Patricia Fish, a mother from Lac Ste Anne, never imagined she would be a community leader. In fact, she never imagined she would be sitting in cold dimly lit building with others like her fighting to protect their community. The volume of the conversation in the room increased. People were frustrated with what was happening to their communities.

Patricia Fish raised her voice "I see this is as a gift because if I wasn't doing this work, I wouldn't be securing clean water for my children." Three years ago, Patricia had just moved to Lac Ste Anne, seeking the rural Alberta countryside. Instead, she discovered her neighbourhood would be right beside a gravel pit mine for the next 15 to 30 years.

From a family of farmers, Dale Christian is familiar with the threats gravel mining poses to the environment. She has battled gravel applications in her community located near Red Deer tirelessly since 1992. Christian is no ordinary grandmother: She invested time to understand the role of an aquifer located in her community at the junction of the Red Deer River and Medicine River. In turn, this knowledge led to her to volunteer with the Red Deer Watershed Alliance and Butte Action Committee. As a result, she recognizes the value of the aquifer near the Red Deer and Medicine River to recharge groundwater and support habitat for wildlife and fish. According to Christian, the gravel in the aquifer has aided in flood retention because the aquifer could absorb water on the banks of the Red Deer River. Due to the continual mining of the aquifer, the loss of gravel in the aquifer has decreased the capacity of the aquifer to absorb water, thereby making flooding a regular reoccurrence for people living on the Red Deer River's banks.

Christian says the real challenge is the repeated applications to mine the aquifer. Consequently, these repeated applications have worn away the enthusiasm of the community and has stressed her family. After defending the aquifer for so long, Christina is frustrated with provincial policies surrounding gravel. And, sometimes Christian asks: "Why do we have to do the Government of Alberta's job? Why do I have to do the county's job to protect this aquifer?"

Patricia Fish didn't move to Lac Ste Anne to live by a gravel pit. A small business owner, Fish became a community organizer determined to find out what she could do for her family and community. She amassed the support of local businesses, her neighbours, and others in her community.

Fish joined the Lac Ste Anne Community Group. To learn more about gravel and the rules of applications, she became familiar with municipal bylaws. She found that poorly written municipal bylaws could be a reason why councilors felt compelled to pass development permits to allow gravel mining.

The Lac Ste Anne Community Group drafted stronger bylaws than what was already on the books addressing the permitting of gravel mining. These were proposed to the municipal council. Fish says existing municipal bylaws "hold little merit" because the councilors feel unprepared to handle gravel pit mining applications due to their regulatory and environmental complexity. So councilors, according to Fish, seek to approve gravel-mining applications, expecting provincial environmental policies to be responsible for the application. Once the gravel-mining application is passed to provincial process, communities have few opportunities to participate in the decision about the future of that gravel mining application.

More about gravel mining

Gravel can be found in your home, office, coffee shop, and road. This gravel most likely came from a community close to you, a community who is fronting the cost of gravel mines. Gravel mining can affect the lives of communities and have an adverse effect on the water, land, wildlife, and fish. But challenging gravel-mining applications is not easy, especially against companies with resources to deploy an army of consultants.

Not all gravel is the same. The type of rock, silt, sand, and clay determine the grade of gravel, all of which are graded from very dirty to clean. Gravel is made of glacial deposits that are classified as pre-glacial, glaciofluvial, and alluvial. Glacial deposits that make up the mixture of rock, silt, sand, and clay are like fingerprints. They are unique in every community large and small. Often, the sand and gravel mined are pre-glacial deposits that makeup aquifers, which provide people with groundwater. Aquifers provide people water, and along rivers, these aquifers supports habitat for riparian zones and fish that also act as an important corridor for wildlife. And, different types of gravel have different prices.

Gravel Mining in Alberta

Alberta is the second largest producer of sand and gravel in Canada after Quebec. However, accurate numbers to track the tonnes of sand and gravel in Alberta are hard to find. At best, Natural Resources Canada in 2008 estimates Alberta produces 54 million tonnes of sand and gravel, valued at $478 million dollars, which is voluntary data they must rely upon from companies. The three provincial departments, Energy, Sustainable Resource Development, and Environment govern gravel in Alberta; yet none of them knows the total tonnage of gravel that is collected, consumed, or sold on public and private land. Last year, the Alberta Gravel and Sand Association attempted to discover the value and tonnage of aggregate in Alberta. Unfortunately, poor participation from gravel industries made those numbers unattainable.

The environmental effects of gravel mining can include the loss of habitat for fish and wildlife. Sometimes gravel mining can change ground water levels. Long-term implications of gravel mining can result in contaminated groundwater, which can affect well water that families rely upon. This contamination of groundwater can happen when the clay-rich sediment that seals the surface of an aquifer is broken. When these layers are exposed, they "serve as a conduit for contaminants into the entire aquifer" because the gravel pit "can also allow surface runoff containing extraneous chemicals, such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and sewage, to enter the groundwater system" (Richards and Peel, 2003: 81).

Community input to gravel mining

Dale and Patricia have learned the importance of focusing on local municipal planning as a key area to prevent the harmful impacts of gravel mining.

Municipal bylaws if drafted properly could eliminate gravel mining from certain sensitive areas. Bylaws could also place significant restrictions on the way gravel mining occurs. Provincial permitting does not always provide a strong tool to address impacts. At the local level, communities can negotiate solutions that protect the environment and communities. The unfolding Land Use Framework may offer some opportunities for communities to designate certain areas as off limits to protect water sources. Sierra Club hosted a gathering for communities affected by ensuing gravel applications on January 30, 2010. The gathering concluded stronger municipal bylaws and provincial policies are needed to protect gravel that provides people clean water, supports fish and wildlife, and protects peoples' homes.

Sources

Alberta Environment. 2004. Guide to the Codes and Practices for Pits. Edmonton, AB: Government of AB. (accessed November 10, 2009).

Christian, Dale. Personal Communication. Telephone Interview. November 19, 2009.

Edwards, W.A.D. 1995. Open File Report 1995-08: Mineral Aggregate Commodity Analysis. Edmonton, AB: Alberta Geological Survey. (accessed November 16, 2009). Available in print.

Energy Resource and Conservation Board. 2009. Year in Review, 2008. Calgary, AB: Energy Resource and Conservation Board. (accessed November 16, 2009). Available in print.

Fish, Patricia. Personal Communications. Telephone Interview. November 24, 2009.

Gandy, Catherine et al. 2004. The Hydrogeological Behaviour of Flooded Sand and Gravel Pits and its Implications for the Functioning of the Enclosing Aquifers. Upon Tyne, UK: University of Newcastle. (accessed December 1, 2009).

Natural Resources Canada. 2008. Mineral Production of Canada, by Province and Territory. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada. (accessed November 20, 2009).

Mendelsohn, Donna. Personal Communications. Telephone Interview. November 16, 2009.

Muhlbeier, Teri. Alberta Sand and Gravel Association. Personal Communication. November 13, 2009.

Peckenham, John M., and Thornton, Teresa. 2006. Can Gravel Mining and Water Supply Wells Coexist?. Orono, Maine: University of Maine, Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research. (accessed November 25, 2009).

Richards, Jeremy, and Peel Don. 2003. The Application of Sustainable Development Principles to the Alberta Aggregates Resource Sector. Exploration and Mining Geology, 12 no. 1-4, pp. 79-95.