The province will be issuing regular newsletters to update the public on the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir project (SR1).

You can read the July and August newsletters, plus sign up for future issues online at alberta.ca/springbank-off-stream-reservoir-sign-up-for-updates.

Provincial regulatory review

Most of the responses to the provincial Round 2 questions have been filed. The outstanding responses relate to fish and fish habitat and required fieldwork that was conducted this July and August; those responses will be filed in the fall. The provincial Round 2 information requests were issued in November 2019.

The next step will be either a Round 3 of information requests or the commencement of pre-hearing processes. We will keep you updated once we know more about what is to happen.

Federal regulatory review

Transportation has responded to 4 of the 5 federal Round 2 questions and the regulator is reviewing the responses as they are submitted. The fifth response on land use will be filed at a later date. The federal Round 2 information requests were issued in March 2020.

All filed responses to both regulators can be found by visiting the SR1 resources page.

To keep this project moving expeditiously, Transportation has undertaken to complete a number of other regulatory requirements early. Modest time gains but important nonetheless.

• Working with AEP for other permits, namely the Water Act. Although it would not be granted until the outcome of the hearing, AEP will review the application and complete any required consultation ahead of the hearing.
• Working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on the fish offsetting application that has to be submitted in order to operate the project. Again, DFO will consider most of the application prior to the regulatory ruling, at which time they’ll then be able to complete the offsetting application and approval.

We’ve previously estimated that the earliest we’d see the NRCB hearing would be Q1 2021 and the earliest we’d see construction would be fall 2021.

Following regulatory approval, SR1 would take two years to build to a functional one-in-100-year capacity, and three years to build to full completion (capacity of the 2013 flood).-Government of Alberta

If you have any questions, please reach out to us at info@crcactiongroup.com.

Regards,

Your CRCAG Board