ST. PAUL – The County of St. Paul received a special permission from the Alberta government that would allow for cheaper and quicker process of fixing and maintaining boat launches across the County.
Earlier this month, the Government of Alberta provided the County blanket approval for all maintenance-related activities for boat launches under the Comprehensive Water Act.
Maintenance activities include repair and replacement, access road upgrades, drainage corrections, maintenance brushing, and rip-rap erosion control.
But doing boat launch maintenance typically involves going through a lengthy approval process, said Andy Petterson, construction manager at the County.
This is because the province requires environmental assessments to ensure maintenance work would not harm fish habitat, bird species, or other sensitive ecosystems, he explained.
Which means the County needs to seek approval from the provincial government each time it has to perform maintenance. “You often need to get an environmental biologist to inspect the site,” among other requirements, said Petterson.
Whereas now, blanket approval means “we have skipped the middleman every single time,” he added.
A blanket approval is essentially akin to getting a single permit instead of needing a new one for every single job.
“We can just go perform these activities on the bed and shore of the lake, [but] not within the water,” said Petterson.
So, while the County still must notify Alberta Environment if “in water” activities are conducted, the overall process would be greatly shortened, he explained.
For example, the County received approval to install a new boat launch at Garner Lake within two weeks and anticipates completing the job sometime this year. Typically, the approval process would take about three to six months.
Cost savings
Reeve Glen Ockerman said he is happy the Alberta government provided blanket approval because it will also save the County money.
“None of us want to pollute our lakes . . . we’re just trying to fix our boat launches,” he said. “And it’s insane that we have to conduct thousands of impact studies.”
“It’s just a waste of money,” added Ockerman. “So, I’m glad to see that the government is finally listening and trying to get rid of some of this red tape.”
With the blanket approval, Petterson expects the County to save around $20,000 to $30,000 each year for maintaining boat launches.
According to Petterson, the County is the second municipality in Alberta to receive the designation.
He said the process for the designation started four years ago with Tim Mahdiuk, who was previously the director of community services with the County.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Petterson said.
