The District of Sparwood is committed to enhancing the well-being of our community through diverse and engaging recreational opportunities. We are looking…
Mayor's Monthly Editorial, May 2025
Throughout our lives most of us have done something, that if we could do it all over again, we would have made a different choice. For the most part, we hope that we have not affected someone. Unfortunately for the District of Sparwood, we have been victim of bad decisions in the form of vandalism to District property. This senseless destruction has reached a point where it is no longer an inconvenience, it is a financial burden to the taxpayer. Recently a porta-potty located in Sparwood Heights between the ball diamond and the multi-purpose court was deliberately destroyed. Now some would say, “what’s the big deal” just get another one. That “other one” is going to cost $3,000. Sparwood Council has to work within a fixed budget that has been set for the year. When unexpected costs arise, Council must reallocate funds from other planned projects. In this case Council made the difficult decision to defer re-graveling some of our playgrounds to purchase a new porta-potty.
Should the vandalism continue, it will get to the point where Council will have no choice but to not replace or fix whatever is damaged. This would be a loss for the entire community. To those responsible, think about your actions and the impact on your neighbours and community.
On another topic, Sparwood and before that Michel/Natal have been the hub for mining coal since 1903 and along with that comes side effects - one of which is dust. Whether it is from the pits or from the stacks at the plant, fugitive dust is a common occurrence.
Sparwood Council receives complaints about dust throughout the year, and we do our best to work with Elk Valley Resources (EVR) so that residual dust is kept to a minimum. Elk Valley Resources are required by provincial regulations to monitor dust for particulate matter at levels of 2.5 and 10. They are also required to report all of their results to the province. These reports are available to the public. Unfortunately, that does not resolve what the residents of Sparwood see every day. There are some that say Council doesn’t address the issue for fear of losing financial contributions from the mines, specifically the Elk Valley Mine Property Tax Sharing Agreement. That statement is absolutely false, the tax agreement is one that is signed by Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford and the RDEK with the Province of British Columbia. The coal mines are not a signature to the agreement.
Some residents of Sparwood have told Council to take the issues to the press and that will get results. There is no doubt that the press can expose issues with coal mining, however at the end of the day it is the responsibility of the mines to do better and improve their environmental performance.
Currently, EVR reports they are working on construction of a spoil on the north side of the Natal Pit, and activity, including fugitive dust, may be visible to the Sparwood area from this location. This spoil is being constructed to improve the geotechnical stability of the pit, and construction is anticipated to be completed by the end of August this year. To manage dust, they have now installed a new sprinkler system to help mitigate fugitive dust at this location, which they are running in drier conditions and will continue to work with the Province on operational use of foam products, with hopes to be able to start applying foam to help manage fugitive dust very soon.
Sparwood Council will continue to advocate for stricter oversight and enforcement and we will do everything in our power to work with the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Environment to have them regulate and monitor the coal mines with increased vigor. It is important that residents continue to direct their concerns about dust directly to the mines.
Community members are invited to join EVR for an interactive update on the Baldy Ridge Extension Project at Elkview Operations on Thursday, May 29, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Sparwood Seniors Drop-in Centre, located at 101, 4th Ave. Sparwood. More information on dust and ways to provide feedback can be found by visiting https://www.glencore.ca/en/evr/sustainability/dust-management.
