Friends of the Raven
The Raven River needs your efforts to help protect it. We need as many of us to write letters of concern to Clearwater County in regards to the 25 January 2023 Aspen Land Group on behalf of Border Paving Ltd. and Edward Kiem application for Consolidation of Two Existing Sand and Gravel Pits ( https://www.clearwatercounty.ca/p/proposed-applications-and-bylaws?fbclid=IwAR0DaXPOsgKxjk4U57dfuzjX_eVnKvrkkDwGFWihcMjMMz4PxW5xEqiABas ). The deadline for comments is Feb. 8, 2023.
As you will recall Border Paving was previously interested in developing a wet gravel pit in this area which resulted in a very well attended open house. They have since withdrawn the application for a wet gravel pit and have decided to develop this area as a dry pit. This is a much better option than a wet pit, but there are a number of concerns that are not addressed in the current application. The primary concerns not addressed are the amount of gravel available and the distances to the water table in the proposed pits. Please take the time to review Helge Nome’s recording of the open house ( https://vimeo.com/376706187 ) or at least the following portions we have highlighted to understand why we need to express concern with the current application. Review (19:29 - 23:00) and (42:30 – 44:00) as this information indicates that the water table isn’t static and suggests that proposed dry gravel extraction needs to specifically indicate the procedure used to determine the mean ground water level prior to excavating.
Other concerns/ideas that letters may include are:
- An extension for letters is required due to incomplete application provided by Clearwater County
- The application seems incomplete. Page 11 of the, "COP" report stops in mid sentence right when they start talking about water, which is very important
- The public must be provided with the whole consultant report and verification that a qualified, certified and registered geologist completed it
- The application does not address ground water
- Considering past information presented by BP indicated dry gravel resources had been exhausted, an open house is needed to understand this new approach/application
- Border Paving (BP) inconsistencies: 2015 -at Open House BP says 25 years of dry gravel available -Development Permit approved, 2016 BP applies to Clearwater County to amend permit to include wet gravel, 2017 BP applies to Alberta Environment for Water Act Approval for wet mining, Alberta Environment denies application since 2015 Open House said dry gravel extraction only, 2019 BP Open House for Development permit to include wet gravel extraction, after mounted resistance BP pulls wet permit application
- Personal attachment to the river, springs, etc. (e.g., I fish/birdwatch/hike for 20 days every year)
- Two properties owned jointly by three conservation organizations (Alberta Conservation Association, Alberta Fish & Game Association and Trout Unlimited Canada) for the perpetual protection of the headsprings of the North Raven River are threatened by this development, as well as, the entire North Raven River
- The North Raven River is known as a Blue Ribbon Stream world famous for its fishing
- The North Raven River contributes $400,000.00 year to Alberta from direct angling alone, local business have stated that $350,000.00 of their revenue is from the North Raven fishery
- Many consider the North Raven River Alberta's greatest conservation story with millions of dollars being spent by Alberta's hunters and anglers over the past 49 years restoring this creek in addition to thousands of volunteer hours
- Even dry gravel extraction in this area is concerning. Past Clearwater River flood events demonstrate that the river could revert back to its original channel (North Raven River channel), and this threat is only enhanced with downstream gravel pits.
Please take the time to write a letter even if it is brief. The North Raven needs us to ensure its continued protection.
Thank you for your efforts! Please feel free to forward this information to whomever you believe is willing to help.
For more information you can join our Friends of the Raven Facebook page which is proving to be a great conduit of information (https://www.facebook.com/groups/2379267918862574). We also suggest contacting Sonya Savage the Minister of Environment and Protected Areas (aep.minister@gov.ab.ca) or your local MLA representative or Clearwater County Council Member with your concerns.
P.S. I received your email through a mutual friend and the timeline is very short, so we had to get this out now. Please forgive any typos or oversights. Thanks Dean
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