A quarry operator is hoping a proposal to transport aggregate 4.5 kilometers by conveyor belt to their facility at Spy Hill will break a logjam that has seen its plan for a huge gravel pit in Bearspaw rejected three times since 1995.
Heidelberg Materials, a German multinational, is seeking to finally unlock the 243 hectares of pastureland at Rocky Ridge Road and 144th Avenue N.W. on Calgary's city limit. However, opponents remain unconvinced and are rallying to kill the plan once again.
Health and Environmental Concerns
Opponents cite carcinogenic silica dust from quarrying, threats to groundwater, noise, and a hit to property values as ongoing concerns. Olympic gold medal speedskater Catriona Le May Doan, who lives about one kilometer from the proposed site, said fast-growing Calgary subdivisions to the east are downwind of the quarry.
"The health and environment side is the most important side, and I don't care about the conveyor belts... it'll continue to have an effect on the groundwater," she said. She added that residents' efforts to have the quarry rejected three times are being disregarded. "The voice of the community is being ignored, for 30 years we've been fighting this."
Local Residents Speak Out
Retiree Rod Lipman, whose home is only meters from the edge of the proposed quarry, predicted his property value would "crater" if the project is approved on land he considers a buffer from four other gravel pits currently operating. "It brings it closer to a lot of people who bought and made their homes here... we're essentially at ground zero," he said. "We hear the crusher from the nearby Stoney Trail Aggregate Resource pit every morning and night; our big concern is the cumulative effect."
Municipal vs. Provincial Authority
After Rocky View County council rejected the proposal in February 2021, lawmakers amended area structure and resource plans that effectively banned gravel pits from rural residential areas like Bearspaw. However, since then, the province has referred Heidelberg's proposal to the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB), which is currently determining whether the pit would be "in the public interest of Albertans." According to the NRCB, it could be approved next year following a public hearing.
County Coun. Samanntha Wright said this renders local democracy moot, adding it is part of a trend of the UCP government usurping municipal powers as personified in Bill 28. "It's a complete end-run on municipal decision-making — why bother having municipalities?" she said. "Enough is enough, how many times do you need to say no to a project?"
