環(huán)境煤炭與環(huán)境古希臘人認(rèn)為世界上的一切都是由土、氣、水、火四種元素的某種組合構(gòu)成的。這四個要素仍然定義著我們今天的環(huán)境。因此，它們?yōu)榧幽么竺禾抗I(yè)正在處理的環(huán)境問題提供了一個框架。在全國范圍內(nèi)，針對土地利用、廢物、空氣和水質(zhì)、野生動物甚至噪音問題的行動正在實(shí)施。加拿大的煤炭行業(yè)正在積極尋求在三個方面解決環(huán)境問題的方法。第一種是在礦場，采礦和加工方法的目的是盡量減少當(dāng)?shù)乜諝?、水、土地和社區(qū)的影響。第二種是在發(fā)電廠，改進(jìn)的燃煤技術(shù)已經(jīng)減少了排放，而先進(jìn)的技術(shù)有望進(jìn)一步減少排放。第三方面是應(yīng)對全球合作的挑戰(zhàn)，以最大限度地減少煤炭對全球環(huán)境的影響。在所有這些方面，煤炭行業(yè)正在與政府、社區(qū)和其他利益相關(guān)者合作，以確保解決環(huán)境問題。開始時干凈，結(jié)束時干凈把地表用途的土地用于采礦，然后再用回來圍墾是一個長期的過程，它結(jié)合了社會科學(xué)、經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)、生物學(xué)和自然棲息地的研究。“回收”一詞可能意味著一種活動只在礦山關(guān)閉后發(fā)生，但事實(shí)上，回收早在采礦實(shí)際開始之前就開始了，然后在礦山的整個生命周期和以后繼續(xù)進(jìn)行。在開礦前幾年，規(guī)劃首先要進(jìn)行環(huán)境影響評估、公眾咨詢和管理機(jī)構(gòu)的徹底審查。環(huán)境專家首先對現(xiàn)有生態(tài)系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行全面研究*，以確定敏感性和潛在影響。他們建立了地表水和地下水、土壤、氣候、當(dāng)?shù)赝恋乩煤同F(xiàn)有社會和經(jīng)濟(jì)條件的基線信息。這些信息被用來選擇礦山的最佳地點(diǎn)，并制定該地區(qū)的環(huán)境保護(hù)和開墾計(jì)劃。作為規(guī)劃過程的一部分，就采礦對周圍地區(qū)的土地利用、交通系統(tǒng)和生活質(zhì)量的預(yù)期影響征求當(dāng)?shù)厣鐓^(qū)的意見。進(jìn)行公眾諮詢，以取得本地居民有意義的意見，從而在制訂最終填海計(jì)劃時解決他們的意見和關(guān)注。每個省政府都有部門負(fù)責(zé)保護(hù)空氣質(zhì)量、地表水、土地、魚類和野生動物。聯(lián)邦政府還可以介入其管轄范圍內(nèi)的領(lǐng)域，如漁業(yè)、有毒物質(zhì)和跨界影響。這些管理機(jī)構(gòu)評估每一個填海計(jì)劃，考慮基線環(huán)境信息和那些可能直接受到采礦項(xiàng)目影響的人的長期利益。根據(jù)嚴(yán)格的土地復(fù)墾、野生動物保護(hù)、空氣和水質(zhì)管理等環(huán)境標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，公司獲得許可后才能進(jìn)行實(shí)際開采。在整個采礦過程中定期檢查，確保公司遵守政府標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。由于開采的暫時性，公司實(shí)際上只是“借用”土地來滿足開采煤炭的時間。之后，土地被歸還給先前的農(nóng)業(yè)、林業(yè)、野生動物或娛樂用途。正在進(jìn)行的研究項(xiàng)目提供的信息，以確認(rèn)開墾實(shí)踐正在取得預(yù)期的結(jié)果。這些研究還確定了需要糾正的地方或存在改進(jìn)機(jī)會的地方，以便采取進(jìn)一步的行動。

ENVIRONMENT

COAL AND OUR ENVIRONMENT 

The Ancient Greeks believed that everything in the world was composed of some combination of the four elements: earth, air, water and fire. These four elements still define our environment today.  As such, they provide a framework for the environmental issues being tackled by Canada’s coal industry. Initiatives to address land use, waste, air and water quality, wildlife and even noise concerns are currently being implemented in coal-related activities across the country.
Canada’s coal industry is actively seeking ways to address environmental concerns on three fronts. The first is at the mine site where mining and processing methods are designed to minimize local air, water, land and community impacts. The second is at power plants where improved coal-burning technologies have reduced emissions and advanced technologies are promising even greater reductions. The third front addresses the challenges of global cooperation in order to minimize coal’s environmental impact around the world. On all of these fronts, the coal industry is working cooperatively with government, communities and other stakeholders to ensure environmental initiatives are addressed.

START CLEAN, END CLEAN

BRINGING LAND FROM SURFACE USES TO MINING AND BACK AGAIN 

Reclamation* is a long-term process that combines social sciences, economics, biology and natural habitat* studies. The word “reclamation” may suggest an activity that only happens after a mine is closed but, in fact, reclamation begins long before mining actually starts and then continues throughout the life of the mine and beyond.
Several years before a mine starts, planning begins with environmental impact assessments, public consultations and thorough reviews by regulatory agencies. Environmental specialists start the process by performing comprehensive studies of existing ecosystems* to identify sensitivities and potential impacts. They establish baseline information for surface and ground water, soils, climate, local land use and existing social and economic conditions. This information is used to choose the best site for the mine and to develop environmental protection and reclamation plans for the area.
As part of the planning process, local communities are consulted about the anticipated impact of mining on land use, transportation systems and the quality of life in the surrounding area. Public consultation is undertaken to obtain meaningful input from local residents so that their ideas and concerns can be addressed when developing final reclamation plans.

Every provincial government has departments that work to protect air quality, ground and surface water, land, fish and wildlife. The Federal government can also get involved in areas where it has jurisdiction such as fisheries, toxic substances and trans-boundary impacts. These regulatory agencies evaluate every reclamation plan, considering the baseline environmental information and the long-term interests of those likely to be directly affected by the mining project.  Actual mining cannot proceed until the company receives permits based on strict environmental standards for land reclamation, protection of wildlife and management of air and water quality. Regular inspections throughout the entire mining process ensure companies adhere to government standards.
Because of the temporary nature of mining, companies actually just “borrow” land for the time it takes to mine the coal.  Afterwards, lands are returned to their prior agricultural, forestry, wildlife or recreational use. Ongoing research programs provide information to confirm that reclamation practices are having the desired results. These studies also identify areas where corrections need to be made or where opportunities exist for improvement, so further action can be taken.