PARLBY CREEK - BUFFALO LAKE
WATER MANAGEMENT PROJECT
ISSUE NO. 3
JULY 1991

PHASE V - BUFFALO LAKE STABILIZATION COMPONENT

EIA STATUS REPORT

office in Lacombe and held a number of
meetings to familiarize members with the
terms and scope of the project. The final
•EIA report was available at the Review
Board's office and at the municipal
offices of Alix, Bashaw, Mirror, Rochon
Sands and the County of Stettler. Public
hearings were held at the Alix
Community Hall on May 21 and 22,
1991.

Since the second newsletter, a lot has
happened. The draft EIA (March 1990)
was revised to reflect your comments as
well as those received by various
government departments. The final EIA
was released in March 1991.

A total of more than 150 members of the
public, the news media, registered and
non-registered intervenors attended the
hearings. A total of 56 presentations
were made during the two days of
hearings.

An independent Review Board was
appointed by the Minister of the
Environment, the Honourable Ralph
Klein. The Review Board was directed to
hold public hearings on the project;
review the environmental impacts of the
project and proposed
mitigative
measures; review the degree to which
local citizen's concerns were addressed
by the proponent; and provide advice on
the environmental acceptability of the
project.

The Review Board learned that the
majority of municipal, community and
corporate representatives in the area
overwhelmingly support the project.

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
o
o
o
o

Status Report on the Environmental
Impact'Assessment (EIA)
Project Update
Historical Resources Impact
Assessment (HRIA)
How to Keep in Touch

The Review Board established a project

The Review Board made the following
recommendations in their report released
June 24, 1991:
1.

the project should proceed;

2.

a Buffalo Lake Management Team
should be established with
membership reflecting the multiple

use nature of the project;
3.

the Management Team should
develop a management plan to
address issues arising from the
construction, operation and
monitoring of the project; and

4.

the project must comply with all
relevant provincial acts and
regulations.

Thanks are extended to those who
provided input during the EIA preparation
and review phase.
PROJECT UPDATE
On July 5, 1991, the Minister of the
Environment, the Honourable Ralph
Klein, announced Cabinet approval of
Buffalo Lake Stabilization.
Cabinet
accepted all recommendations of the
Review Board.
HISTORICAL RESOURCES IMPACT
ASSESSMENT
To ensure that historical information in
the project area is not lost for future
generations, an historical resources
impact assessment (HRIA) will be done
and a mitigation strategy will be designed
and implemented.
The HRIA will include field investigations
along the pipeline route, Buffalo Lake
shoreline and Tail Creek.
Field
investigations will be done by a team of
archaeologists from
Environmental
Management Associates, Calgary.

The archaeologists will investigate man's
past use of the lake and surrounding
area Over the past 10.OOp years. They
will search for campsites, killsites, animal
and fish processing sites, hunting sites
and so on. They will also be looking for
more recent sites including homesteads
and other structures dating to the turn of
the century.
Prior to field
investigations,
archaeologists rate the
historical
resource potential of a project area by
studying topographic maps, aerial
photographs, and site files housed by
Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism.
Because sites tend to be found in
conjunction with certain topographic
features, archaeologists are then able to
focus their efforts on sensitive areas
while in the field.
Archaeologists complete much of their
field investigations through visual
examination of the ground surface as
they walk the project area. Frequently,
sites will be found by artifacts or features
observed in cutbacks, areas of scanty
vegetation, rodent burrows, vehicle
tracks, and other disturbances. Flakes,
the by-product of stone tool manufacture,
are the most common artifact found.
When buried sites are anticipated, shovel
tests are necessary to expose the
subsurface. Although these tests are
small (less than three shovel widths on a
side), they allow the archaeologists to not
only find buried sites but to assess the
significance of the sites.
Historical resource
investigations
previously completed along the lakeshore

and nearby have yielded some
interesting sites. These include the
Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement, the Boss
Hill Buffalo Jump and numerous
campsites. While these sites are not
likely to be affected by the project, the
archaeologists will ensure that this is the
case and will look for other sites within or
close to the project boundaries.

HOW TO KEEP IN TOUCH
Your continued input is needed to ensure
that the project is implemented
successfully.
The Buffalo Lake Management Team will
be appointed in the. near future. In the
interim, if you have any questions or
concerns, please call or write:

If you have observed sites, have your
own artifact collections or have any
concerns about the HRIA field
Investigations, please call or write:
Annette Trimbee
Head, Environmental Evaluation
Section
9th Floor, 9820-106 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2J6
Phone: 427-2375

BY AUGUST 15, 1991

Cas Lukay
Project Manager
Phase V - Parlby Creek-Buffalo Lake
Water Management Project
8th Floor, 9820-106 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2J6
Phone: 427-6140