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DeWinton residents dismayed by appeal denial

Neighbours of a Heritage Heights-area hemp farm development are concerned about well water being used as irrigation.
NEWS-DeWinton Hemp Farm BWC 0531 web
Neighbours of a Heritage Heights-area hemp farm development, pictured on July 22, are concerned about well water being used as irrigation and disappointed their appeal to the County was denied.

DeWinton area residents opposed to a hemp farm development were disappointed to see an appeal denied and are taking the fight to the Province.

“We have actually engaged a lawyer,” said Curtiss Law, who lives in the Norris Coulee area near the hemp farm, which is located just off Highway 552 near 32 Street East.

“He is very well-versed in environmental issues and is going to take up the cause on our side.”

He said the issue neighbours in the area have centre around water, with concerns about the aquifer being able to sustain the homes already tapped into it as well as a farming operation using it for irrigation.

“Fundamentally, the culture we have here is water via rain, not via wells,” said Law.

Residents feel Alberta Environment has fast-tracked the permanent commercial well licence for the operation, because there have not been full environmental impact studies undertaken to-date, he said.

While Foothills County heard an appeal on the development permit application approval, the decision of the development officer was upheld as the municipality does not have jurisdiction on water and the operation is within the scope of the agricultural land-use zoning on the land.

“The County has jurisdiction over land-use, the provincial government has jurisdiction over water and the federal government is issuing hemp licences,” said Law.

He is hoping Alberta Environment and Parks will be convinced to review and deny the permanent water licence for the hemp farm.

“Certainly we would expect to see some kind of water table study performed, and environmental impact studies performed, and move along from there,” said Law.

Ryan and Elisa McKellar, who live across from the development, aired concerns over the hemp farm operation in June and attended the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board hearing on June 24.

“It’s disappointing Foothills County didn’t uphold our appeal, but unfortunately it wasn’t unexpected in that Foothills County seems to be taking this line that the parcel is agriculturally zoned and what these guys are doing is agricultural,” said Ryan. “I guess what was concerning about that is this is by no means a traditional agricultural operation.”

He said the fact it will be irrigated and that some hemp flower processing will be happening on-site makes it different than a typical farm.

It doesn’t seem right to allow an operation to use well water for a cash crop when other farmers are struggling in a county that has declared a municipal agricultural disaster, he said.

“To me, it seems very unjust that there’s grain farmers and canola farmers and hay farmers right now who are literally watching their crops wither in this heat, and this out-of-province guy is irrigating hemp off a well,” said Ryan.

He said the neighbours are not worried about what the crop is, but more about how it’s being watered. While diversification on the land is welcomed, they want to ensure it’s sustainable, he said.

Elisa said residents have not been provided with evidence the hemp farm use will not have a negative impact on their own wells.

“It’s ridiculous that we have to stand by and watch the water just literally being sucked from the ground right before our eyes,” she said.

People are upset with how the entire development has come to be, she said.

“I think a lot of people are very frustrated with the lack of process, the lack of protocol that’s happened, and that this is allowed to happen,” said Elisa.

Kristi Beunder of Township Planning + Design represented the landowner in the appeal hearing and said despite concerns raised by the neighbours, everything has been done above board.

She said a development permit application wouldn’t have been necessary on the property had there not been a 10,000 square-foot accessory building proposed to be used for storage of bales and equipment, as well as the production activity.

The landowner holds a hemp licence from the federal government and could have direct-seeded the crop without informing the municipality or the neighbours, she said.

“I tend to err on the side of caution always…so I made a development permit application because of these buildings, not because of the crop,” said Beunder. “Little did I know the fire storm it would set off.”

She said the water concerns are largely unfounded, because it will only be used for two months of the year, during the growing season of July and August.

The plan is to pump 10 gallons per minute, for 12 hours per day during those months, which will equate to about 2,000 cubic metres per year, she said. The average household is entitled to 1,250 cubic metres per year without a water licence.

Currently, the commercial water licence application is still underway and water is being trucked in for the 2021 crop, she said.

Alberta Environment will determine the availability of water as part of the licencing process, she said.

“This is the way it is done under the Water Act,” said Beunder.

If necessary, she said a well may be drilled on the hemp farm site to monitor water levels, which would not include a pump and would be for observation only.

“If the water levels decline in the well beyond a certain amount, then the landowner will respond in an appropriate way, such as using less or no water,” said Beunder.

She said the number of concerns raised to-date have prompted Alberta Environment to visit the property several times to complete inspections, and the farm is required to submit reports on water usage monthly as part of the licencing process.

A lot of the issues from neighbours could have been addressed before going to appeal, she said.

“We haven’t spoken with any of these people, and I think that’s really unfortunate,” said Beunder.

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