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Catch basins possible cause of Rimrock odour woes

Regulators told High River council on Sept. 26 that they think catch basins are to blame for 'pungent odours' coming from Rimrock Feeders.
NEWS- Rimrock Feeders RK 5013WEB
Rimrock Feeders in Foothills County, west of High River on Aug. 27.

Representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) appeared at High River’s council meeting on Sept. 26 to discuss odour from Rimrock Feeders.  

Kevin Seward, compliance manager with the NRCB, said they have been investigating odours coming from the feedlot and have visited Rimrock Feeders, and the Town of High River, on multiple days and at different times of day. The NRCB regulates feedlot operations in Alberta.

He said they think they know the cause of the odours that have been described as intolerable and much worse than in past years.

“I think we’re getting a build-up of solids in there, and that’s creating that pungent odour,” Seward said. The catch basins contain runoff from the cattle pens and hold it until it can be applied to the land. 

“We’re working with Rimrock to get those catch basins pumped out, cleaned out, and we think that’s going to help address that pungent, pungent odour that comes in in the evening.” 

He said the basins will be cleaned out over the next few weeks and that Rimrock will use “cutting-edge technology” to direct-inject the material from the catch basins into the ground. 

Whether that solves the problem won’t be known until hot weather returns next summer, he said. If that does not work, Seward said, the NRCB will continue to investigate. 

High River Coun. Jenny Jones asked if people should expect excessive odours as the catch basins are cleaned. 

Seward said there would be odours during the clean-out process.

“We’re not trucking it, we’re not spraying it. It goes directly into the soil.” Seward said. “We have found that that system greatly reduces the odour.” 

Seward said the size of the feedlot hasn’t changed, the capacity hasn’t changed, and they are not looking at shutting it down. 

“We’re looking to find solutions," he said. "We’re not out there to shut businesses down.” 

Rimrock Feeders is located about six kilometres west of High River, in Foothills County.


Robert Korotyszyn

About the Author: Robert Korotyszyn

Robert Korotyszyn covers Okotoks and Foothills County news for WesternWheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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