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New gravel pit approved across from Columbia Park

The provincial government approved one new gravel pit near Revelstoke while rejecting the expansion of another.
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Revelstoke Sand & Gravel's new pit is located in the area outlined on this map — across the river from the Revelstoke Golf Club.

The provincial government approved one new gravel pit near Revelstoke while rejecting the expansion of another.

The Ministry of Forests, Lands & Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO) gave the go ahead to Revelstoke Sand & Gravel's (RS&G) application to develop an eight hectare quarry off Westside Road, while rejecting Interoute's application for tenure so it can expand its existing Westside Road gravel pit in 2028.

"Proposal is consistent with government policy and zoning," wrote the ministry in accepting RS&G's application. "No significant impact on the environment has been identified by mandated agencies. No significant impact on First Nations interests has been identified."

In the case of the ministry's rejection of Interoute's application, it wrote "the management plan does not comply with our aggregate policy, which requires diligent use of the tenured area."

The Review attempted to contact Jessie Lunan, the government land officer listed as a contact on the Reasons for Decision for both applications, to learn more about the reasoning for each decision. Our messages were answered in an e-mail by a ministry spokesperson, who simply repeated what was already posted online.

RS&G, which is owned by Jack McKinnon, applied to open a new gravel pit off Westside Road, across the Columbia River from the Revelstoke Golf Club, in the summer of 2015. McKinnon cited the need for a year-round source of aggregate as his reason for the application.

At the time, council approved a development permit for the quarry, but the applicant still needed approval for a Crown land tenure, which was issued earlier this year. Last week a management agreement was signed between RS&G and the province, though RS&G still needs a mine permit to begin operations.

While the applicant was waiting for tenure, MFLNRO notified the City of Revelstoke that the city had a reserve in place on the land in question dating back to 2008.

The existence of the reserve gave the city a bigger say in what happened to the land and in response council asked the province to conduct a study on aggregate demand in the Revelstoke area. The province responded by saying it lets the market dictate supply & demand.

In August, council voted to give up a portion of the land reserve, paving the way for RS&G's gravel pit.

Council asked the government to put several conditions in place on the quarry, including requiring noise and dust control plan, limiting the hours of operation to weekdays, monitoring and mitigating exposure to crystalline silica and installing an air quality monitor on Columbia Park Elementary.

Some of those recommendations made it into RS&G's tenure agreement. Crushing operations can only take place from Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., but sales can take place on Saturdays. An eight-page dust management plan is part of RS&G's application for a mining permit and part of its overall management plan for the quarry. Whilethe management plan requires ongoing dust monitoring and control, it doesn't RS&G to install an air quality monitor in Columbia Park.

Another council resolution for the area of extraction to be limited to two hectares at a time was ignored. Instead, RS&G can operate on up to five hectares of the eight hectare area at a time.

Stuart Andrews, who has fought several gravel pits local near Columbia Park, has asked for a public meeting prior to the issuance of a mine permit. So far, his requests have been rebuffed. He has long been critical of the presence of gravel pits across the river from Columbia Park and what he says is inadequate dust control programs.

Last week, he asked Peter Fassbender, the Minister of Communities, to intervene and force the City of Revelstoke to hold a public meeting before a mine permit is issued.