Clark calls on Premier Notley to personally engage, to meet with Chief Crowchild
The Springbank Offstream Reservoir project has been in the news a fair amount recently. Unfortunately, a good deal of the publicity has been given to the alleged lack of Tsuut’ina consultation on the part of the provincial government.
- Calgary Sun – Tsuut’ina deny Nenshi’s claim deal near on Springbank dry dam as new anti-flood measures for Calgary unveiled
- Calgary Herald – Nenshi’s claim of looming Springbank dam deal baffles Tsuut’ina
- Calgary Herald – Crowchild: Springbank dam is a non-starter
- Newstalk 770 – Tsuut’ina objects to Springbank dam flood mitigation proposal
- 660 News – Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart on Springbank Dry Dam : ‘Invite Tsuut’ina to council meeting’
Earlier this month in an open question period in the Legislature, Greg Clark, MLA Calgary-Elbow, had the opportunity to question Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Brian Mason on the Springbank project and to inquire whether the provincial government has truly engaged with the Tsuut’ina on the matter.
Indeed, Mason met with Chief Lee Crowchild in late March, and he shared the following about their meeting:
“We’ve had at least four face-to-face meetings with the Tsuut’ina. Staff of Alberta Transportation have spent 12 days on the land with them to make sure that they have access so that they can consider the traditional use. We’ve also provided funding to them for traditional use study. I had one face-to-face meeting with the previous chief and a significant number of his councillors and
administration with respect to this matter.
I also had a meeting just last week in Calgary with Chief Crowchild and several of his advisers. I was encouraged by the meeting. We provided them with information, the studies and so on that we’ve done, provided them with a record of the consultation that has taken place up until now, and we indicated that we are very hopeful for a very open dialogue with them to provide them with the information they need, to listen carefully to their concerns. I’ve subsequently written to the chief as well to follow up on that.”
- Read the full transcript of Clark and Mason’s exchange below
Also, Clark has written a letter to Premier Rachel Notley, requesting that she involve herself in the matter and that she personally meet with Chief Crowchild.
Chief Crowchild has said that it is his “goal to build bridges between Calgarians and Tsuut’ina. And shortly, [he] will announce several concrete steps to do that.”
We look forward to hearing what steps the Tsuut’ina propose and to what response Premier Notley gives to Greg Clark’s letter.
Regards,
Your CRCAG Board
CALGARY-ELBOW UPDATE
The following is an update to constituents sent out by the MLA for Calgary-Elbow, Greg Clark, who has consented to us sharing his message with all CRCAG members.
Dear Neighbours,
Last week I had the opportunity to question Minister of Transportation Brian Mason on the Springbank project as part of the 2017/18 budget process. One major area of concern is whether the provincial government has truly engaged with Tsuut’ina. It was good to hear that Minister Brian Mason had recently met with Tsuut’ina Chief Lee Crowchild (and I have also requested a meeting with him), but I feel it is important for Premier Notley to get personally involved.
I have written to the Premier to ask her to meet with Chief Crowchild because this is what Tsuut’ina have asked for, and I know how important it is for First Nations to hear directly from government leadership on important issues.
The full the full transcript of my questions to Minister Mason can be found at the end of this email, but I’ve summarized highlights of our exchange below.
As always, please contact my office any time if you have questions or comments on flood issues or anything else. Our contact information is at the end of this message.
Here’s to a dry spring!
G.
Is the Government committed to the Springbank project?
The short answer is yes.
In response to my questions, Minister Mason said:
“We believe that (Springbank) is the right project to protect Calgary and other downstream communities from a repeat of the 2013 flood. We looked closely at the reports that evaluated the different options, and this one was clearly superior in almost all respects. We continue to believe that it is the best option with the least impact, and we’re going to continue to proceed with that as a very high priority. It is, in fact, fully funded, and we remain committed to the project.”
When will Springbank be completed?
While the project is moving forward, the timeline for completion seems to be shifting. Minister Mason said the Springbank Offstream Reservoir will be operational by spring 2021, which is one year later than I was told previously.
Although there is some possibility the regulatory process will take less time than planned, recent history tells us that’s not likely. I will continue to push the government to move forward with urgency on the Springbank project.
Frustrating as it is, it’s important to respect the regulatory process and ensure it is conducted as openly and comprehensively as possible. This minimizes the likelihood of successful court challenges and is be the best way to ensure homes and businesses are protected from future flooding.
When will the regulatory hearings begin?
The four-season Environmental Impact Assessment wrapped up on March 31, 2017. The next step is to write a report, which forms the basis for the joint panel review by the Alberta Natural Resources Conservation Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.
Minister Mason indicated that the review will start this summer (he wasn’t more specific than that) and would take between 12 and 24 months.
Again, it’s a frustratingly vague timeline, but this represents the legislated timeframe for completing environmental reviews.
Consultation with Tsuut’ina Nation
Minister Mason met with Tsutt’ina Chief Lee Crowchild in late March to discuss their concerns.
Here’s what Minister Mason had to say about the consultation process:
“We’ve had at least four face-to-face meetings with the Tsuut’ina. Staff of Alberta Transportation have spent 12 days on the land with them to make sure that they have access so that they can consider the traditional use. We’ve also provided funding to them for traditional use study. I had one face-to-face meeting with the previous chief and a significant number of his councillors and
administration with respect to this matter.
I also had a meeting just last week in Calgary with Chief Crowchild and several of his advisers. I was encouraged by the meeting. We provided them with information, the studies and so on that we’ve done, provided them with a record of the consultation that has taken place up until now, and we indicated that we are very hopeful for a very open dialogue with them to provide them with the information they need, to listen carefully to their concerns. I’ve subsequently written to the chief as well to follow up on that.”
Impact of the Springbank Offstream Reservoir on Tsuut’ina and surrounding lands
Minister Mason said the following in response to my question about the impact on Tsuut’ina lands:
“It’s our belief that there will be no impact on the Tsuut’ina land. I think that’s a matter that we need to discuss and share information with the Tsuut’ina on.”
He also indicated that the Environmental Impact Assessment would provide definitive information about the impact (if any) on Tsuut’ina lands. In addition, there is $9 million budgeted to provide mitigation upstream of Springbank for Redwood Meadows, and $33 million for Bragg Creek.
Land Acquisition / Expropriation
The province has not acquired any new parcels of land beyond the three they had acquired in 2016. I urged the Minister to move forward with expropriation if the government is unable to come to a negotiated agreement. He indicated that this is an option, but did not want to speculate as to the timing for expropriation because he didn’t want to jeopardize ongoing negotiations.
Full Transcript: Main Estimates – Transportation
Mr. Clark: Thank you very much. Good morning, Minister and to
your staff. My questions are going to start with the Springbank dry
dam project, SR1.
Mr. Mason: No surprise there.
Mr. Clark: No surprise there. No. It’s very important to not just my constituents in Calgary-Elbow but to the economic viability of the city of Calgary and, I would suggest, to our entire province. So it’s very clearly is an important project. I just want to give you an opportunity to reconfirm your commitment to the Springbank project and to please confirm that the project is, in fact, fully funded and is a priority for the government.
Mr. Mason: Well, yes to all three of those things. We believe that this is the right project to protect Calgary and other downstream communities from a repeat of the 2013 flood. We looked closely at the reports that evaluated the different options, and this one was clearly superior in almost all respects. We continue to believe that it is the best option with the least impact, and we’re going to continue to proceed with that as a very high priority. It is, in fact, fully funded, and we remain committed to the project. We believe that in the end there will be sufficient levels of support from various stakeholders to ensure the successful completion of the project.
Mr. Clark: Good. I’m very glad to hear that. I will ask specifically about engagement with stakeholders, including Tsuut’ina, but I will ask that in a moment. What I wanted to just talk about first, though, is the timeline for the project. I’m basing my questions today on the presentation at open houses not quite a year ago, on May 10 and 11, 2016. At that time it talked about the environmental impact assessment wrapping
up by the end of March 2017 and then a three-month timeline to write up the results of that and to start to write the inventory review process. Can you just confirm that the environmental impact assessment has in fact been completed as of the end of March, and can you give us a timeline as to when the joint regulatory review process will begin?
Mr. Mason: Yes. Thanks very much. As you know, hon. member, we undertook a four-season study of the environmental impact, which required us to be on the land all four seasons. That just wrapped up at the end of March, and we’re hopeful that that report will be completed by early summer and submitted to the panel. We’re co-operating fully with the Natural Resources Conservation Board and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for the regulatory process, and everything is running according to schedule so far.
Mr. Clark: Do you have any sense of how long that process will be? It’s a fairly wide berth here at 12 to 24 months for a regulatory review process. Do you have any insight as to (a) how long it will take, and then (b) is there anything your department can do to make sure that that timeline moves along as quickly as possible?
Mr. Mason: Well, the first thing we can do is make sure that our submissions are as complete as possible. We’re putting in, I believe, the right resources to make sure that that happens. We’ve also made representations to federal officials and provincial officials that it would be our preference to do this closer to 12 rather than 24 months, but that’s their decision, and they need to take into account what they hear from other parties and the time that they need to assess the information and evidence that’s provided to them in the various submissions. We’re hopeful that it’ll be closer to 12 than 24. We still have a goal of having the project completed by the year 2020.
Mr. Clark: When you say the year 2020, is the objective to have it operational in 2020? Of course, it’s to mitigate flooding that happens in the springtime. If it’s operational in, say, the fall of 2020, of course, that’s effectively 2021.
Mr. Mason: Yes. To clarify, hon. member, we hope that it’s operational in the spring of 2021.
Mr. Clark: The spring of 2021.
Mr. Mason: Yeah, but finished in the year 2020. As you say, it’s a spring issue.
Mr. Clark: That’s a year later than you said last year.
Mr. Mason: I don’t think so. We’ll go back and look at what we said. I don’t think the timelines have slipped, as far as I know.
Mr. Clark: Okay. Well, anyway, we know now that the operational date is 2021.
Let’s move on, then, to the consultation process. The Tsuut’ina Nation have raised concerns recently, serious concerns that ought to be taken very seriously. I’m just curious if you can talk briefly about the consultation process and tell us if you have in fact met personally with Chief Crowchild.
Mr. Mason: Yes, I have.
I think there’s been a change in administration in the Nation. We’re working to bring to Chief Crowchild’s attention the work that took place in connection with the previous administration of the Nation. We’ve had at least four face-to-face meetings with the Tsuut’ina. Staff of Alberta Transportation have spent 12 days on the land with them to make sure that they have access so that they can consider the traditional use. We’ve also provided funding to them for traditional use study. I had one face-to-face meeting with the previous chief and a significant number of his councillors and administration with respect to this matter.
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I also had a meeting just last week in Calgary with Chief Crowchild and several of his advisers. I was encouraged by the meeting. We provided them with information, the studies and so on that we’ve done, provided them with a record of the consultation that has taken place up until now, and we indicated that we are very hopeful for a very open dialogue with them to provide them with the information they need, to listen carefully to their concerns. I’ve subsequently written to the chief as well to follow up on that. We take the relationship with the Tsuut’ina and our obligation to fully engage them in this process very seriously. We have agreed to have ongoing meetings with the Tsuut’ina on this matter in the future. I’m hopeful that we can get to the point where they’re satisfied that we have consulted them to the degree that they would consider necessary.
Mr. Clark: Given the importance of this project and I also know the importance of the nation-to-nation relationship, has the Premier met with Chief Crowchild? If she has not yet, will you personally encourage her to do so?
Mr. Mason: I don’t believe that she has. In terms of my relationship with the Premier on this matter, that’s something between us.
Mr. Clark: Yeah. I would encourage you, please, to do that. I know that that is important from the perspective of all indigenous people. Given the importance of this project, I can imagine it would only help. So I would encourage you. I’m certainly happy, obviously, to encourage the Premier myself to do that as well, but given that you are her cabinet colleague, I would ask you, please, to do that as well. Moving on then. as I look at the maps, this is a question that I have been asked. Specifically, what is the impact of an SR1 on Tsuut’ina land? Now, I know that the Redwood Meadows community is upstream of the SR1 and, therefore, would not be protected by it, but the actual structure itself, by my fairly rough calculation, looks like it’s at least five kilometres away from Tsuut’ina land. Now, that could just be me, you know, not having a proper, fully scaled map. Really, two questions: what specifically is being done to address flood mitigation upstream of the Springbank structure itself, and how close is SR1 to Tsuut’ina land?
April 6, 2017 Resource Stewardship RS-495
Mr. Mason: There are two items for upstream. To deal with the impact of the Springbank project on Tsuut’ina land, it’s our belief that there will be no impact on the Tsuut’ina land. I think that’s a matter that we need to discuss and share information with the Tsuut’ina on. I think that they are concerned that it may in fact affect their land, so again as we’ve conducted our environmental impact study, it may have a bearing. We’re doing a hydrology study, which would be shared with them as well. Just to correct your eyeball perception of it, I think it’s a little closer than five kilometres. I think that the closest point is about a kilometre and a half downstream from Tsuut’ina land. Upstream there’s ongoing work now at Bragg Creek that’s taking place to protect that community, and there’s money in Environment and Parks’ budget to do flood mitigation at Redwood Meadows as well. That work hasn’t been started. I don’t think the design is finalized. Obviously, there has to be quite a bit of consultation with respect to that matter as well. It’s $33 million for Bragg Creek and nearly $9 million for Redwood Meadows.
Mr. Clark: Thank you.
This project is going to require the provincial government to acquire land from private landowners. Can you give us an update on the status of the land acquisition? How many parcels have been acquired to date, and how many will be required to be acquired by the province?
Mr. Mason: Thanks for the question, hon. member. We’ve acquired three parcels of land. We’re in the process of doing the appraisals on the rest, and we’re in conversation with the representatives of the landowners with respect to that matter.
Mr. Clark: That doesn’t seem to have moved much in the past at least six months. That seems to be the same number that I understood, going back at least six months or perhaps further back. Do you expect to acquire more parcels through negotiation?
Mr. Mason: We’re very hopeful that we can acquire other parcels through negotiation. It’s a question of, first of all, making sure that we have good information about the values of the land, and that is in process now. There are a number of landowners who have indicated that they do not wish to sell their land for this project. If, you know, we can’t negotiate with them, then there are other options that are available.
Mr. Clark: Assuming that that other option you refer to is expropriation, when will that process start, and how long would it take. Is there a risk that it will have an impact on the overall pressure timeline?
Mr. Mason: We’re working very carefully to manage the project timeline so that we are not unduly delayed in the negotiations, but at the same time we want to be very fair to the landowners and negotiate a fair price for them and do that in a timely way. We’re still very hopeful that we can reach agreements with landowners on a voluntary basis.
Mr. Clark: But you said that some have indicated that they’re not interested in negotiating or arriving at a negotiated settlement. Given that, is there a plan to initiate the expropriation process reasonably soon?
Mr. Mason: You know, I don’t really want to jeopardize our discussions and relations by talking about those kinds of things. They’re rather speculative. We’re hopeful that we don’t need to go down that path. It is a key public project of great public interest to the people of Calgary. There are over a million people there as well as other downstream communities. We simply have to do everything in our power to protect those people and their property and the economic engine of downtown Calgary as well – let’s not forget that – from a repeat of the 2013 flood event.
Mr. Clark: Okay. There are some road realignments that will be required as part of this project: highway 22, the Springbank Road, range road 40, township roads 250 and 242. Have decisions been made on realignments for those roads, and when can we expect that work to begin?
Mr. Mason: Those details are being worked on now as part of the planning and design process and the engineering that goes into the project. I can’t give you more details at this time other than that’s all work that’s in progress. Obviously, starting work on the projects depends on the acquisition of the land.
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Mr. Clark: Is there any work that could begin prior to completion of the environmental review process or regulatory review process, you know, perhaps around road realignment in anticipation of successful completion of the regulatory process as a means of accelerating project completion?
Mr. Mason: Well, we’re considering some of those options. I think that we need to be careful that we don’t presuppose the outcome of the regulatory process that we’re in, as confident as we are in that. But, certainly, if there are ways that we can get a bit of a jump on the project by doing the work as you suggest, we’ll certainly consider doing so.
Mr. Clark: I’d certainly encourage you to do that.
Greg Clark, BA MBA
MLA Calgary-Elbow
Leader of the Alberta Party Opposition
Constituency Office Legislature Office
Suite 205 5014 Federal Building
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Calgary, AB T2S 2T6 Edmonton, AB T5K 1E7
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