When Sustainable Developments Commercial Services withdrew its proposal to mine gravel in the Tawatinaw region in 2016, Tim Harrison and Kathy-Sue Irving thought they could move on with their lives.
It was only in May this year they discovered by chance that the company had renewed its application to open gravel and sand pit mines in the valley.
“I heard about it through rumours, which is the same as the first time,” said Harrison.
“I had to start making phone calls to find out what’s going on. I did not hear about the July open house until a week before it happened.
“I’m not anti-development, but they need to consult, assess and determine the impacts and be realistic about them,” he said. “They’ve never come and asked what we do, they’ve never asked how they would affect us.”
Their concerns are many, but front-and-centre for Harrison and Irving is the fact one of the proposed mines will be right across the road from where they operate a six-bed treatment facility and school for at-risk Aboriginal girls.
Taking advantage of the tranquility of the area, the Maskwa House School routinely hosts between 12-17 girls for sweat lodges, bringing in psychologists to help them overcome their personal demons and teachers who help with academic and life studies over six-month intervals. When possible, they also help their students find work.
“Our girls come from all walks of life from across Canada,” said Irving. “They’re like family to us. I’m really concerned about how this operation would affect their treatment. It’s disruptive to the peace we’re trying to establish.”
Other area residents are voicing their own concerns. Jurgen and Carola Pohl, who have lived in the area for over 35 years and run a horseback-riding operation, question SDCS’ claim that the mine with be a “dry pit” and not draw from, or contaminate the area’s groundwater. SDCS has said it intends to dig 40 metres, which translates to over 120 feet deep.
“A lot of people don’t understand how deep they’re going to dig,” said Jurgen. “We have water 20 to 30 feet down. It’s going to be a big impact on the people here.”
Another big concern is the state of the road in the proposed area. While SDCS has said it will lay a portion of the gravel they mine on the road their trucks used, Irving noted the proposed road, Township Road 620, washes out every spring and is a single lane at the best of times.
All four expressed their frustration with the on-off development, noting they have had to sideline business plans of their own that depend on the area remaining quiet.
“We had a lot of plans here. We own 460 acres and committed a lot of money to projects,” he said. “We had to cancel building plans for a retirement home because of all the uncertainty.”
Harrison also noted that he has not heard anything from SDCS about how the company would work around a herd of elk that frequent the ski hill area.
The four landowners also have the support of the Keepers of the Athabasca, a coalition of watershed advocates, First Nations, Inuit and Métis groups as well as environmentalists that seek to preserve the integrity of the Athabasca Watershed. However, they are not speaking on the Keepers’ behalf.
Irving said part of the problem is their concerns appear to be falling on deaf ears. She said she’s sent a number of inquiries to the company and has yet to hear a response.
“I understand people have a job to do,” she said. “But we need answers.”
The Westlock News reached out to SDCS on Sept. 13 and had not yet received a response from the company as of press time.
