What is the Scott Pit?

The proposed Scott Pit is a 600-acre heavy industrial open pit gravel mine on the north side of Burma Road between Range Road 25 and Rocky Ridge Road to be operated by Heidelberg Materials, a German-based global conglomerate.

The project would:

  • Extract 2 million tonnes of gravel annually through blasting, drilling and on-site crushing proposed to operate 24 hours/day.

  • Transport crushed gravel to Heidelberg’s Calgary operations using a largely untested elevated overland conveyor system.

  • Operate for at least 30 years, creating a generational impact on our communities.

Why The Location Matters

Rocky View County rejected 3 separate applications for the Scott pit between 1994 and 2021.  Each time, Council concluded that the unavoidable impacts from open pit gravel extraction were incompatible with the heart of Bearspaw, one of the County’s signature country residential communities.

The proposed project would:

  • Diminish quality of life for Bearspaw residents, who represent about one-in-ten Rocky View residents.

  • Create potential health risks from carcinogenic dust and other emissions associated with industrial-scale gravel operations.

  • Threaten ground water and private wells in the surrounding area.

  • Permanently alter an environmentally sensitive area with no clear reclamation plan.

  • Put more than $160 million in residential property value at risk while generating profits for Heidelberg.

Gravel is Not Scarce

There is no compelling need to place a heavy-industrial gravel operation in the heart of Bearspaw.

  • Gravel resources are abundant throughout southern Alberta. Gravel operations are present in all parts of Alberta except for the far north

  • Rocky View County has already approved gravel pits that have yet to begin operations.

  • Gravel companies also control substantial land elsewhere in the County that may be more appropriately suited to extraction.

The question is, therefore, not whether Alberta needs gravel.  It is where should gravel extraction occur – and whether this industrial operation belongs in Bearspaw.

Residents have successfully stopped proposals for the Scott Pit three times.  With strong community participation, we can do it again!

THE CURRENT NRCB Process

 The Government of Alberta referred the Scott Pit project to the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) through Order in Council 342/2024.  The NRCB will review Heidelberg’s application to determine whether it is “in the public interest”.

This moves the decision from Rocky View County to a provincial-level quasi-judicial tribunal, removing the project from the normal county land-use decision-making framework.

The NRCB process is also fundamentally different and longer than Rocky View’s public hearings.   While public participation remains important, NRCB hearings rely heavily on technical evidence, expert testimony, and coordinated representation.  Rather than hundreds of residents presenting similar concerns individually. Affected residents are best represented collectively by a single organization.

That is why the Bearspaw Community Coalition exists.

If you’d like to learn more about the NRCB process and/or receive its updates, you can do so on its website.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Join the Bearspaw Community Coalition to strengthen the community’s collective voice.

Sign a consent form, receive updates, including opportunities for public participation.