Stauffer Creek under threat
 

Folks,

Contrary to what Border Paving executive told us at the first public meeting, they wish to expand their gravel extraction below the water table according to ACA mouthpiece, Let’s Go Outdoors.

A public meeting hosted by Border Paving will make a presentation at the Butte Community Hall November 28/19 5>8 pm.


Below is what arrived via the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers



From Let's Go Outdoors:

Breaking story:

Millions of conservation dollars and countless hours of work to improve stream bank and fish habitat along the North Raven River could go out the window.

Border Paving Ltd is proposing changes to their operation permit seeking to mine gravel below the water line.

Why is this significant?

The North Raven River is a spring fed river, it's soul source of water is provided by underground aquifers. The request by Border Paving to mine below the water line could have a significant impact on the under-ground water way, potentially cutting off the water source that provides the water to the river.

Open House

Border Paving will be hosting an open house Thursday November 28 at the Butte Hall from 5 to 8pm. If you are concerned about this proposal and the threat it poses to one of the top Brown Trout rivers in Alberta, I would encourage you to attend.

Thank you for the notice. I unfortunately can't attend but would appreciate any updates from the meeting. I would write an a letter to show my support against this idiotic gravel proposal.

I do not know why this gravel proposal would even be considered by the municipality and government.

As Red said. Having this meeting on a Thursday night does not allow me to attend. Have it on a Saturday and I’ll be there likely with three others in tow. Who can I write to or send an email to, so I can voice my thoughts on how irresponsible this is and how it would effect one of Alberta best blue water fisheries.

BW

Call the county 403-845-4444 and ask for a package. Gravel extraction here is a really bad idea... the headwaters of the N. Raven to the Clearwater should be a no go zone for wet gravel pits. I'm going to make a point of attending the meeting and I encourage everyone else to.

Some additional information here if this helps:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=372435

The Clearwater County has not yet received any info from Border Paving. This info will arrive after the public meeting Nov 29/19.

The Border Paving Application Process and some thoughts
 

Border Paving Application

Many of the folks who had read the Facebook or web site pages may not be aware of the steps that are taken for a Development Permit to be issued for the construction of the Gravel Pit. To aid in the understanding of what happens and when it happens I contacted Eleanor Pengelly, Development Officer, Planning & Development Department of Clearwater County where the proposed Gravel Pit will be located.
Here are some general guidelines for the process regarding gravel (aggregate) pit applications in Clearwater County and timelines in the process.

1] The applicants hold a pre-application meeting with the County's planning department

2] The County provides the applicants with mailing information for adjacent landowners

3 The applicants schedule an open house to inform adjacent landowners of the proposal – this is to take place at the Butte Community Hall November 28/19.

4] The applicants invite adjacent landowners to the open house and advertise the open house in a local newspaper

5] The applicants hold their open house and present their proposal to the public, gathering feedback and answering questions (up to this point, the County directs inquiries to the applicants and encourages the public to attend the open house)

6] After the open house, as part of their development permit application, the applicants submit an open house report to the County, including who attended, what the concerns are and how the applicants will mitigate those concerns

7] Once the County deems the development permit application complete, the County sends out a referral package to adjacent landowners and affected parties such as Alberta Environment, to solicit comments regarding the proposal.

8] The County gives 30 days for referral comments to be received (all written comments received are compiled to be presented to the Planning Authority)

9] At this point, the applicants may provide additional information or amend their application

10] Once the final application information is complete, the County schedules the application to go to the Planning Authority (the Municipal Planning Commission) for a decision (this board meets once a month)

11] Once a decision is made, copies of the decision are sent out to the adjacent landowners. Municipal development permits are subject to appeal for three weeks from the date of decision


12] If appealed, a Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB) public hearing is held. The SDAB can approve, change or refuse the permit

13] If a municipal approval is granted, the applicants provide a copy of their development permit to Alberta Environment so that the provincial applications can go forward (such as Water Act approvals, Code of Practice Registration, Reclamation etc.)

14] As far as municipal timelines go, these can vary anywhere from three to six months, depending on the complexity of the application and sequence of events.



OK – now you have the process, I will add some personal comments about the process
1] If you want additional information about the Proposal, contact Bobbi Medin at Border Paving at 403 343 1177.

2] If you wish more clarification please contact Holly Bily (lead development officer) or Eleanor Pengelly at the Clearwater County Office.
3] In addition to provincial approvals, gravel pits are subject to municipal development permit approval.

If you wish to comment on the Proposed Gravel Pit, you should:

1] Attend the public information session hosted by Border Paving November 28/19 at the Butte Community Hall from 5>8 pm. Your attendance and comments will be reflected in the Border Paving Development Permit Application to Clearwater County.

2] Letters to the Dept. of Environment regarding the application. I would write the Minister, Jason Nixon detailing your concerns.

3] My understanding, if the development permit is issued by Clearwater County, a Water Act Approval is required. This application triggers an another process where advertisements and public comments can be made. At this point, The Dept. of Environment Approval Officer Terrina Perley in the Red Deer Office should be where you write to express your concerns.


4] It must be understood that your concerns may not be considered as you do not fall within the guidelines of the Dept. of Environment for the directly effected. To be directly effected you generally must live within a short distance of the proposed development. Over the last near 30 years, the "directly effected concept" has virtually stymied may citizens who have concerns of how their province is managed. However, loud voices scare politicians. Make yours heard.


Regards,



Don Andersen

WRONG DATE

Public meeting is November 28/19 NOT the 29th.

Having just sold two quarters of land for gravel I have a couple points to make.

Watch for the application to include an onsite asphalt plant. If there is, it would definitely heighten the concern for residents nearby and complicate the application. They may also be looking at adding this after the initial proposal is dealt with. Might be a question to ask BP at the Open House and a written concern to the relevant Municipal and Provincial Departments.

Also who is doing their application? Usually a Firm is retained to make sure the Municipal and Provincial requirements are totally complete on the applications. BP may have their own person doing applications, but usually go to a Professional Firm, which also usually consists of ex-Govt. Environment Employees.

"Wet" mining of gravel requires lengthy and very intense application requirements.

Clearwater County and their Development Staff are very open and great to deal with for both the Applicant and for persons/Organizations opposing the proposal .

Terrina Perley, Dept. of Environment Approval Officer...not so much...for the Applicant or for persons/Organizations opposing the proposal.

Best bet is Jason Nixon.

Jim

Just to add I find it kind of weird that Clearwater County has not received the package they are going to present at the open house. The open house is down the line of steps from the initial County Development Officers Meeting to discuss the project and preparing and submitting the Application at the Municipal Level for review.

Maybe it's a test run for BP to see the level of push back to this project before spending too much time and money on it.

Media
 

Would Global or CBC news pick up the story? Public outcry would help the cause.

Others are working at getting someone out.

Don

More Info
 

Attachment 159216
I am not sure if the attachment works but here are details of the proposal direct from Boarder Paving. The map isn't a great visual for showing how the water likely flows through the gravel from the Clearwater river to the headwater springs on the North Raven but this pit will basically intercept and "choke" it off.

Also note that three other quarters in the area are already owned by gravel operators and I would expect every other quarter in the flats will be purchased at $1,000,000 plus a pop. No hard feelings for guys selling out....it would be pretty tough to turn down what gravel operators are paying.

Critical to understand that this "short distance" refers specifically to distance from the primary residence to the nearest edge of the affected property for the required Water Act approval by AEP and is legally defined as 1.6 km (1 mile). Any resident further away may well be ignored. Case law has it that upon appeal, this distance has been modified to almost 2.5 km to accommodate the nearest residence.


The sweet and short of it is that without the direct involvement of nearest residents directly affected, it does not, and will not matter what the rest of us think.


The current stage of this process is the county development approval. Border Paving needs this in hand before they go to AEP. In this process, I would think that any resident of Clearwater County has a voice right now.


Vic

That sounds very reasonable.

Who Are Directy Affected?
 

Note there is county lease property nearby and "conservation / environmental protective easements" all along the headwaters. In my mind we all own property along the headwaters and should all be considered stakeholders.

Make your voice heard!