At the request of Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (ESRD) Kyle Fawcett, the recently formed Elbow Public Advisory Committee (EPAC) has been disbanded. Former committee chair and Springbank resident Gloria Wilkinson is still reeling from the loss of her group.
“What a shame,” she said. “I’m furious, and I haven’t gotten past furious to decide what’s the next logical thing to do.”
Formed in September by Premier Jim Prentice, the committee was to provide input on flood mitigation options for the Elbow River watershed. This was to include large mitigation infrastructure projects or proposals at varying stages of consideration, including the Springbank Off-Stream Storage Reservoir, McLean Creek Dam and the City of Calgary Diversion, as well as community-level mitigation such as Bragg Creek.
Wilkinson was appointed committee chair, and according to Wilkinson, the committee had worked with the government to develop an “agreed-to” terms of reference.
“What the minister’s staff members sent us back was not the amended copy we agreed to, but instead a shortened list that said we really had no authority, that we were simply to communicate what they wanted communicated,” Wilkinson said. “I asked for a meeting with the minister, and I could see his feathers just fly.”
According to Wilkinson, the minister said the group would “no longer be a benefactor” and that it was a “political decision.” Parker Hogan, press secretary to the minister with ESRD, added it was “for the most part a joint decision.”
“There is a provincial watershed group in the area who have been operating for a period of time,” Hogan said, referring to the Elbow River Watershed Partnership (ERWP). “They have already had significant conversations with the department as it relates to the entire watershed.”
Hogan said while there was no problem with Wilkinson or the EPAC members, the decision was made to move forward with ERWP instead. According to Wilkinson, the loss of EPAC is a “travesty.”
“All these volunteers with a passion to look after the river, and politics get in the way,” she said. “My group doesn’t exist. How dare they?”
According to Hogan, the passionate group of volunteers who made up EPAC can still offer their thoughts on future projects involving the watershed, through EWRP.
“This broader group could certainly take the input from those folks, but this is the way for us to move ahead with our recovery and mitigation projects,” he said. “(ERWP) will work together with us as the conduit for any questions or input related to what is going on in the area.”
