County of Barrhead council discovers high cost of securing its own gravel site

BARRHEAD - The County of Barrhead hopes to secure enough gravel for upwards of 100 years, but doing that will come at quite an expense.

On Aug. 20, councillors awarded Green Play Ltd an estimated $234,355 contract to carry out environmental services for acquiring a surface material lease (SML) for a gravel pit on crown land.

Infrastructure director Ken Hove said that in its 2022-2026 strategic planning document, the county identified the need to explore opportunities to expand the county's gravel supply, adding the municipality currently operates four gravel pits near Fort Assiniboine, Vega, and two in Moose Wallow, not counting the SML application.

Hove said the property the municipality hopes to get an SML for is near Moose Wallow and contains two Crown corners. Stony Valley, a sand and gravel contractor based in Fort McMurray, had them both.

He added that the company has since let its SML go. If the municipality successfully gets these two quarters, it could "fulfil the county's future aggregate requirements for the next 75 to 100 years, depending on the volumes they find."

Unfortunately, county manager Debbie Oyarzun said it is a complex process, adding that the municipality needs to hire an engineering firm to do much of the required work.

Hove agreed, saying it is also a lengthy process. Depending on provincial environmental requirements, the entire process can take five to seven years and could cost up to $222,000.

He said in the 2024 budget, $45,000 had been allocated, but the payments would be made over several years.

Hove said the county approached three engineering consultants (the previously mentioned Green Plan and WSP Canada Inc., submitting a bid at $227,105 and Aspen Land Group Inc., whose bid came in at $399,166), asking them to provide proposals for the work required to receive SML approval, including environmental services such as project management, wetland, vegetation, hydrological, wildlife, fisheries, soil and archaeological-historical resource impact assessments.

He added that the municipality also asked the bidders to include information on Indigenous consultation, creating a conservation operation and reclamation plan (CORP), conducting a legal survey, and helping the municipality adhere to the Historical Resources Act.

"These are all standard," Oyarzun interjected. "But until they get out there, it is hard to put boundaries on them, and you don't know the size or scope of these categories."

Hove noted that administration vetted the submissions to ensure the consultants would provide a suitable product for the county and recommended council go with Green Play Ltd.

He also cautioned councillors, saying there is no set template for the companies to follow, and changes by Alberta Environment and Protection (AEP), Forestry and Parks, Indigenous groups and unforeseen regulatory requirements could escalate the costs involved.

Coun. Bill Lane asked if there was any danger of losing the prospective sites to other companies.

"Somebody else could also apply, but Public Lands knows the county has an interest in it, so I don't think they would let it go," Hove relied.

Deputy reeve Marvin Schatz asked for clarification on the impact Indigenous groups could have on the process.

Hove replied that as part of the process, the municipality has to consult with the area's Indigenous communities, which may be interested in the land, wetlands, plant species, etc., in the region that a gravel pit could impact.

He added that the municipality might have to consult with five Indigenous communities, but not all of them may have any interests in the area.

"Could it go as far as [an Indigenous community] wanting a royalty on all the gravel at the pit?" Schatz asked.

Oyarzun and Hove responded, no, adding, "It is still Crown land."

Reeve Doug Drozd asked if the costs involved, including reclamation of the site, would be worth it in the long term, noting the municipality sells the gravel to themselves.

"There are definitely benefits of having your own source, and I don't think the cost of gravel is going to go down," he said. 

Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com