Thursday, August 29, 1985 Hs

Title: Thursday, August 29, 1985 hs August 29, 1985 Heritage Savings Trust Fund Act 177 [Chairman: Mr. Kowalski] [10 a.m.] If not, we'll go directly to questions from committee members. MR. CHAIRMAN: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another meeting of MR. BRADLEY: Mr. Chairman, thank you very the Standing Committee on the Alberta much for the welcome to the committee. It's a Heritage Savings Trust Fund Act. It's our pleasure to be back again. pleasure this morning to welcome the Hon. Fred There have been a number of important Bradley, Minister of the Environment. projects under the capital projects division in If I could refer all members to the Provincial the Department of the Environment. I was very Treasurer's annual report on the Alberta pleased with your opening comments, Heritage Savings Trust Fund, which was issued particularly with regard to the Paddle River in July this year, you'll see on page 43, under basin development, which has come to the capital projects division investments, that completion. The opening last Friday was the Minister of the Environment has ministerial certainly a major event for the people in that portfolio responsibility for four specific areas. area in terms of the benefits to the people. One is called irrigation headworks and main Some 25,000 acres of land will now be protected irrigation systems improvement, and we can see in terms of the flood control dam. I was really a cumulative figure of $201,086,000 to March impressed. In my judgment, there were close to 31, 1985. The second item is the land a thousand people at the opening and there was reclamation project, which expended a great deal of enthusiasm for the project. Of $23,522,000 to March 31, 1985. A third item is course, Mr. Chairman, you were there as the the Lesser Slave Lake outlet. There were no MLA from the downstream constituency. Peter expenditures made in the last fiscal year, but Trynchy, Al Hyland, Stan Nelson, John Gogo, I'm sure the minister would want to report to us and Shirley Cripps were also there, and the on the successful operation of that very former MLA for Barrhead, Dr. Hugh Horner, important outflow of water from the Lesser who was a proponent of the project. Slave Lake that reduces the hazards along the When you have these types of water lake, one of Alberta's best inland seas and management projects, they always seem to be probably the best kept secret. fairly controversial in their fruition. When Lesser Slave Lake, ladies and gentlemen, is they're finally completed and opened and you really an outstanding lake. It's too bad that see the number of people who have come out very few people in Alberta have ever bothered for the opening, who are complimentary to the to go and take a look at it. project and the necessity for it, you know you've made the right decision. I daresay that MRS. CRIPPS: Explain yourself. that project, as Dr. Horner said, will stand for future generations of Albertans in terms of the MR. CHAIRMAN: One of the most exciting benefits that will accrue to that area. It's a projects, the Paddle River basin development very important investment by the Heritage project, with expenditure levels accumulating Savings Trust Fund in the agricultural future of to $40,362,000. that part of the province. Mr. Minister, in welcoming you, you'll note I'd like to make a few comments on the that a number of members of the Heritage Lesser Slave Lake project, which was completed Savings Trust Fund select committee were at a couple of years back. It's now in operation, the damsite last Friday, where we all applauded providing stabilization to the Lesser Slave Lake with you the official opening of that very area. This project was originally contemplated important drainage assistance project. The to cost about $7 million or $8 million and was Paddle River has had a lot of negatives over the completed quite a bit under budget, because the years, but it was certainly very positive on last works which were constructed there were not as Friday with the throngs of people, the smiling elaborate as had been originally suggested. We faces, and the great thank-yous. are now in the phase of monitoring the work At that point, I would sincerely like to say that has been done there to make sure it is welcome to you, Mr. Minister. If you have an achieving the results which were hoped for that overview comment, would you kindly proceed? project, and from reports I've heard to date, it's 178 Heritage Savings Trust Fund Act August 29, 1985 been successful. Coulee, were completed in the previous year. Under the land reclamation investment, What we are doing in terms of the actual we've done a lot of important work in land main canal is upgrading it from a capacity of reclamation throughout the province in terms of some 650 cubic feet per second to some 1,500 reclaiming landfills, sewage lagoons, and cfs. Work has started on the Keho Lake off- activities related to coal mining, gravel pits, stream storage project. The east dikes and and other industrial activities. I think it's been outlet works are essentially complete, and this very well accepted by the municipalities and year we'll be letting a contract on the citizens throughout the province that we've peripheral roads. It's anticipated that the invested these types of funds to reclaim these project will be completed in the next year. It eyesores and potential environmental problems will raise the level of the lake some six feet and which have existed throughout the province. increase the storage capacity from some 45,000 Earlier this month I circulated to all members acre-feet to some 75,000 acre-feet. It's of the Assembly a report on the activities in anticipated that the LNID project will be their constituencies, outlining the work that has completed totally in the spring of 1989. been done since 1975 with regard to With regard to the St. Mary River Irrigation reclamation work. As I said, I think it's been a District main canal rehabilitation and very successful project, and I know the results enlargement, we have completed some 73 miles in my own constituency have been worth while of the main canal and associated structures out and appreciated. of a total length of some 176 miles and have I should say that as part of this program spent some $66 million on the project to the end approximately $24 million has been expended to of March. This project is scheduled to be date. About $15.5 million of that has been in completed in 1989-90. Also this year, we have direct reclamation; another $7.5 million to $8 advanced the start on the Forty Mile Coulee million has been spent on reclamation research reservoir project. Alan Hyland, the MLA, in the foothills, mountain, plains, and oil sands announced that in Bow Island on August 6, and areas, looking at how best we can reclaim this afternoon he and I will be going down there industrial activities, focussing on coal mining to officiate at the official sod-turning for the and oil sands types of reclamation, very Forty Mile Coulee project. It's 70,000 acre-feet important projects. of offstream storage on the St. Mary's system. Another project which I should report on It was anticipated to cost some $58 million in today is the major project in terms of the 1984 dollars. The tenders for the project in irrigation headworks and main irrigation terms of the main work will be opened in the systems improvement. We've spent some $201 not too distant future. We've advanced million to the end of March on this program and construction by putting out some of the initial anticipate continuing to spend some $60 million work on a request basis to a number of local a year in the next two fiscal years with regard contractors to get the pad laid so that the main to allocations of expenditures. There will be contractor can start work as quickly as further expenditures in the future to complete possible. The project will be completed a year it. earlier than we originally anticipated. With regard to the Lethbridge Northern Also, this year we opened the Crawling Irrigation District's headworks system, we've Valley reservoir project in the Eastern spent some $74 million to the end of March Irrigation District. I believe it was officially 1985 and have reconstructed some 22 of the 50 opened in the first week of June of this year. miles of the main canal in the Lethbridge That project provided a 90,000 acre-foot Northern. We're anticipating spending some $19 internal storage reservoir for the Eastern million in the next fiscal year. As part of this Irrigation District. It was completed in the last project, we've rehabilitated the diversion fiscal year and cost some $5.7 million. headworks on the Oldman River, which are Another project which was completed last located on the Peigan Indian Reserve. We've year was the Badger Lake reservoir in the Bow replaced the flume which crosses the Oldman River Irrigation District. That provided 42,000 River on the Peigan Indian Reserve. The Wolf acre-feet of storage in the Bow River Irrigation Creek flume crossing has been replaced, and District and cost some $13 million.

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