Rocky View Gravel Watch says none of the input provided by residents is reflected in the revised draft fo the Aggregate Resource Plan (ARP) of Rocky View County (RVC) and the organization continues to be disappointed in the document.

The revised draft has recently been released and will be the subject of a series of RVC information meetings that start Mar. 19 in Beiseker and continues with sessions in Cochrane on Mar. 21 and at the Rockpointe Church, Mar. 22. All start at 6 p.m. with a presentation by county staff at 6:30 p.m.

This is the second draft of the plan that has been subject to extensive public consultation and has proven controversial to landowners in gravel-rich areas of Rocky View County. It's now back and is a much lengthier, more detailed document than the previous version.

Tonight, Mar. 14, Gravel Watch is holding its own information meeting at the Bearspaw Lions Club Hall, 25240 Nagway Rd. (parallel to Hwy. 1A and accessible by turning north at the Bearspaw Rd.) from 7 to 9 p.m.

Janet Ballantyne, of Rockyview Gravel Watch, says despite receiving more input from residents than any other county initiative, the ARP draft continues to ignore the concerns expressed.

"Almost 80 per cent of the submissions from residents emphasized that the proposed 500-metre setback from residential dwellings was inadequate," says Ballantyne. "Of those, almost three-quarters recommended setbacks of at least 1,500 metres or more."

"Rocky View Gravel Watch sees administration's insistence on its original setback as a demonstration of the continued bias in favour of the gravel industry and a lack of willingness to even consider compromising with residents."

Gravel Watch also takes issue with what they see as a serious infringe upon landowner's property rights. The policy requires landowners who may have gravel on their land will be required to demonstrate any of their development plans will not "Materially impact an aggregate resource of any value or potential value."

"From Rocky View Gravel Watch's perspective, such protection for the gravel industry is completely uncalled for, especially in light of the reality that gravel is an abundant resource throughout the county and elsewhere in Southern Alberta," says Ballantyne.

While the group gives kudos to RVC for cleaning up the wording of the proposed performance standards, they say the revised draft fails to detail how it will be monitored or enforced.

The ARP has its roots in the 2013 County Plan. The ARP was originally scheduled to be brought to the county council in the fall of 2017 but that deadline was extended due to a series of setbacks.

The original project consultant left the project in November 2016, the legal review of the first draft took longer than anticipated and it took time to digest the considerable feedback from over 1,800 written submissions received from an extensive public and stakeholder consultations.