There are plans in place for the Moose Lake weir, Alberta Environment and Parks just needs to get to work.
According to general manager for environmental and protective services for the MD, Matt Janz, consultations have been held with first nations communities and the province has received feedback from residents. Despite the letters from the public, Alberta Environment will be going ahead with removing the weir.
The province announced in the fall they would be forging ahead with taking out the structure in hopes of solving some of the water level issues on Moose Lake.
It has since been handed over to Alberta Transportation for decommissioning, however before that takes place, the province needs to sort out proper funding and Water Act approvals.
"When they start the Water Act approvals, they will have to go out to the public," added Janz during their Wednesday council meeting.
Once they've been given the green light, the weir will be removed. The province is hoping to have the process completed by late summer or fall of 2020.
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Not on our roads
Dozens of residents have signed a petition requesting the MD of Bonnyville do something about 24/7 hauling.
Property owners have expressed their dismay regarding CNRL drivers travelling along local roads at all hours of the night, regardless of whether they're permitted to or not.
Coun. Ed Duchesne explained how hauling hours have shifted since CNRL purchased Devon.
"CNRL bought out Devon and they never came to the MD or the landowners with that information," he noted. "They just went ahead and started hauling oil 24/7. They're trying to save money on their pipeline costs and not use the Devon plant to transport their oil, so now they're hauling through Ward 4, Ward 3, and other wards, more than they were before."
Prior to purchasing Devon, CNRL mostly operated along Wolf Lake Rd.
"Now they're on every road, they have no constables policing them at night so (drivers) take shortcuts and people are getting upset," continued Duchesne. "Instead of going by two residences like before, now they take a shortcut and go by six or more, and people are getting tired of this."
The MD will be sitting down with CNRL about the issue and, if needed, will consider putting road bans in place.
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"We need to do something"
The MD of Bonnyville is hoping the province will consider upgrading Hwy. 657.
"We're at the point where we need to do something," expressed Coun. Marc Jubinville, who made a motion to submit a request with the provincial and federal governments regarding the possibility of cost-sharing construction.
"I want administration to look at whatever avenues are open so that we can get this done, that's where I'm coming from," Jubinville added.
The municipality will also include industry leaders such as CNRL, who utilize the stretch of highway.
Contract awarded for Birch Grove drainage project
The MD received five bids for their Birch Grove drainage project, and after crunching the numbers, have awarded the contract to 640 Earthworks.
The company offered to do the work, which includes a set of five manholes interconnected with underground pipes and an outfall structure with an energy dissipater, for just shy of $575,000.
Abid Malik, general manager of infrastructure services, is hopeful this will fix the drainage issues experienced in that area.
MD to sit down with province to discuss environmental approvals
Council will be reaching out to the province to schedule a sit down with the Alberta Minister of Red Tape Reduction to talk about policies surrounding environmental approvals involving Alberta Environment.
Duchesne made the motion because of the time it takes for projects to get through the approval process.
"The timelines with Alberta Environment and Parks, and just the overall (process), it's bogging us down. We can't get anything fixed in time," he said.
"Lessard Bridge is an example. That took way too long," exclaimed Coun. Dana Swigart.
Province cutting back Grants in Place of Taxes
The provincial government has notified the MD of Bonnyville they will be decreasing the amount the municipality receives every year through the Grants in Place of Taxes program.
The intent is to help balance the provincial budget by 2022/23 by cutting back the funding distributed over the next two years. The first dip is to $44.6-million for 2019/20, followed by an even further reduction to $30.2-million in 2020/21.
Through the program, the MD typically receives $30,300. After the 75 per cent reduction to the 2019/20 eligible amount, they will see just over $22,700 come their way, a drop of roughly $7,500.
