While we wait for a decision from the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) following the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1) public hearing in March, things have been fairly quiet in the news. But we did receive the latest SR1 update from Alberta Transportation, below.

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MAY 2021 NEWSLETTER
The Springbank Off-stream Reservoir (the Springbank Reservoir or SR1) is a flood mitigation project that would mitigate future floods like the one that devastated Calgary and southern Alberta in 2013. The Springbank Reservoir is a key component of Alberta’s flood mitigation strategy for southern Alberta and Calgary and is planned to be located adjacent to the Elbow River, west of Calgary. The Springbank Reservoir requires approval from the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP), and the provincial Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB).

As the project continues through the regulatory process, the Government of Alberta will be issuing regular newsletters and updating the Springbank Reservoir project webpage to share current project information and important milestones. You are receiving this newsletter because you are on the Alberta Transportation Springbank Reservoir subscribers list. If you would like to unsubscribe from these newsletters, please follow the instruction at the bottom of this message.

• The Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) recently held a public hearing to review the SR1 project.
  • YouTube Videos from each day of the hearing are available here.
  • Transcripts from each day of the hearing are available here.
  • NRCB stated that it will deliberate for up to 80 working days from the close of the hearing on April 7 before issuing its decision report and determining if SR1 is in the public interest.
• The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) is currently completing its Environmental Assessment report on SR1.
• This spring and summer, Alberta Transportation will be conducting fieldwork to gather information on groundwater, environmental factors, and historic resources where limited seasonal windows of opportunity exist to conduct these studies. If SR1 is approved, the information gathered from this work will provide baseline data and inform project monitoring.
  • Landowners who own land where access is needed will be contacted in the coming weeks.
  • To learn more about the SR1 draft environmental mitigation and monitoring plans, please see the responses to the IAAC Round 1: Supplemental Information Requests available here.

If you haven’t already signed up to receive the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir e-newsletters from Alberta Transportation, you can subscribe here.

Regards,

Your CRCAG Board