Water Over Gravel:
Impacts of Aggregate Strip Mining in the Sturgeon River Watershed
Host Rod Olstad talks with Ian Skinner and Mike Northcott, volunteer founders of the Onoway River Valley Conservation Association. Ian and Mike challenge the aggregate mining industry especially in their rural region just northwest of Edmonton, in the Villeneuve and Callahoo areas aka Sturgeon County and Lac St. Anne County. After 20 years of volunteer public and political engagement on this issue, their conclusion is that the loss of functioning aquifers and, arguably, the serious impairment of the Sturgeon River as a functioning eco-system are unacceptable costs of aggregate strip mining. They also conclude that the apparent unwillingness or inability of Alberta Environment to properly regulate this industry can be explained by the notion of “regulatory capture”. It appears that serious environmental consequences are being ignored. An element of “ "social disavowal" , or the active choice not to notice may also be at play here A timely, historically informed perspective of aggregate strip mining in Alberta, especially in the context of proposed strip mining of metallurgical coal in Alberta’s Eastern Slopes.
Links and Background Info:
-The new Sturgeon County Aggregate Mining policy review and recommendations are linked here: https://www.stalberttoday.ca/local-news/sturgeon-county-shakes-up-sand-and-gravel-rules-hnatiw-toms-shaw-3529527
-This Environmental Appeals Board hearing from 2004-5 is referred to a number of times in the podcast: Mike Northcott vs. Director, Northern Region, Regional Services, Alberta Environment. 2004 http://www.eab.gov.ab.ca/dec/04-009-11-12-R.pdf
-Thanks to Kevin Van Tighem for his definition of a watershed as “A landscape with a river at its heart”. See: https://www.livingstonelandowners.net/finding-water
-Maps of the Sturgeon River Watershed (hydrological overview): http://www.nswa.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2005/05/sturgeonMap.pdf
-8 sections of land have been mined for aggregate along the Kilini Creek near Mike Northcott’s home with a further 80 sections of land in this area under consideration for further mining.That’s just within one sub-sub watershed in the Sturgeon River Sub-Watershed. (See: https://www.onoway.ca/visitors/nature-tour)
The North Saskatchewan Watershed Alliance: Sturgeon River Sub-Watershed: See: https://www.nswa.ab.ca/subwatershed/sturgeon/
The Onoway River Valley Conservation Association: https://albertacorporations.com/onoway-river-valley-conservation-association
-Canada’s Groundwater Resources, published in 2013: https://www.amazon.ca/Canadas-Groundwater-Resources-ALFONSO-RIVERA/dp/1554552923
-A comprehensive hydrological overview of the Sturgeon River Watershed: https://www.nswa.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Summary-of-Groundwater-Conditions-in-the-Sturgeon-River-Basin-A-Oiffer-January-2019.pdf
-It appears that the Sturgeon River is over allocated, especially if/when water usage exceeds the licensed amount (which, apparently, is not an unusual event): "This approximation to the monthly water use in the Sturgeon for 2015 indicates an increased pressure on water resources and the river ecosystem during the summer, particularly July and August, when the estimated use clearly exceeds the monthly flows. In July, estimated use is around 123% of the long-term stream flow median for this month, while this percentage rises to 237% when the period from 2000-2015 is considered.” See p. 9: https://www.nswa.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Information-Bulletin-Sturgeon-River-Hydrology-new-format.pdf
-Sturgeon River Watershed Management Plan (2020): https://www.nswa.ab.ca/the-sturgeon-river-watershed-alliance/
-Sturgeon River, State of the Watershed Report (2012): https://www.nswa.ab.ca/resource/sturgeon-river-state-of-watershed-report-summary/
-Regulatory Capture, Definition and Theory: https://study.com/academy/lesson/regulatory-capture-definition-theory.html
-Oil Profits, Pipelines, and the Human Cost of Regulatory Capture, by Bruce Campbell, former ED of the Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives, 2016: https://monitormag.ca/articles/oil-profits-pipelines-and-the-human-cost-of-regulatory-capture/
-According to this document, there is up to .006 retrievably ounces of gold per ton of aggregate in the Villeneuve area. So, there could be up to 6000 ounces of gold per 1 million tonnes of gravel washed and sluiced. On Mar. 9, 2021, The Canadian price of gold is $2, 165.00. So, for every 1 million tons of gravel mined in the Villeneuve area, the mine operators could expect to “earn” between $2.165 million and $12.33 million. See pp. 71-73 https://static.ags.aer.ca/files/document/OFR/OFR_1990_09.pdf
-Gold, Platinum and Diamonds Placer Deposits in Alluvial Gravel Whitecourt, Alberta: 2007. Placer gold, platinum and diamonds are found in alluvial gravel near Whitecourt, AB. https://www.ags.aer.ca/document/SPE/SPE_089.pdf
-Review of Metallic Mineralization in Alberta with Emphasis on Gold Potential = 2011, by the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board "Modern and preglacial placers are currently the most prospective sources for gold in Alberta.” (See Abstract): https://www.ags.aer.ca/document/OFR/OFR_2011_01.pdf
These two maps show the area structure plans for Callahoo and Villeneuve. QEA (Quick Extraction Area) and REA (Resource Extraction Area) are gravel and sand extraction/strip mining sites in the two regions. Totaling 5-6 sections of land or about 5-6 square miles.
Distribution of Preglacial Sand and Gravel
Map of Kilini Creek Dam where 1.7 million metres cubed or more dammed water used for gravel wash facility.
Kilini Creek (major tributary to the Sturgeon River) An "unauthorized" diversion to create a reservoir of water for gravel wash plant.
Dried out Creek bed, evidence of disturbance or destruction of small tributary due to gravel and sand mining mining operation near Villeneuve.
Sand and Gravel Mining location near Villeneuve.
"Reclamation" of Sand and Gravel Strip Mining Operation Between Callahoo and Villeneuve.