Compliance Branch are parties to this regulatory appeal. However, they must confirm their intention to participate in the hearing and the nature and scope of their participation in writing by March 24, 2025.

If you are not already a party to the regulatory appeal and want to participate in the hearing, you must submit a written request to participate. Requests to participate are placed on the public record of this proceeding.

Your request to participate must contain the following:

  1.  a copy of your statement of concern, if applicable;
  2. a concise statement indicating
    1. why you may be directly and adversely affected by a decision of the AER on the regulatory appeal, or
    2. if you will not be directly and adversely affected by a decision of the AER on the regulatory appeal, explain
      • what the nature of your interest in the matter is and why you should be permitted to participate,
      • how your participation will materially assist the AER in deciding the subject matter of the regulatory appeal, 
      • how you have a tangible interest in the subject matter of the regulatory appeal,
      • how your participation will not unnecessarily delay the regulatory appeal, and
      • how you will not repeat or duplicate evidence presented by other parties in the regulatory appeal;
  3. the outcome of the regulatory appeal that you advocate;
  4. the nature and scope of your intended participation;
  5. your contact information;
  6. if you have a representative, their contact information;
  7. if you are acting on behalf of a group or association of people, the nature of your membership in the group or association; and
  8. your efforts, if any, to resolve issues associated with the proceeding directly with the party requesting the appeal or the approval holder, as the case may be.

Send the request to the hearing coordinator. Submissions should be PDF documents with bookmarks, page numbers, and optical character recognition.

Filing deadlines

March 24, 2025Final date to file a request to participate.
March 31, 2025Final date to submit responses to any request to participate.

Is this a public process?
Yes. Section 49 of the Rules of Practice requires that all documents and information filed for a proceeding be placed on the public record. You must not include any personal information that you do not want to appear on or are not authorized to put on the public record. You should assume that anything you submit will be available online to the public. Section 49(2) of the Rules of Practice states how to apply to the AER for an order to keep information confidential.

What is outside of the AER’s jurisdiction?
Compensation for land use is not dealt with by the AER and should be referred to the Land and Property Rights Tribunal (formerly the Surface Rights Board).

Consultation with Alberta’s First Nations and Métis settlements and assessment of its adequacy are managed by the Aboriginal Consultation Office.

If my request to participate is approved, can I apply to get reimbursed for hearing-related costs?
If you are participating in a hearing, you may be eligible to have some of your costs paid.
Directive 031: REDA Energy Cost Claims explains how and when to apply.

Issued at Calgary, Alberta, on March 10, 2025.
ALBERTA ENERGY REGULATOR