Jody Young Protect Water from Aggregate Mining

PUBLIC HEARING - Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023 at the Red Deer County office at 38106 Range Road #275, Red Deer County, AB. Just West of Cross Roads Church. Please attend.

WRITTEN SUBMISSIONS due Friday, April 21st, 2023. Bylaw 2022/26.2. Submit questions and letters of concern to [email redacted]. Please send in your thoughts and concerns.

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Regular citizens on their own cannot challenge big government, we need your help!

This fundraiser is an attempt to raise enough money to address water protection issues relating to ourselves and all Albertans that may have their land & water impacted by aggregate mining activities. We seek to obtain a non-biased assessment of what has happened to our water well. We are working on arranging hydrogeological testing to look scientifically at whether aggregate mining could be the cause of water well contamination. We are seeking funds to address a Water Act Application by our home.

I hope through our actions to address several matters, including:

It is costly for an individual family to arrange to have the technical and legal work completed to challenge the government.

We are also trying to raise funds concerning a land use bylaw amendment proposed to allow a new aggregate mining development within 165m of our home. The proposed new pit will be within approximately 120m of our water well and on land, will be on land which has been designated as environmentally significant and is immediately adjacent to the Red Deer River. We see a need for changes in how Municipalities deal with land use decisions that permit aggregate mining activities on lands near homes and water bodies.

Jody Young has engaged a Hydrogeologist to research and analyze the cause of her domestic water well contamination. She has also hired legal counsel to protect the land and water from existing and proposed aggregate mining developments.

When aggregate mining activities raise possible threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken. The governmental departments authorizing activities, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof. Unfortunately, the burden of proof is falling on the Young family now.

Jody Young is non-partisan to any political party. She has reached out to the current environmental critic requesting that our current government address these matters in the hopes that some meaningful changes can be made. Changes that will help the Youngs, which will prevent others from going through this and which will help work towards trying to protect Alberta’s water for all Albertans.

Jody Young and several other Albertans that have been impacted are attending the Alberta Legislature on December 12th, 2022. She hopes to get an opportunity to talk about water protection and the need for our government to do more to ensure Albertans and water are protected from aggregate mining activities.

An urgent need is for funds to support the completion of the hydrogeological testing and assessments before January 13th, 2023, so the information can be brought before Alberta Environment and Protected Areas and the Municipality of Red Deer County to ensure existing and proposed aggregate mining developments are not and do not cause contamination to domestic water wells and the adjacent Red Deer River.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

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Overview showing the location of existing gravel operations and proposed new gravel operations to Young's home, the Youngs water well and the Red Deer River.

Water Well Contamination:

Jody Young has engaged a Hydrogeologist to prepare an unbiased spatial and temporal assessment of the water in the area. The purpose of the assessment is to try and determine what has caused the contamination of Jody Young’s family’s domestic water well, to look at whether this contamination may be affecting neighbouring lands and water bodies (specifically the Red Deer River) and to decide whether existing aggregate mining activities in the area may have been the source of Young’s water well contamination. To do this properly, data is required from as many water wells in the area as possible.

The overall objectives are:

The Young’s water well was a new well constructed in 2010. Initially, the water was crystal clear, and no concerns were identified. Since approximately 2013, the Youngs have watched the quality of their well water progressively degrade. What started as infrequent short-term periods of turbidity became more frequent and intense. Now the turbidity is constant. Water samples in 2014 and 2020 showed increased suspended solids. At that time, the issues were only aesthetic.

The Lozynski Gravel Pit, an aggregate mining operation owned by the Municipality of Red Deer County, is uphill from Young’s water well and is within approximately 360m of their land. The Lozynski Gravel Pit has significantly expanded since Red Deer County issued a development permit to Youngs for their residence in 2010. This gravel pit has no authorizations under the Water Act.

In recent years, a significant amount of water has been observed in this pit. In the fall of 2020, Jody Young communicated to Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) her belief that the existing aggregate mining activities may be causing turbidity in her water well and her belief that gravel was excavated in the water without the proper prior approvals.

Ariel view of Lozynski Gravel Pit in July 2021

Ariel view of Lozynski Gravel Pit in August 2022

During 2021 and 2022, the turbidity in the Youngs well water got visibly worse. Currently, Alberta residents have to wait three years between mineral tests. Due to the apparent significant change in turbidity, the Youngs could test their water sooner and thank goodness they did.

The Youngs were told by Alberta Health Services that their water was no longer potable, that they could no longer cook with it and that they shouldn’t even use it to brush their teeth. The Youngs had been using their well water for drinking, cooking, domestic uses and for their livestock. Jody Young had expected increased suspended solids but was alarmed to learn that the levels of minerals in the water had grown exponentially and that her children had been consuming water contaminated with lead and aluminum. The water contamination with lead and aluminum was not the only concern. The water samples now detected arsenic, chromium, nickel, uranium and vanadium. Further, the levels of barium, manganese and titanium in the water had increased significantly.

The Youngs could only have their general practitioner test their blood for mineral contaminates above the maximum acceptable concentrations (lead & aluminum). Blood tests have shown that the Youngs and their children have both lead and aluminum in their blood.

Lead can cause serious health problems if too much enters the body from drinking water or other sources. Health effects for adults exposed to lead levels may include increased blood pressure, kidney damage, anemia, digestive problems, nerve disorders, memory loss, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, irritability and headaches. Young children are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can significantly affect a child. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.

The Young’s land is immediately adjacent to the Red Deer River. It is reasonably believed that if Young’s well water is contaminated, that contaminated water may also be flowing into the Red Deer River.

When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not yet scientifically established. The proponent of the activity and/or the governmental departments authorizing activities, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof. Alberta has a statutory obligation to apply the precautionary principle when dealing with scientific uncertainty. This must guide transparent government decisions. Legal precedent reinforces the need to ensure that environmental legislation incorporates strong precautionary principles.

The water well contamination was immediately reported t the Municipality of Red Deer County and AEP. To date, the matter has been treated by AEP as an incident. Neither governmental body has indicated that they will engage in an investigation or a hydrological assessment by a qualified professional to determine if aggregate mining is the cause. The burden of investigating the cause of the contamination and treating the contaminated water has fallen on the Youngs.

Proper qualified Hydrogeological assessments take time, data and money; that is why Jody Young is hoping you can help. Each water well quality test performed by a contracted technologist, including water mobilization, landowner interviews, water quality sampling and data review, is estimated to cost approximately $650/well. It is hoped that enough funds will be raised to assess at least 12 wells in the immediate area. Depending on the number of wells and the volume of information, the Hydrogeological review will cost approximately $10,000. So, it is estimated that just the hydrogeological assessments and reviews will cost about $20,000. The Hydrogeologist is retained thru Legal Counsel. Therefore it is estimated that the hydrogeologist's engagement will also cost several thousand dollars in legal costs.

Currently, the Youngs are hauling 5-gallon jugs of water for drinking, cooking, and other domestic water needs. The Youngs have investigated filtration options to deal with the existing contamination. It is estimated that installing a system in their pump house and upgrading the existing infrastructure of Young’s water system will cost approximately $10,000. Additionally, at their own cost, the Youngs will need to regularly monitor their water to ensure the filtration system is operating effectively.

Jody Young and several other Albertans that have been impacted are attending the Alberta Legislature on December 12th, 2022. They hope to get an opportunity to talk about water protection and the need for our government to do more to ensure Albertans and their water are protected from aggregate mining activities.

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Water Act Application:

On October 23rd, 2022, Jody Young learned from a neighbour that a Public Notice was published in the local newspaper on October 14th, 2022. The public notification stated that Red Deer County had filed an application under the Water Act for the approval to construct and maintain two end pit lakes at the Lozynski gravel pit. The Lozynski gravel pit is located uphill from Young’s home. Further, the notification stated that any person directly affected by the application only had 14 days to submit a Letter of Concern to the Alberta Digital Regulatory Assurance System (DRAS) or via email.

Jody Young was in disbelief that AEP and the Municipality would proceed with an application to allow disturbance of groundwater within 360m of Young’s water well. Especially when, to date, there had been no investigation into whether the existing permitted aggregate mining activities were the cause of Young’s water well contamination.

Jody Young could not believe that given the proposed activity could impact their water, no one from either AEP or the Municipality had directly notified the Youngs of the application. When Jody Young attempted to locate the Water Act notification on the DRAS system, it could not be found. It was later learned that AEP advertised the application on their system from October 6th to October 20th, 2022.

The Youngs only became aware of this application by chance. Jody Young has learned that under the Ministerial Regulations of the Water Act, it is at the director's discretion whether direct notifications are required. In this instance, the director only required the applicant to advertise their application in the newspaper. The applicant was not required to directly notify any landowners in the area that could be impacted. Under current legislation, directly affected Albertans, if they even know about a Water Act application, only get a short window of time to review an application and submit a Letter of Concern.

Jody Young obtained a copy of the application and learned that the Water Act application was made in December 2021, almost a full year before the Youngs became aware of it.

The Youngs have requested that AEP extend the date to provide Statements of Concern so the retained hydrogeologist can have sufficient time to conduct well water testing and provide an opinion on the source of the contamination. To date, no response has been received from AEP.

Under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA) water quality is protected.

The purpose of the Act is to promote the protection, enhancement and wise use of the environment while recognizing many things, including:

• That the protection of the environment is essential to the integrity of ecosystems, human health and the well-being of society;

• That there is a need for Albert’s economic growth and prosperity in an environmentally responsible manner;

• That there is a need to integrate environmental protection at the earliest stage of planning; and

• That it is the polluters' responsibility to pay for the costs of their actions.

Given the numerous concerns identified in the application and the potential detrimental impacts on Young’s water well, the Youngs submitted a Letter of Concern to AEP thru legal counsel. The Youngs are concerned about Red Deer County’s failure to outline hydrogeological data relating to the groundwater properly, and the impact that continued and expanded operations at the Lozynsky Gravel Pit will have on any aquifers. Further, the Youngs are concerned that no data is demonstrating whether or not the activities on the Lozynsky Gravel Pit are hydrogeologically connected to the aquifers upon which they rely.

As stated, the Youngs first identified concerns to AEP in the fall of 2020 that aggregate mining activities at the Lozynski Pit may be operating outside their approvals and that the existing permitted gravel activities may be causing turbidity in their water well. The Youngs have requested AEP investigate whether there have been violations of the Water Act by Red Deer County at the Lozynsky Gravel Pit.

The Youngs understand that if, despite their concerns, the Water Act application is approved by AEP, their only option would be to pay to have the matter appealed before the Environmental Appeals Board. Such an appeal, Youngs understand, is a long process that could take several years and result in high legal costs.

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Re-Designation of Land Use to Permit Aggregate Mining in Environmentally Significant Area (ESA):

The Youngs have been dealing with applications received by Red Deer County to amend their land use bylaw to re-designate environmentally significant land immediately adjacent to the Red Deer River and within 165m of Young's rural home into the Red Deer County Gravel Overlay District thereby allowing aggregate mining activities at this site since the summer of 2019.

The Youngs have had to continually deal with the unnecessary physical, mental and fiscal stresses caused by these matters on top of coping with COVID, dealing with a terminal illness in their immediate family and dealing with the loss of Jody Young’s father. Jody Young has used money given to her by her father to go towards her children’s future education to try instead and protect her children’s home. These matters have taken time away from Jody Young, precious time away from her family and her employment.

The Youngs have already spent over $30,000 to try and receive information thru FOIP, to ensure provincial and municipal rules are being followed, to ensure a proper environmental assessment was completed, to try and get more transparency in the proceedings and in having concerns brought before the Court of Queen’s Bench. The Youngs now need others' help if they are going to continue to try and hold their Municipality accountable and to try and ensure a proper environmental assessment is completed that includes cumulative assessments of the impacts to adjacent lands and water.

In August 2022, the Youngs were already struggling to figure out how and if they should continue to extend themselves into their line of credit to have an independent review of the environmental assessment and if they should again seek legal representation when they discovered their water well contamination.

When Young’s water well contamination was reported to the Municipality of Red Deer County, the Youngs understood that the re-zoning of the land to allow aggregate mining even closer to their water well would not proceed until the water well contamination had been addressed.

On November 25th, 2022, Jody Young learned that Red Deer County has decided to proceed with re-zoning the land which will allow aggregate mining less than aprox 90m from Young’s domestic water well. The matter is now set to proceed to another Public Hearing on February 7th, 2023.

There is now an even greater need to try and obtain hydrogeological testing and analysis in time to have it presented during the Land Use Re-designation process. Further, funds are needed to support obtaining an independent full environmental assessment and having legal representation for the Public Hearing proceedings.

Land use changes cannot be appealed. Therefore, if Red Deer County passes this land use change then the only option to try and have procedural or substantive issues addressed is to make an application to have the bylaw ruled invalid through yet another Judicial Review process before the Court of King’s Bench.

It is estimated that having an independent environment assessment(s) and legal representation it may cost anywhere from $10,000 - $15,000. Further, it is estimated that if the matter goes to a Judicial Review again that the matter will cost anywhere from $25,000 - $50,000.

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Red Deer Canyon ESA & Environmental Assessment of Aggregate Mining on ESAs:

In January and March 2010, Red Deer County had public consultations that drew large crowds. Red Deer County publically presented their management plans for environmentally significant areas within the County and shared data and provided information to County landowners including a draft copy of its plans. The ESA Inventory was finalized in November 2011.

The land now being proposed for aggregate mining is in the Red Deer Canyon ESA, an area dominated by dense coniferous, mixed and deciduous woodlands as well as grasslands, shrub lands and riparian woodlands that is located in or along the valley of the Red Deer River characterized by steep slopes and canyon-like walls. It identified: that the soils along the Red Deer River Canyon are sensitive to erosion; that the area contains diverse habitat for migratory birds; that the area is a known nesting area for several bird species, including white pelicans, bald eagles, prairie falcons and osprey, species listed as being “Sensitive” in the province of Alberta; that it is known to be habitat for amphibian species, such as the Canadian Toad listed as “Maybe at Risk”; that is known to be habitat for fish species, such as sauger, listed as “Sensitive”; and that the Red Deer Canyon is one of the deepest and morphologically diverse valleys in the Parkland Region.

The Red Deer County Municipal Plan states that they are committed to the protection of ESAs and its goal is to protect natural environmental resources including riparian areas, rivers and groundwater. It further states that an environmental review shall identify and assess the environmental significance and sensitivity of existing vegetation, wetlands, other water bodies and groundwater, Alluvial Aquifers, wildlife habitat and unique features.

In 2021, Red Deer County established a Developer’s Guidebook for Projects in Environmentally Significant Areas. The Guidebook states that when an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not yet fully established scientifically. Further, it states that the applicant, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof and that there is a statutory obligation in Alberta to apply the precautionary principle when dealing with scientific uncertainty and this must guide transparent government decisions.

Jody Young has identified that the environmental assessment associated with the re-designation of the lands adjacent to them on the ESA has not assessed the surrounding landscape citing it was not feasible to assess adjacent lands because they are privately held. The lands immediately adjacent to the aggregate mining proposed within the quarter and the land to the south are owned by the applicant, Red Deer County owns land to the south, the lands to the north and east are crown land and the Youngs did not receive any requests to assess their land located to the west. Red Deer County has decided to proceed with the Land Use Application without the causation of the contamination of Young’s well water being determined. Jody Young asked that Red Deer County not proceed with the Land Use re-designation until an environmental assessment was obtained that assesses the cumulative impacts to adjacent lands and water. To date, Jody Young has received no response.

Jody Young is seeking funds to engage legal counsel to first object to permitting aggregate mining on an ESA and second to address the need for a full and proper environmental cumulative assessment of potential impacts to adjacent lands & water.

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Some History of the Land-Use Bylaw Amendments & Applications

1st Application

On December 13th, 2019, Red Deer County received an application to amend their Land Use Bylaw to add the SE 10-38-24-4 and the adjacent land at Lot 1, Plan 8821312 NE 3-38-24-4 to their Gravel Extraction Overlay District to permit aggregate mining (Bylaw 2020/5).

Bylaw 2020/05

On January 26th, 2021, Red Deer County passed the controversial bylaw to add lands immediately adjacent to the Red Deer River and designated by Red Deer County as being an environmentally significant area (ESA) to their Gravel Extraction Overlay District thereby allowing aggregate extraction on these lands to be a permitted use.

Timeline Bylaw 2020/05:

2020-02-18 1st Reading

2020-03-24 Public hearing Cancelled Due to Covid

2020-06-09 Public Hearing / 2nd Reading

2021-01-26 3rd Reading & Bylaw Passed

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2020-02-18 (Pgs 124-135) - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/47818/?preview=48301

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-02-18 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/47816/?preview=48305

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2020-03-24 (Pgs 89-106) - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/47818

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-03-24 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/47816/?preview=48641

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2020-06-09 (Pgs 29-107) - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/47818/?preview=50407

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-06-09 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/47816/?preview=50414

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2021-01-26 (Pgs 145-174) - See

https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/52688/?preview=52887

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-01-26 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/52751/?preview=52893

Alberta Court of Queen Bench Quashes Red Deer County Land Use Bylaw 2020/05

On January 7th, 2022, Court of Queen’s Bench Judge, K.D. Yamauchi, ruled that Red Deer County Bylaw 2020/05 was invalid and that Red Deer County had breached its duty of procedural fairness, had failed to comply with its own processes and had failed to abide by the Alberta Municipal Government Act (MGA). Further, the Courts stated that by Red Deer County not receiving a proper environmental review it can be perceived that the municipality was simply “rubber stamping” a bylaw.

See Young v Red Deer County, 2022 ABQB 13 (CanLII) @ https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/abqb/doc/2022/2022abqb13/2022abqb13.html?resultIndex=1

Bylaw 2022/09

On January 25th, 2022, Red Deer County again brought forward the same application (Bylaw 2022/09). Bylaw 2022/09 was canceled. Jody Young has requested written information on exactly when and why this bylaw was canceled but has not yet received a response.

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2022-01-25 (Pgs 58-69) - See

https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56869/?preview=57064

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-01-25 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56870/?preview=57067

2nd Application

On March 15th, 2022, Red Deer County received another application to amend their Land Use Bylaw to add the entire SE 10-38-24-4 and the adjacent land at Lot 1, Plan 8821312 NE 3-38-24-4 to their Gravel Extraction Overlay District to permit aggregate mining. Red Deer County waived the applicant’s application fee.

Council Workshop

On June 28th, 2022, the Environmental Review submitted for Bylaw 2022/09 was presented to County Council. The Environmental Review only assessed the first proposed aggregate mining extraction area and did not assess the proposed haul route, the proposed processing site or the adjacent lands.

Red Deer County Council Workshop 2022-06-28 - No Agenda Publically Posted

Red Deer County Council Workshop Minutes 2022-06-28 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56936/?preview=58792

FOIP results revealed that a Powerpoint presentation on the environmental assessment obtained for Bylaw 2022/09 was presented and discussed at the June 28th, 2022, Council Workshop. Adjacent Impacted Landowners received no public notification that information was being presented.

Bylaw 2022/25

On July 19th, 2022, Red Deer County again brought forward an application for the same development but now indicated the proposal is to only re-designate a portion of SE 10-38-24-4 to the Gravel Extraction Overlay District to permit aggregate mining (Bylaw 2022/25). The gravel haul route on private land on the ESA is now not proposed to be re-designated.

Jody Young requested the Public Hearing be canceled pending an investigation into her water well contamination discovered in August 2022.

On September 6th, 2022, the Public Hearing scheduled for September 2022 was canceled.

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2022-07-19 (Pgs 62-209) - See

https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56869/?preview=59085

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-07-19 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56870/?preview=59096

Land Use Bylaw 2022/26

On November 1st, 2022, Jody Young attended Red Deer County's Public Hearing to make Bylaw Amendments to the Red Deer Land Use Bylaw. Several residents wrote identifying concerns about the Red Deer County Gravel overlay district and requested amendments to it. No amendments were made and Red Deer County indicated would look at the Gravel overlay District at a later date.

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2022-11-01 (Pgs 77-121 for Letters from Public) - See

https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56869/?preview=60303

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-11-01 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56870/?preview=60445

Copy of transcript of the meeting is available thru FOIP.

Bylaw 2022/26.2

On November 29th, 2022, Red Deer County again brought forward the same application to re-designate a portion of SE 10-38-24-4 to the Gravel Extraction Overlay District to permit aggregate mining (Bylaw 2022/26.2). The matter has been set for a Public Hearing on February 7th, 2023.

Red Deer County Meeting Agenda 2022-11-29 (Pgs 194-201) - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56869/?preview=60561

Red Deer County Meeting Minutes 2020-11-29 - See https://reddeercounty.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/56870/?preview=60795

On December 13th, 2022, Red Deer County made amendments to Bylaw 2022/26.2 as the bylaw referenced Land Use Bylaw from 2006 and not the Bylaw Updated in 2022.