ATHABASCA - Athabasca County wants no part, and does not support a project proposed by the summer villages surrounding Baptiste Lake, to undertake any excavation of Baptiste Creek.
At their July 14 meeting, county councillors discussed the project, proposed by the mayor of the Summer Village of South Baptiste Blaine Page, that would see the east bank of Baptiste Creek at the bridge on Township Road 665A excavated to prevent further sloughing.
Dialogue with Alberta Environment and Parks has indicated the ministry would prefer the county apply for the authorization, while the summer villages can perform the work.
County manager Ryan Maier explained that some residents of the summer villages believe that previous work by the county at the bridge led to the sloughing of the east bank and that is limiting the outflow of the creek and causing high water levels at Baptiste Lake, which has led to problems for residents there.
“We’re a little bit cautious with anything that has to do with the environment, especially digging into creek beds, so we were a little hesitant, a little reluctant to be involved,” said Maier, laying out the recommendation from administration that the county decline becoming involved.
He also pointed out that Environment and Parks has already approved the project, with certain conditions. That approval came with the caveat that the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans also has legislation that must be followed.
“From our perspective, they can certainly do that, but it’s not something that we would be overly interested in undertaking, as there are a lot of concerns from our perspective” he said.
Reeve Larry Armfelt said he was “amazed” approval from the province came through so quickly.
“We are not comfortable with the decision, based on potential environmental impact,” he said. “It all may work out well, and it’s fine if it does … but I want to make sure they understand that we’re not really comfortable with this decision.”
He also wondered if the nearby Hutterite colony had been consulted and if it would have an effect on their operations on the north side of the bridge.
Coun. Travais Johnson said it’s a bigger project than it looks like on the surface with the sediment and erosion control measures that must be followed.
“That’s a very costly and expensive thing to do and we shouldn’t be involved,” he said. “If it increases water flow and causes trouble downstream on county land then we’re causing more trouble. We’re not in favour of this job.”
Coun. Warren Griffin agreed with Armfelt and Johnson and pointed out that Fisheries and Oceans still had to get involved as the creek does support fish, which can lead to hurdles for final approval.
Griffin put forward a motion to authorize administration to advise Alberta Environment and Parks that Athabasca County does not support the initiative to undertake any excavations of Baptiste Creek.
