Sherritt International [in partnership with the Ontario Teachers Pension
Plan and Epcor] is proposing to develop a large $1.5B coal gasification
project 3/4 of an hour south east of Edmonton. The primary purpose of this
project will be to produce syngas and/or hydrogen which then can be sold to
bitumen upgraders, refineries and the heavy oil industry. Sherritt hopes to
cash in on further tar sands expansion.
The area of the project is approximately 312 sq kms [most of which is
productive agricultural land] and will be bordered by the town of Tofield,
Village of Ryley and hamlet of Round Hill.
Daily water usage of the gasification plant will likely equal the daily
water consumption of a small city like Camrose. Water used for the plant
will be City Of Edmonton treated "dirty" water which currently is returned
back into the North Saskatchewan River to replenish the river's water
levels.
A pipeline will deliver the water from Edmonton to the proposed plant
site. When used in the gasification process, water is broken down into
hydrogen and oxygen .... and is not recoverable. Water put through the
gasification process is lost forever.
Coal in the project area will be strip mined and this mining process will
effect a number of watersheds including the Battle River Watershed, Beaver,
Vermilion River and ultimately the North Saskatchewan Watershed.
Coal seams in the area are a good source of potable ground water. Strip
mining these coal seams will not only disrupt this valuable source of water
in the mining area but also in surrounding areas and potentially even 10's
and 100's of miles away.
More details on the project can be found at:
http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Dodds-Roundhill_Project.html
RH-DAPA [Roundhill - Dodds Agriculture Protective Association] has a
discussion and information forum at www.armleg.com/rhdapa which you are
welcome to join to participate in or simply browse.
Please note: The RH-DAPA forum at http://www.armleg.com/rhdapa/
consists of open discussion, personal opinion and related information.
Neither the Round Hill - Dodds Agricultural Protective Association nor
those involved in moderating the forum, are responsible for the content of
the posts.
