PART 1 A Guide to Aggregate Extraction in Rocky View County What is aggregate? Aggregate generally describes any sand, rock, gravel, crushed stone,

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1 PART A Guide to Aggregate Extraction in Rocy View County What is aggregate? Aggregate generally describes any sand, roc, gravel, crushed stone, and shale typically removed from the ground through surface excavation. Aggregates are the most mined materials in the world. However, for the purposes of the County s Aggregate Resource Plan, we will use the provincial definition set out within the Code of Practice for Pits (2004): Aggregate means any sand, gravel, clay, or marl that is excavated from a pit, whether in a processed or unprocessed form, but does not include reject [aggregate expected to be unsuitable for use as a product] Why is aggregate important? Aggregate is used in all types of construction projects across Alberta. Everything from schools and houses to hospitals, bridges and water treatment plants require aggregates to be built. Its extensive use within these projects may include landscaping, foundations for buildings or the surfacing for roads. As a non-renewable natural resource, it needs to be protected and extracted in a responsible manner. Examples of aggregate uses: A typical six-lane highway in Alberta requires as much as 24,855 tonnes of aggregate per ilometre. This includes graded gravel for the road base, sand and gravel in asphalt and concrete pavement, plus medians, bridges, overpasses and retaining walls. Newly constructed rural roads require approximately 2,72 tonnes (approximately 00 truc loads) of crushed gravel per ilometre. Re-gravelling rural roads requires approximately 483 tonnes or 22 truc loads per ilometre. A typical family house uses as much as 60 tonnes (2 truc loads) of gravel beneath the basement floor, for drainage around the foundation, in the construction of lanes and driveways and for stucco and masonry. (AAMDC, 2007) What are the benefits of aggregates? Aggregate development can provide other benefits to local communities beyond being a component used for development and maintenance of infrastructure. The aggregate industry provides a direct financial benefit to landowners where operations are located on their land through royalty and surface rights payments. The local municipality itself may benefit financially by approving an aggregate operation within its boundaries through the payment of higher property taxes and the collection a community aggregate levy. Alberta municipalities have had the ability to charge $0.25 per tonne extracted within their authority boundaries since 2006 following enactment of the Community Aggregate Payment (CAP) Levy Regulation (AR 263/2005). Rocy View County s CAP Bylaw specifies that all collected CAP levy payments are to be spent on building, upgrading and maintaining its road infrastructure. The County has collected over $0 million from the CAP levy since 2006 and rans within the top four of CAP levy collectors in Alberta. According to CAP levy data collected, Rocy View County produced approximately 4 million tonnes of aggregate in 204, which was 5.79% of Alberta s overall production rates.

2 The aggregate industry may also provide indirect financial benefits to the municipality or community in which it operates by providing a local aggregate supply and by offering support for community facilities or activities. At a provincial level, there are estimated to be between 3,500 and 4,000 sand and gravel pits and/or surface material operations located in Alberta (AAMDC, 2007) and the Alberta Sand and Gravel Association highlights that, on average, 0 to 5 tonnes of aggregate is consumed each year for each Albertan. In 204, Alberta produced 69 million tonnes of sand and gravel at a value of $775 million to the economy and was the second raned province/territory in Canada for aggregate production after Ontario, providing 30.9% of Canada s 223 million tonnes of aggregate (Natural Resources Canada, 204). Figure below shows what Canada s aggregate is used for. Figure - Uses of aggregate within Canada (AAMDC, 2007). As aggregate is only found in certain areas where it has been deposited, it is important to protect and properly manage this valuable, non-renewable resource as much as possible. Ongoing development around the County and in neighbouring municipal areas is steadily depleting the available resource within existing sites. Consequently, it is important to ensure that new aggregate sites become operational to fulfil demand. With commercial and residential development increasingly expanding across previously undeveloped areas, it is also crucial to ensure that this development is not undertaen on or near to land which has a viable aggregate deposit, as this will prevent any future extraction of the resource from occurring. How are aggregate sites developed? There are several phases to undertaing aggregate extraction and processing: Site exploration phase the operator will undertae a search for potential sites using a range of des-based and field techniques. Information on the quantity and quality of the resource within a site will be assessed to determine if there is a viable resource that can be extracted. In some cases, a landowner may also undertae their own site investigations to establish the quality and quantity of aggregate within their parcel.

3 Regulatory approval phase the landowner or operator will obtain all the necessary municipal and provincial approvals for the aggregate operations proposed. This usually comprises obtaining the appropriate land use designation and development permits at municipal level before proceeding to apply for pit registration under the provincial Code of Practice for Pits. Site preparation phase this phase involves establishing the infrastructure necessary for the aggregate site to operate and includes establishment of haul roads, construction of any on site buildings and plant and set up of product stocpiling areas. It also involves the initial stripping of the top layer of soils (top soil, subsoils and overburden) to gain access to the aggregate resource. As soils are stripped, it is common that they are stored around the perimeter of the site in berms which have the benefit of screening future extraction operations. Extraction and processing phase once the site is established, extraction will begin. For larger sites, aggregate extraction will liely occur through several phases over a period of time. As the resource is extracted, it is either processed and stocpiled on site or taen to another site. Extraction can tae several years to complete depending on the volume of aggregate available and the demand for the resource in the surrounding area. Site reclamation The aim of all reclamation activities is to return the land to a state which is of equal or better quality than that which existed prior to extraction operations. Once the operator has reclaimed their site in accordance with the approved restoration scheme, Alberta Environment inspectors may issue a reclamation certificate confirming satisfactory reclamation of the land. Preferably, a site should be progressively reclaimed as extraction progresses. This minimises the surface area of the pit open to views from adjacent lands and also ensures that the land is returned to a beneficial use as soon as possible. Aggregate sites are often reclaimed with an end land-use in mind, whether this be agriculture, recreation or commercial/residential development. Where are aggregates located in Rocy View County? The County is currently woring with consultants to map areas of potential aggregate deposits and is utilising a variety of data sources identify the areas where the resource is located. These data sources include: Existing geological survey data obtained from Alberta Geological Survey. Aerial photographs and satellite imagery Soil classification data Information on existing aggregate sites Map appended to this guide shows the deposit areas identified so far. It also shows the location of existing privately operated and County operated pits, together with all land which has a land use designation of Natural Resource Industrial (NRI). The NRI land use designation allows aggregate development to tae place on the land, subject to the landowner or operators obtaining a development permit for the intended use. Throughout the process of developing the Aggregate Resource Plan it is expected that landowners and industry representatives will come forward to comment on the accuracy of the aggregate mapping undertaen by the County and identify further areas for investigation and mapping.

4 Landowners and operators can provide comments on the mapping or suggest new areas for investigation by getting in touch with the County. Contact details are provided at the end of this guide. Request for feedbac Are you a landowner with a proven aggregate deposit on your parcel not covered by the mapping? Do you thin we have mapped the aggregate deposit correctly, or are there areas that should be amended? What concerns are there around aggregate development? Although extraction of the aggregate resource is essential to the maintenance and growth of Rocy View County, and more widely to the growth of Alberta, such activity has the potential to cause significant conflict with neighbouring land users. Some commonly held concerns amongst communities around aggregate sites relate to the following: Noise Visual impact Air quality Traffic Timescale of aggregate operations Reclamation Industrialization of rural areas Alberta municipalities and the communities they represent often do not feel sufficiently reassured that the impacts of a proposed aggregate site can be controlled to an acceptable level. This has previously led to the refusal of planning and development permit applications for aggregate proposals. It is therefore desirable for municipalities to provide a planning framewor which promotes high standards amongst the aggregate industry. These standards should give municipalities and communities confidence that aggregate can be a good neighbour and a compatible land use. They should also promote consistency and fairness amongst aggregate operators. How is aggregate extraction regulated? There already numerous overlapping codes and regulations at provincial and federal level which have varying requirements for the aggregate industry depending on the size of the aggregate extraction site, the ownership of the land on which the site is located and whether the operator is from the public or private sector. The following is a list of legislation and regulations which aggregate operators are liely to have to consider when planning or operating a site: Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) EPEA Activities Designation Regulation Code of Practice for Pits (EPEA Code)

5 EPEA Conservation and Reclamation Regulation Municipal Government Act Public Lands Act Water Act Weed Control Act Pipeline Act Public Highways Development Act Oil and Gas Conservation Act Historical Resources Act Species at Ris Act Migratory Birds Convention Act Regulatory control for larger private aggregate sites over 5 hectares in size is principally provided at provincial level through the Code of Practice for Pits ( enacted under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act ( While provincial regulations cover many operational matters and impacts arising from an aggregate site, they are not comprehensive and do not acnowledge local context. What is Rocy View County s role? As provincial legislation does not always respond to local needs, it is important that the County steps forward to develop its own policies and controls to ensure that its communities are protected and that aggregate development is undertaen sustainably. Rocy View County has set out the following objectives related to natural resources within Section 5.0 of its County Plan, adopted in October 203: To support the extraction of natural resources in a manner that balances the needs of residents, industry, and society. To support the environmentally responsible management and extraction of natural resources. An action of the County Plan is to develop an aggregate plan which addresses the impacts of aggregate development while also providing a framewor to guide the location of new aggregate sites. If you would lie to find more out about the Aggregate Resource Plan the County will be developing, please see Part 2 - A Guide to the Rocy View County Aggregate Resource Plan available on our website. Questions? Please contact Dominic Kazmiercza, the Rocy View Municipal Planner woring on this project: Tel: or dazmiercza@rocyview.ca

6 Map 5 Map Description and Disclaimer 3 The potential aggregate deposit data shown on this map has been produced through review of existing geological survey data, aerial photography and Rocy View County records. It is to be used as a guide to indicate potential areas of aggregate resource and in no way is it confirmation of an economically viable deposit. In preparation of this map, no field surveys have been undertaen to validate the potential aggregate resource areas identified, nor has provincially held borehole data been analysed Potential Aggregate Deposits p Airport G Cemetery å æ School Fire Station & & Recycle Depot # * Community Hall NRI (Confirmed / Proposed) Area for potential further investigation Provincial Pars Crown Land Church Recycle / Waste Transfer 3 Party Gravel Pit rd County Gravel Pit Electoral Divisions Reserves 567 (Excluded from Rocy View Jurisdiction) Primary Highway Secondary Highway Road, Paved Road, Oil Road, Chip-Sealed Road, Gravel Hamlets Railway Lines Airport Undeveloped Road Allowance SCALE :00, Kilometers 6 Miles UNIVERSAL TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION COPYRIGHT: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NOT TO BE COPIED IN WHOLE OR IN PART. BASE MAP COMPILED FROM THE COUNTY'S GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS.