The Gravel Pit Fight Continues
Greetings from the North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society. Many are wondering where we’re at with the gravel pit fight. Rest assured several volunteers have been working diligently over the past months to continue the battle. Bottom line - we’ve got good news and bad news.
Notice of Public Meeting
Mark your calendar - a public meeting is scheduled to provide a status report regarding the proposed gravel pit and other related issues. It’s not dead yet folks.
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Woodbend Community Hall
Note: All members of the North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society are invited to attend the Annual General Meeting from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
The public information session commences at 7:00 pm.
You won’t want to miss this public meeting – it’s an important one! Meeting highlights will include:
• progress report from the Chair and Committee Chairs;
• ongoing lobbying efforts of the Society in regards to amendments to the City’s Municipal Development Plan;
• status of Freedom of Information Requests and Findings;
• fundraising status and needs;
• proposed Woodbend Natural Area plans;
• petition results; and
• the ongoing need for volunteers.
Status of Qualico’s Application and Dunhill’s Ongoing Efforts
We were informed on February 11, 2009 by Qualico’s legal counsel that they have allowed their option to purchase the land expire and that they will no longer be pursuing the applications they have with the City and Province.
The Society and the community should be congratulated on their efforts as this is very good news - however, the landowner group, led by Dunhill Group Inc., continues to actively seeking alternate proponents to buy the land for gravel extraction. Subsection 3.5.2 of Edmonton’s North Saskatchewan River Valley Area Redevelopment Plan Bylaw No. 7188 states that, “it is a policy of this Plan that natural resource extraction industries shall not be developed unless their location within the River Valley is deemed essential by Council.” We feel there is no legitimate argument that the gravel extraction at this location in the river valley is “essential”. We have increasing support of politicians at all levels of government opposing gravel extraction in Edmonton’s river valley. Nonetheless, we anticipate a long hard fight. In order to justify a high purchase price for the land, it is likely that Dunhill will continue to push for a land use approval that allows gravel extraction. It appears, therefore, that the fight will be ongoing until the city bylaws explicitly and unconditionally prohibit natural resource extraction in the river valley.
North Saskatchewan River Valley Conservation Society Membership
Response to formation of the Society has been overwhelming. The message is clear. No one wants industrial development in Edmonton’s river valley. Many well-known conservation groups have come forward to join the Society and endorse our efforts to stop the potential for gravel extraction in the river valley once and for all. Our membership is growing and now has over 200 individual registered members. This is now a broad city-wide initiative. As well, five esteemed
organizations have accepted positions on our Board of Directors. These include:
• The Sierra Club of Canada, Prairie Chapter;
• Water Matters;
• Legacy Lands Conservation Society;
• Western Canada Wilderness Committee;
• Alberta Wilderness Association.
Others such as Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Edmonton Nature Club are actively
engaged in supporting the Society’s efforts.
Woodbend Natural Area
A comprehensive document has been written highlighting the diverse environmental attributes of the Woodbend Natural Area, not the least of which include the unique wetlands area that environmental groups consider to be among the most important in the Capital Region. The Society held a press conference in October of 2008 to publicize the associated environmental attributes and announce the Society’s intention to work with conservation groups, land trusts, and governments to purchase the Woodbend Natural Area lands so they can be conserved as a protected Natural Area.
If you would like to view a copy of the proposal unveiled in October, visit our website at www.edmontonrivervalley.org (or type in this link: http://www.edmontonrivervalley.org/?p=14).
Links at the bottom of the page include “Nature at its Best,” the vision document for the proposal to create the Woodbend Natural Area.
Municipal Development Plan Amendment
The City is in the process of adopting a new Municipal Development Plan (MDP). The Society is actively lobbying to have the new MDP include a provision that would prohibit natural resource extraction in Edmonton’s river valley with no exceptions. Our position was presented to City Council by Michael Phair, a former City Councilor and current active Board member of the Society. Michael’s presentation was well-received. The Society is now proceeding with an active advocacy effort to push for inclusion of this prohibition as the proposed new MDP is expected to be coming back to City Council for further review early in the spring of 2009.
Petition Success
Thanks to the support of several volunteers and the leadership of Linda Wade and Joan Witty, we have now collected over 7,000 signatures on the petition to stop Qualico’s proposed gravel operation. It was presented in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and has been noted as the highest number of signatures ever submitted on a petition at one time. Thank you to everyone who provided support in gathering signatures and to all who signed. Note: we anticipate moving forward with a related online petition in the near future, tied to our efforts to amend the MDP.
Legal Issues
The Society continues to work with its legal counsel to seek clarity and pursue legal grounds to oppose the gravel project. This includes representations to all regulatory authorities at all levels of government. In addition, many individuals are pursuing Freedom of Information and Privacy requests with the City of Edmonton.
Need for Volunteers
Several people have volunteered for various tasks over the past year. We want to thank you for your support. We believe that the decision by Qualico to let their option expire was largely driven by the overwhelming community opposition.
A small group of individuals continues to work diligently to ensure that we are doing everything we can to stop gravel extraction in the river valley. As you can appreciate, we need more support. From small to large tasks, we need more bodies because there will be new priorities in the coming months. Please reply to this e-mail or contact us at info@edmontonrivervalley.org if you are willing to volunteer in any capacity. Be sure to include all of your contact information.
For more information, visit www.edmontonrivervalley.org or contact Kevin Wilson,
Communications Chair at 780.913.1021.
