Gravel Pit Proposed Near Stauffer Creek

[DonAndersen]

Folks,

 

There is a gravel pit proposed for an area just west of the Stainbrooks Springs Property that is the source of much of the water for Stauffer Creek.

What concerns me is the very real chance of upsetting the spring flows to Stauffer.

Some years ago Petro-Can did a ground radar study of the underground flows in the Stauffer Valley. The study revealed a lot of the underground flow would be directly in the path of the proposed gravel extracton effort.

I would suggest that those that care, reflect your care somehow. Dept of Environment is a great place to start followed by Dept of Fisheries and Oceans, and of course CC both your MLA and MP the letter you send. The information meeting date/place is below.

There is really no public venue to express your concerns other than writing letters. The most important letter you can wirte is to the:

 

 

Clearwater County,

Attention Planning Dept.

Regarding Associated Aggregates Inc. Application

P.O. Box 550

4340 -47 Avenue

Rocky Mountain House, AB | T4T 1A4

Office: 403.845.4444 | Fax: 403.845.7330

 

Note: the letters are time sensitive. My understanding is the development board will meet in August. Your letters must be in to them by mid-July in order to be part of the package going to the develipment board.

 

For those that care to understand and wish to respond to the proposal, I have copies of the covering letter and supporting documents that I'll be pleased to send you. donandersen@bamboorods.ca

 

regards,

 

Don

 

 

 

 

[wingshooter]

There is also an open house event put on by the proponent of the pit at the Butte Hall on June 23, 2014 from 4-6 PM, well before any brown drake hatches start. If we fill the hall with angry flyfishermen it might send a message.

[DonAndersen]

The best chance of derailing the proposal is the Development Permit stage. After talking to the Planning Officer, the Open House is of critical importance apparently. The Proponent has to record who attended and their concerns and has to submit these to the Planning Department. I urge you to attend the meeting and record your concerns. Ther open house is on June 23/14 from 4>8 pm at the Butte Community Hall which is located north of Caroline and within a mile or 2 of the Buck for Wildlife parking Lot on Stauffer Creek.

Letters in opposition to the proposal is also one way the public gets counted at this point. But be forwarned, multiple letters all addressing the same thing hold the weight of a single letter according to the Development Officer. Do not get discounraged with the letter writing though, address the issues as your see fit and forward them along.

However, if the proposal gets approved, the next stage is the appeals board where the public can make presentations. The appeals process must be started within 2 weeks of the Development Permit Approval.

Other Govt agencies get involved. ESRD Water Resources branch will deal with water issues. From my experience with the gravel pits at the mouth of the Medicine, the Alberta Govt bureaucrats duck and run and will not get in the way of any development.

The proposed pit is a reopening of a previous pit but with a significant difference. This pit will require dewatering as there will be a lot a water inflow from the aquifer the feeds Stauffer Creek. I was told the pit was abandoned due to water infiltration. The proposal shows a water retention pond that will hold the water pumped from the proposed new pit. How this will hold water is beyond me with the water table as close to the surface as it is.

The water table in this area is from 4>6' below the surface with a fine example provided by the County of Clearwater when they rebuilt the east/west road on the north side of the proposed development. The removal of dirt from the ditch created a spring flow along the north side of the road that flowed <>200 yards to Stauffer Creek. Brook Trout utilized this spring to spawn in for 2 years till the grasses etc. stopped their movement into the spring area.

The 1/4 section directly to the east is owned by a number of folks. The north side of Stauffer has two owners, the banks and shorelines on the stream are held under an ecological lease by the County of Clearwater, the south bank landowners are held jointly by the Alberta Conservation Association, Trout Unlimited Canada and Alberta Fish and Game Association.

I hope you find the info complete and useful.

If you have any questions, feel to send email.


regards,


Don

[Conor]

I have some experience with ESRD Water Approvals. Downstream water rights always get their attention. I'm not familiar with the proposal, but it seems high risk to impact flows and the ability of the drainage system to maintain existing downstream rights.

 

If anyone knows a rancher or farmer with rights on the North Raven/Raven system, please let them know of this proposal. Their words will speak louder than ours. Also, if you write a letter, noting something about water rights in addition to your concerns about the fishery might help it get noticed.

 

Does anyone know the name of this project? Also, has there been public notice with a number to call in our concerns?

[DonAndersen]

Conor,

 

Great idea on water rights.

The proposal is called the Hankinson project.

 

 

Don