Suzanne Oel – Division 4
Greetings! Sharing my News Update…
Foothills County Enforcement & Fire Complaint Chart: Please refer to this chart as a reminder about who to contact in response to various situations where you may wish to register a complaint or make an inquiry as to follow-up action. These three agencies are a phone call away – numbers are listed in the chart. Please contact Foothills County Protective Services (Peace Officers) regarding traffic, bylaw, and animal complaints. When it comes to urgent enforcement complaints, please call the local R.C.M.P., or in an emergency call 9-1-1. If you need to report a fire or burn complaint, please contact our Foothills Regional 9-1-1, for dispatch of the Foothills Fire Department and other agencies as needed.
The Community Aggregate Payment Program: Rural municipalities and the Alberta Sand & Gravel Association (ASGA) are working together through a program, enabled by a Provincial Regulation, to offset the multiple impacts which this industry has on the local municipalities. The ASGA represents over 125 member companies that produce over 80% of Alberta’s processed aggregates. The Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) represents 69 counties and M.D.s in coordinating with the ASGA and the Provincial government regarding the Community Aggregate Payment (CAP) Program. After discussions and public processes, this program between cooperating industry and municipalities has evolved. Since negotiations are currently under way for updating the Community Aggregate Payment Levy (CAPL) Regulation, I thought I would share with you a bit of history on a matter of importance to Foothills County.
CAP Program Background
- The Community Aggregate Payment (CAP) Program was enabled in 2005 and a Community Aggregate Payment Levy (CAPL) Regulation, under the Municipal Government Act, came into effect in 2006.
- The RMA and the ASGA were involved in its creation.
- CAPL is a tax on industry that impacts municipalities (effects on taxpayers, costs to taxpayers, municipal roads, landscapes, watersheds, etc.).
- The CAP Program and the CAPL Regulation are in effect through the Government of Alberta. The CAPL Regulation details the reporting of tonnage by aggregate producers and includes the maximum rate. The initial rate was $0.25/tonne of aggregate extraction. In the 2016-2017 review, CAPL increased to $0.40/tonne. The CAPL Regulation can be found here: kings-printer.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/2005_263.pdf
- Not all municipalities use CAPL. If municipalities decide to go forward with this, a CAPL Bylaw is required and a rate is determined locally. Foothills County has a CAPL Bylaw.
- CAPL expires at the end of 2022. Discussions are going on now between RMA and ASGA. ASGA has requested changes. Municipalities want CAPL funds to continue to support municipalities for offsetting the effects of the operations of this industry. The Alberta Government may extend the renewal date.
- Our County believes this levy has led to a lot more approvals because the industry then lessened its burden on municipal taxpayers by paying the tonnage fee to the local municipality.
- Effects of this industry include road damage, dust (air quality) from extraction-crushing-transport, noise, traffic, inconvenience, annoyance, sometimes 24/7 operations, potentially devaluing of neighbouring properties, environmental concerns, landscape alteration, etc. Reclamation is also a part of this industry process.
- Gravel is a non-renewable resource, and it must be managed well. The Province of Alberta approves the use of sand and gravel. Municipalities are involved because it is their jurisdiction to do a land-use change to re-zone properties for industrial natural resource use, through a public process. Municipalities also incur the damages and receive the complaints.
- The Province of Ontario also has a CAP Program.
Volunteers Needed: Hope you are able to take part in the local events in our beautiful county! Congrats to all Community Associations and their volunteers for making these fun events happen. Please consider joining with the teams in our community to make a difference and to add your valuable perspective and a helping hand. We need you!
For Other News & Updates:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/CouncillorSuzanneOel/
Email: Suzanne.Oel@FoothillsCountyAB.ca
Best wishes this Christmas Season!
Suzanne
