fighting the scott pit - your response is needed!

We’re reaching out to thank you for being part of the Bearspaw Community Coalition email list.  For your voice to count in this fight, you need to sign the attached consent form authorizing the Coalition to speak on your behalf at the NRCB’s hearing on Heidelberg’s Scott pit application.  Being on our email list is not enough.

The NRCB hearing will not be like Rocky View’s public hearings.  Writing individual letters of opposition and having many residents make presentations will not work at the NRCB like it did the three times we convinced the County to refuse Heidelberg’s applications.

Defeating Heidelberg this time requires a completely different approach.  The NRCB expects residents to be represented by a single spokesperson.  As a result, for you and the Bearspaw community to participate in the NRCB hearing on Heidelberg’s application, we need one collective voice to represent us as a group of affected stakeholders with common interests.  That is why the Bearspaw Community Coalition was formed – to be the community’s representative with standing at the NRCB hearing.

The NRCB’s hearing will be a provincial level quasi-judicial hearing to determine whether the Scott pit is in the public interest.  Its hearings concentrate on technical evidence.  As the spokesperson for Bearspaw residents at the NRCB hearing, the Coalition is already starting to coordinate technical experts to challenge Heidelberg’s application.  This is critical and not something any of us can do on our own.

The Coalition has put significant effort into establishing standing with the NRCB.  The NRCB accepted our submission identifying recommended changes to their draft application requirements and incorporated many of our recommendations into the final requirements for Heidelberg’s application. 

To maximize the effectiveness of our collective voice, the NRCB needs current evidence of support from a substantial fraction of affected Bearspaw residents.  Being on our email list or having participated in earlier Rocky View public hearings on the Scott pit is not enough.  This is why it is so important for you to sign the attached consent form. 

Thanks in advance for demonstrating your support in this important and tangible way.  If you have any questions, please be sure to ask.