Aeration Question Supposed To Appear In Legislature

[DonAndersen]

Going on now.

 

http://assemblyonline.assembly.ab.ca/Harmony/pb3/powerbrowser_Desktop.aspx?ContentEntityId=2908&EssenceFormatID=75&date=20151027&browser=0

[bigbowtrout]

Go to the 1:57:45 mark

[danhunt]

It won't load for some reason, what is the good word?

[Crowsnest]

govt says.."we're aware of it, and looking into it, We'll get back to you"

[danhunt]

Sounds about right... Thanks!

[Ricinus]

Don't call us, we'll call you..

 

Mike

[dryfly]

With logic like Shanny's we are doomed. She personally has protected the Castle by creating a park (even though we can't look after the parks we have) and she claims she has worked to protect fish in the headwater and Castle drainage and by (illogical) extension she implies we have protected all fish in Alberta. Did I hear that right?

 

It is definite that nothing is very clear or certain regarding Police Outpost Lake as ACA apparently does not manage aeration there. I rec'd this email today from AE&P senior fisheries bio. I will post an update if things change or as more info arrives.

Alberta Environment and Parks – Parks Division has supported aeration of Police Outpost Lake in the past. I’m not exactly sure of the current situation regarding the implications of liability. However, it is my understanding that POL was not aerated last winter and aeration is not planned this winter. I had a chance to correspond with Keith Bocking, and he indicated that discussion of aeration has also included the issues of cost and mechanism for service delivery. Keith is in a better position than I to explain the Parks perspective.

 

Will post more when available.

 

I think the best course of action (and Don noted this earlier today when he wrote his MLA) is to alert municipalities and cities. More clout that fish.

[DonAndersen]

Clive,

 

Plus I ruined the afternoon of the county when I pointed out the issues on their aerated sewage lagoon at Nordegg. Plus I pointed out the approvals for farm sewage systems.

Got a meeting with town today. Gonna ruin their day.

Hopefully get through to someone in Calgary regarding the sewage outflow.

Pressure by large cities, municipalities, businesses etc will have a lot more effect than a few fishermen.

 

Regards,

 

 

Don

[dryfly]

Sent this email today to several people...sorry, poorly formatted ...images missing..you will get the idea....

 

Clive

===========================================

RE: Aeration at Police Outpost Lake (POL) ... and "parks" budgets

Thanks for your reply.

Please note that some of this letter has nothing to do with fisheries management directly. And despite my seemingly critical tone, I and others appreciate our fisheries and the work done by you and many others including ACA. Thanks.

The law regarding aeration
The criminal code is worded much stronger then mere "liability" in that should a person die as a result of open water, those responsible can be charged with manslaughter. It is serious stuff. The law is frankly absurd given our climate and the fact that most cities in Canada have ponds or rivers which they keep open in winter. The city of Lethbridge keeps the river open at the water plant and AE&P (presumably) operates/owns the weir in the city and water remain open below the weir in winter. AE&P manages dozens of water-control structures across the province, either in flowing or still water, that cause water to be open all winter or cause water to prematurely open come spring. This is much much bigger than merely lake aeration.

These examples are no different than aerators keeping water open. As the law is now worded, a mayor, reeve or the Hon. Shannon Philips might be charged with manslaughter should some idiot fall into the water kept open by a man made device or structure. The criminal code is clear:

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Case law has determined that signage and fences are not adequate. A change must be made to the law that accepts "due diligence" as a defense against idiots and at the current time it does not. I am sure your Minister is not about to change the law for some fish, but she, her colleagues and municipal leaders might be interested in repercussions of this old law given their personal liability in case of a death in any body of water for which they are responsible.

Perhaps the legal team in E&Ps can get around this somehow. This is much bigger than a few dead fish....it needs fixing.

Aeration at Police
We were not aware that POL was not aerated last winter. I attended POL on March 26, just a few days after ice out, and indeed there were no aerators in the lake at that time. It is possible they were removed a few days before. See photo below.

Ignoring repercussions of the criminal code, it is a concern that POL perhaps was not aerated last winter that apparently there were no plans to do so this winter (even before this inane legal issue arose.)

Fortunately, the past several years have had higher than average precipitation and water levels at POL are quite high. But in all likelihood, sooner or later when we go into a drier period (such as in the 30s and 80s), fish will die over winter if E&Ps is unable to aerate. See the outdated sign at POL below. Occasional winter kill at POL is a reality. (Well I guess the sign may no longer be out of date.)

Can you please explain to me why POL was not aerated? You referenced ____ 's email and you stated, "​
...the issues of cost and mechanism for service delivery..." Do you mean it is too expensive to aerate? I understand that E&Ps own 3 or 4 aerators of which 2 or 3 were purchased by the Oldman Chapter of TU.

If this is a money issue, then I will be taking this up with the Minister as it is unacceptable. One could ask: why bother stocking this high-end lake with expensive stock with the aim of raising large fish if we can't afford to keep them alive?

Yesterday's budget shows that the "parks' portion of E&P's budget increased by $11 million, or close to 12%, a huge increase in times of constraint and with inflation at 1.5%. Perhaps some of this increase will go toward existing park operations. I know this is beyond your authority, but one would hope that increase is not all going toward the proposed Castle Park, as conceptually attractive as the proposed park appears. We also need to maintain existing parks and services as well.

I know this is not your mandate, but while I am on this subject (and have an audience), I've also included a couple of photos of the disgraceful condition of the interpretive signs at POL provincial park hiking trail ... most are damaged, missing or contain incorrect information.

Mike, thanks for any clarification you can offer. Much appreciate your help.

Regards,

Clive Schaupmeyer
Coaldale

POL March 26, 2015...no aerators
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Outdated sign at POL ... don't take it down just yet. ☺
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NOT FISHING RELATED: Missing signs at POL hiking trail .. September 2015
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NOT FISHING RELATED: Incorrect information .. September 2015
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