'Will change the lake': Residents worry about proposed feedlot operation near Pigeon Lake, Alta.
Residents south of Edmonton are concerned about a proposed feedlot near Pigeon Lake.
Despite the long weekend, an information session Saturday night drew a large crowd that was eager to learn the risks of the proposal and what can be done about it.
Martin Klatt, a farmer on the west shore of Pigeon Lake, said the long weekend didn't deter anyone from coming to hear how the development could harm the lake's water quality and cause other issues.
"It was quiet, peaceful and clean," he told CTV News Edmonton. "It was just the way we wanted to live, and that's going to change big time.
"It already has somewhat, but now when they put in three times the amount of cattle that are there now, I think it's going to be almost unbearable," Klatt said.
According to the Pigeon Lake Watershed Association, there would be no way to manage the feedlot properly and negate any environmental impacts.
"The proposed confined feeding operation is an industrial scale agricultural operation that will produce nutrients, phosphorus primarily, that will change the lake creating more problems with harmful algal blooms and impacting all the users of Pigeon Lake," said Robert Gibbs, Pigeon Lake Watershed Association president.
Concerned residents living near Pigeon Lake, Alta., attended an information session on Saturday, May 22, 2022, to hear about a proposed feedlot (CTV News Edmonton/Sean McClune).
"With harmful algal blooms and degradation of water quality, peoples' health is impacted," he added. "We don't think there's any beneficial management practices that would really offset that amount of nutrients coming into the lake."
The feedlot applicant declined to comment to CTV News Edmonton.
The group leading the fight against the feedlot believes the proposal will get the approvals it needs to move forward with the project. Either way, they're preparing a case to have it stopped.
"In the court of common sense, this should be denied," said Jeannette Hall, an organizer with Families Impacted by the Pigeon Lake Feedlot.
"But, because I'm aware of the policy framework and the problems in the legislation, it's most likely, if we were to bet, I'd say it's going to go through, so that means we're likely to do an appeal," Hall added.
No timeline is set for a decision.
The region relies on the lake during the summer season for tourism and recreation, Gibbs said. In his view, the only option is to find another location for the feedlot — far away from the water.
"(If approved), they can't let their children go out, or their pets go out into the water, and it impacts the long-term plans that people have for their cottages and their daily use of the shore," Gibbs said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
BREAKING Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
Widespread theft costing Canada's retail industry dearly: experts
The Retail Council of Canada wants to put a stop to widespread theft within the retail industry, and industry leaders are meeting this week to find solutions.
Former South Dakota mayor charged with triple homicide
Three people were shot to death in a small South Dakota town, and a former law officer who once served as the town's mayor is charged in the killings.