Residents of three communities southeast of Edmonton will meet with a mining company Thursday night to discuss a proposal for a coal mine on 300 square kilometres of land.

If approved, the mine would be built over the next 40 years near Toefield, Ryley and Round Hill, employing an estimated 1,000 people.

Robert Hesketh, owner of the local bar and hotel in Round Hill, said he is skeptical about the proposal. Hesketh has been to two public meetings about the mine and his neighbours come by his pub to get the latest.

While issues like traffic are a concern, Hesketh said the biggest worry among residents is water shortages. Everyone in the area depends on well water, and some fear the mine may cut into the aquifers that feed the wells, he said.

"How is it going to be taken care of if there is a problem with the wells going dry? And who is going to incur the costs?"

Won't disturb aquifers: mining company

Michael Minnes, spokesman for the mining company Sherrit International, said there is no need to worry.

"Our intentions are not to go in there and create a disturbance to the aquifers. That doesn't sound like a partnership to us."

Round Hill turned down a proposal like this in the 1970s after some landowners wanted more buyout money. The group of farmers who turned down the proposal have stuck together the last 30 years, hoping for a new offer with a bigger payoff.

Hesketh said he has also been thinking about the benefits — the mine could mean up to 1,000 workers, and that's a lot of beers at his bar.