Proposed Gravel Pit Near Bighill Spring Provincial Park – Update By Lesley Peterson, TUC Provincial Biologist
Last year, Trout Unlimited Canada became aware of a proposed gravel pit in the area of the aquifer that feeds the springs of Bighill Springs Provincial Park, a major contributor to Bighill Creek, a small creek flowing through Rocky View County and the Town of Cochrane, AB. TUC shared our concerns with Rocky View County asking them to reject a proposed bylaw change to facilitate the Summit Pit from being developed. Despite the concerns raised by TUC and several other groups and community members, the County did provide the development permit and the proposal is now before Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) for review under the Water Act.
Water Act application shave a relatively public comment period (typically 14 days). The deadline to submit statements of concern for this project is January 31. The gravel pit proposal involves removing 13 wetlands and mining gravel to within 1 m of the groundwater. TUC is concerned that the gravel mining operation proposed by Mountain Ash could have potentially negative effects on the aquifer that feeds the springs and creek. Removal of a large volume of material in this location may reduce the filtering capacity of the overlying sediments which could negatively affect water quality and flow and impair the health of the system.
The public notice can be viewed here and includes instructions for submitting statements of concern. TUC’s statement of concern can be viewed here.
If you share our concerns, please consider submitting your own statement of concern to AEP.
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