Mountain View County council has adopted an updated gravel reclamation strategy for the municipality, which will be used by the county to guide reclamation of gravel pits moving forward.
The move came during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting. The strategy was prepared by administration on the direction of council.
Reeve Bruce Beattie says bringing gravel reclamation into one strategy will be helpful to owners and the county alike.
“Over a number of years we have looked at reclamation of our gravel pits and we asked operations to come up with a more detailed plan,” said Beattie.
“They have always had plans for gravel pit reclamation, but this brings it all together so council has a good idea of how each of the pits are going to be reclaimed, when they are going to be reclaimed, and the potential cost for those reclamations.”
When evaluating the future end use for a gravel pit the county will use the Gravel Reclamation Strategy 2019 to determine future land use for the property.
The strategy would included analyzing past land use prior to the property becoming a gravel pit, analyzing current land use surrounding the gravel pit, forecasting how or if potential land use surrounding the pit is changing, considering environmental considerations on end land use, and economic development opportunities, and community input when appropriate.
“When nearing the completion of aggregate extraction at a pit a decision will be required by the county to determine what will be the end use of the pit,” the plan states.
Possible end use options include the following (quoted from strategy):
• Agricultural – Would involve turning the land back into farmland, pasture or hay land. In the past this has been what most of the county gravel pit end use (has been).
• Forestry – Would involve planting trees and reforesting the gravel pit. This would be a consideration of a gravel pit such as Winchell or Deersprings.
• Wildlife habitat – Would involve designing of a wetland or natural area. This option has been explored for the Campbell pit.
• Recreation – Would involve using the property to construct public space or parks. In this county and others this has been done to create golf courses, campgrounds, day use areas and gun ranges.
• Industrial or residential – This is common in urban centres when gravel pits get rezoned to be subdivided. For example, in Calgary the large commercial area Quarry Park was once a major gravel pit.
• Other uses – There are always proposed land uses that arise but that cannot be forecasted. These land uses are based on demand either by economy or by availability of land.
Both agricultural services and operational services are involved in the reclamation process.
“During the reclamation process the information collected from the previous soil assessments and from the five-year reports (compiled by administration) are used to apply for the reclamation process,” the strategy reads.
“Once the soil reclamation activities are completed, agricultural services completes the re-vegetation activities, selecting the appropriate seeding mixture.
“Agricultural services performs a detailed site report once there is sufficient vegetation and submits the report with the application for reclamation certificate from the province.”
The plan includes a listing of pits in the county and estimated costs of reclamation, starting in 2019 and extending to 2050.
The total estimated cost of reclaiming all 14 pits is $3,162,765.
All gravel pits in the county must adhere to federal and provincial regulations, including the provincial Public Lands Act and the Code of Practice for Pits.
“It is important for the public to realize that we do have a plan in place for reclamation of all our (county-owned) pits and we have a successful history of reclamation,” said Beattie.
The complete strategy is available on the county’s website.
Council passed a motion to adopt the gravel reclamation strategy 2019.
