Sturgeon County should not let the RCMP detonate explosives at its disposal site because the location is a target for terrorists, say some of its neighbours.
The county's subdivision development appeal board heard an appeal last Feb. 17 of the recently approved development permit for the 147-acre RCMP explosives storage and demolition site just west of Villeneuve.
The site is a gravel pit owned by Sturgeon County and partially leased to the international mining company Orica, both of which also store explosives on it.
There are about 10 homes within a mile (1.6 kilometres) of the disposal site, said county planning officer Craig Walker. The closest home is about 800 metres away.
RCMP's K-Division used this site to store and safely destroy confiscated explosives in Alberta for about 15 years prior to 2011, Walker told the appeal board.
County council had previously heard that the county drafted a memorandum of understanding regulating explosives disposal at this site by the RCMP in 2010 following noise complaints. That deal was withdrawn in 2011 following an ammunition burn at the site, leaving police with no site in Alberta with which to dispose of explosives.
At that point, county staff and the RCMP realized that while the cops had a permit to store explosives on the site, they didn't have one to dispose of them there nor could they get one, as explosives disposal wasn't covered by the land use bylaw, Walker said.
"That was a technical and legal oversight by both the county and the RCMP."
Last fall, at the request of the RCMP, county council amended its land use bylaw to make explosives storage, distribution, detonation and disposal a discretionary (permit-required) at this site. The county granted the police the required permit for disposal last January.
The permit lets the RCMP dispose of up to 10 pounds of explosives at once between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday provided advance notice is given to everyone within a mile of the site and all federal regulations are followed. It asks, but does not require, that such disposal not occur during the spring and fall migratory period to protect birds on Gladu Lake.
The board heard that the RCMP would do about four to five days of explosives disposal a year under preferential weather conditions. RCMP have burned no more than five pounds of explosives at a time in the past.
Appeal for security
County residents Calvin and Louis Verbeek and Audrey and Harold Granger appealed the permit soon after. About 10 other area residents filed submissions in support.
In his letter to the board, Calvin Verbeek said that his son wanted to build a house on land near the site and opposed its continuous operation.
"Would you want an explosives depot in your backyard?" he wrote.
Many residents at the hearing raised concerns about the site's effect on the environment and birds at Gladu Lake.
Some questioned the county's motives in approving this site.
"Are the county councillors wanting this project to go through because of the money the county will receive for this service?" read one submission.
Resident Cheryl Ball said this site has been "a well-kept secret 'til now," and that this permit was an attempt to legitimize disallowed activities that had been happening for years.
"We live in a different world right now with even our own federal government getting jitters about home-grown terrorists," she said.
Ball questioned the site's safety and security, saying that "only a locked gate and supposedly some kind of fence" protect it. Orica appeared to have on-site security, she noted.
An angry Craig Miller told the board that this permit contradicted his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and ignored the Land Stewardship Act.
"Sturgeon County wants to maintain this very sweet little income stream: gravel crushing and sales, explosives storage and distribution," he said.
"The county has absolutely no regard for the residents or the environment."
Miller and others argued that these explosives were a security risk and should be disposed of by the military.
Some residents told the board that this site could eventually become another Swan-Hills like site for hazardous wastes, noting that Orica had plans to build an incinerator on it. Others accused the county, Orica and the RCMP of secrecy, duplicity and collusion.
Safe and secure
Many of these concerns are based on miscommunication as opposed to actual risks, Walker told the board.
Alberta Health Services said it was OK with the site so long as it never produced a noise greater than 140 decibels at 300 metres – equivalent to that produced by detonating 10 pounds of explosives at once – as that could cause hearing damage.
Walker said that this was the only safety risk the county found during the permit process, and that the RCMP's blasts at this site were typically at about 100 decibels at that distance. He also noted that residents could not build within 400 metres of the site in any case due to the region's area structure plan.
In an interview, Walker said that, apart from about $3,310 in fees for the permit and land-use bylaw changes, the county has never been reimbursed by the RCMP for use of this site.
"The county has no plans for a Swan Hills copycat," he added.
He noted that the permit would put limits on how the RCMP could use this site and let the county issue a stop-work order if its conditions are violated. The permit also has to be renewed in a year.
As for the incinerator, Orica has previously discussed (but had yet to apply to build) this structure on this site to dispose of explosives-contaminated cardboard, Walker said.
County commissioner Peter Tarnawsky did ask the Edmonton Garrison if it could handle these explosives on its property, Walker told the board.
"That was not acceptable to the base," he continued, due to jurisdictional issues.
In an interview, Fraser Logan, a military spokesperson stationed at the garrison, noted that the base doesn't actually have an on-base disposal site – it ships its explosives to Saskatchewan.
Insp. Glenn de Goeij spoke to the board on behalf of the RCMP.
"I'm not here to represent Orica nor am I here to talk about any permit that they may be pursuing for an incinerator which we know nothing about."
Explosives disposal is highly regulated in Canada and the RCMP have used this site safely for 15 years, de Goeij said. There are private and commercial explosive storage sites like this one throughout Alberta, and their locations are generally kept quiet for reasons of public safety.
"There was never an intent to hide (this site) from the public," he said.
While he wouldn't get into specifics on the site's security measures, de Goeij said you would need "sophisticated tools" to try and break into it and would be confronted by RCMP officials shortly after your attempt started.
Orica spokesperson Jennifer Dunne told the Gazette that the site features security fences, gates, electronic security systems and other measures, and is patrolled on a routine basis.
The board will issue its ruling on the permit in early March, Walker said in an interview.
