All eyes are on the four-member NRCB hearing panel as they deliberate the future of the SR1 project
The Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) is expected to make a decision before the end of July on the future of the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1) project.
A public virtual hearing ended on April 7, which included six different parties and Alberta Transportation as the applicant.
The hearing looked at the need for the $432-million project, as well as its social, environmental, and economic impacts. Many groups upstream from the SR1 say they were forgotten in this flood mitigation project.
Ron Kruhlak, an environmental lawyer for Alberta Transportation, gave the final argument on April 6 in support of the dry off-stream reservoir that will store water temporarily during a flood.
“In the aftermath of the devastating 2013 flood of the Elbow River, the Government of Alberta made flood mitigation on the Elbow River a matter of the highest priority. The proposed Project is the Government’s direct response to the 2013 flood,” he said.
He mentioned the five fatalities in that flood event and over $5B in damages. Bragg Creek, Redwood Meadows, Canmore, and Banff were also heavily impacted.
Based on historical accounts, a flood of some magnitude is expected on the Elbow River every eight to ten years.
Approximately 25 per cent of the lands in the SR1 area have already been acquired through voluntary purchases. But many stakeholders have spoken out against the project since it was presented in 2014.
Richard Secord, a lawyer for the SR1 Concerned Landowners Group (SCLG), delivered the closing argument against the SR1.
“If approved, one community wins flood protection to a 1 in 200-year level, and one loses its environment, its heritage, its inheritance, its culture, its quality of life, and potentially its future,” Secord said. He stated that the SR1 will sit idle while severe drought and climate change carries on and questioned why a flood-mitigation project couldn’t serve multiple purposes.
SCLG argues that other projects like an in-stream dam on the Elbow River and McLean Creek (MC1) would offer flood protection, provide recreation, and supply a water source for wildfire suppression.
“In response to the repeated submissions of the SCLG and others that alternatives, such as MC1, would provide greater benefits than SR1, Alberta Transportation reiterates that the wisdom of selecting SR1 over other alternatives is not the issue before the Board,” Kruhlak repeated during his final argument.
According to the latest cost analysis in 2019, SR1 will cost $463,401,085, while MC1 would come with a price tag of $406,658,880.
“The hearing I thought was extremely biased towards Alberta Transportation. Simply because it seems they have an unlimited amount of money to put towards the planning phase alone of SR1,” said Dr. Karen Massey, Redwood Meadows resident and member of SCLG.
Specialists can afford to focus on specific topics, whereas many of the opposing groups are made up of volunteers without the same resources, Massey added.
Bill Pringle, a land developer in the Springbank area who works with the majority of families whose land would be expropriated for SR1, said there are many missed opportunities if SR1 is approved.
Studies in the hearing can address that there are no significant environmental issues with SR1, but there may be better options, Pringle said.
He suggested creating communities around several smaller reservoirs in the area. This would add recreational value and homes, as well as flood mitigation simultaneously.
“What I think is tragic beyond the waste of money–the province is going to waste a billion dollars–is that our city on what should be a flagship community on its western side is going to end up with a mosquito infested area that has to be sterilized in case it’s needed,” he said.
He pointed to the homes in Springbank and noted that people are willing to pay a big buck to live on the west of Calgary.
They are going to take 3,000 acres of land worth $600M and sterilize it without considering cheaper and more economical options, he said. The land development industry was not engaged in this project, he added.
A senior communications specialist at NRCB confirmed they would issue a decision within 80 working days of the final hearing day.
Masha Scheele, HCN Staff
media@highcountrynews.ca
