Joint Letter to ECCC: Concerns about the Proposed Coal Mining Effluent Regulations

February 12, 2026

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• Coal
• Headwaters

On February 12, 2026, AWA, along with 13 other agricultural, community, environmental, health, landowner, and
recreation organizations wrote to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada to express our deep concern about the federal government’s Proposed Coal Mining Effluent Regulations (CMER), last updated in 2022.

We requested that the federal government refrain from publishing the CMER until the following concerns had been addressed:

• The suite of contaminants controlled through these regulations is expanded
• Effluent limits are clearly linked to the best available science on the protection of aquatic life.
• All facets of the coal industry are subject to the regulations, with no exemptions.
• Effluent limits apply immediately when the regulations come into force and hold all mines to the same stringent standards.
• All coal mining operations are subject to monitoring, immediately and continually until water quality downstream returns to reference conditions upstream.
• The regulations account for cumulative effects, regional variability, and climate change.
• Consequences for coal mines that release effluent exceeding limits or effects thresholds are clearly established and effective in preventing environmental harm before it occurs.

The letter can be read in full here.