On Tuesday, July 14, 2025 Rocky View County’s council approved the RVC Aggregate Resource Plan. Vivian Pharis, Bighill Creek Preservation Society Director observed, “this is a huge win for environmental and residential lands in Rocky View County. And, BCPS played a pretty significant role in the decision to approve an Aggregate Resource Plan! RVC Council is to be congratulated for its progressive stand on the issue of gravel mine conflicts with residential areas and lands of environmental significance. It was an agonizing decision for them that took two tries before a plan was approved. This time key recommendations were supported by both citizen and industry representatives who sat on an ARP Advisory Committee.”
BCPS’s president, Gerry Beitz, was one of four citizen representatives to the ARP Advisory Committee and his input was considered and consistent. BCPS is especially relieved that the 1.6 km buffer from gravel development around parks and residential areas was approved. Such a buffer was first proposed by BCPS’s hydrogeological engineer, Jon Fennell, at RVC’s land redesignation hearing for the Mountain Ash mine in 2021.
Bald Eagle soars over the Bighill Creek area during the 2024 BCPS BioBlitz Inventory of the area.
Rocky View Gravel Watch commented “Overall, the new policies will substantially improve Rocky View’s oversight of the gravel industry. This has been a long fight for residents. No one questions the need for gravel. However, since its extraction and processing have unavoidable negative offsite impacts for both residents and the environment, it is important that it is extracted responsibly. Council should be loudly applauded for carrying through with its commitment and finally bringing to fruition policies that move Rocky View a long way in that direction.”