Burnco Rock Products is hoping to return the Roe Gravel Pit in Rocky View County (RVC) – last used for extraction purposes in the late 1980s – back to operation.
The concrete and aggregate company made a proposal to RVC at the July 26 council meeting to redesignate the site from an agricultural general district to a direct control district, accommodating aggregate extraction.
Reclamation efforts of the 19.32-hectare piece of land about 4-kilometres west of Irricana were undertaken by the County after operations stopped, and Garrett Scheffel, a planner with RVC planning and development services says site recovery is nearly complete.
"The site is in the final stages of reclamation, however, it has yet to be returned to the landowner," he said.
Burnco currently operates a large extraction site to the southeast of the Roe pit.
The company estimates that 1.2 million tonnes – or five to 10 years – of viable aggregate remain at the proposed site, according to the application. All of it is located beneath the water table within an unconfined aquifer.
According to Burnco Land and Resource Manager Travis Coates, who presented to council at the meeting, the company's existing Irricana site reserves will be depleted in two to three years. Returning the Roe pit to operation would allow operations to continue longer and could create a potential benefit of $600,000 for RVC with $0.40/tonne paid to the County, said Coates.
It also would remove the need for an additional $50,000-plus from the County in reclamation liabilities associated with the Roe pit.
"Burnco is therefore proposing to assume the [Alberta Environment and Parks] registration from the County and restart extraction activities," said Scheffel. "Operations would include earthworks, loading and scaling only as the excavated material would be transported along a proposed trucking route where the materials will be processed at the existing Burnco operations to the southeast."
The trucking route proposed is along Range Road 270, designed as a low-volume gravel road. Some potential offsite impacts from the reopened gravel pit would include air quality, road degradation and maintenance, and added trucking traffic.
While most of Burnco's Master Site Development Plan (MSDP) was found to be consistent with requirements under County policy regarding aggregate operations, there were some inconsistencies that Scheffel highlighted to council.
"This includes the applicant's decision not to provide the required technical studies to administration which would allow the County to properly assess the proposal's potential impacts," he said.
Required technical studies include a hydrological assessment, an environmental screening report, a noise impact memo and an air quality impact memo.
Administration also requested but has not received supporting plans from Burnco, for stormwater management, landscaping, erosion and sediment control, construction and traffic management, and detailed reclamation.
Council voted to refer the Roe Gravel Pit MSDP back to Administration to work with Burnco on satisfying the technical requirements and submissions of a MSDP prior to further consideration by Jan. 31, 2023.
They are also requesting the revised MSDP address policies committing the applicant to submit the same plans requested from administration prior to the development permit stage.
Coun. Kevin Hanson said he supports the idea of having the pit returned to production under the condition that a revised MSDP meet the County's requirements.
"I wouldn't mind a little more of a seat belt and a little different language that allows us to address potential problems that may inexplicably crop up," said Hanson. "I would like to see this piece of business complete and this piece of land back to being productive and not just a liability."
The scheduled public hearing for the gravel site was advertised on June 28 and July 5, 2022 on the RVC website. The county received one letter of concern in regard to the application.
SR1 Land Use Plan
Rocky View County administration will undertake an internal review of the draft Springbank Off-Steam (SR1) Land Use Plan when released and create opportunities for engagement from the Springbank community before providing feedback directly to Alberta Environment and Parks.
Council voted unanimously in favour of a motion to implement the measures at the recommendation of administration at their July 26 meeting.
"I hope that there's a better reaction from the province to the input from municipalities and stakeholders than there was on the formation of the project itself," said Coun. Greg Boehlke. "I think we were totally ignored."
The County will be seeking feedback from local landowners, residents and community groups on the draft SR1 through written responses and an online survey to collate the community's and County's positions to the AEP.
Mail-outs and digital communication channels will be used to notify Springbank area residents when the feedback period opens.
