Advocacy

Broadband/high-speed internet

Background

Leduc County recognizes the importance of accessible high-speed internet, which provides access to learning, helps businesses grow and remain resilient and connects families.

In 2021, a Broadband Strategy was approved by Council. The strategy outlined the requirements necessary to meet the County’s broadband needs over the next 10 years.

Council originally selected broadband/high speed internet as an area of focus specifically for the Nisku Business Park to support economic development opportunities and drive both development and redevelopment in the Nisku Business Park.

In August 2022, a private company approached Leduc County regarding the installation of fibre in Nisku Business Park. Due to private industry filling the need for broadband in Nisku Business Park, Council shifted its focus to improving broadband/high-speed internet access in rural Leduc County.

Background

Leduc County is home to several economic corridors that are integral to new and existing businesses and industries in the province, including Highway 625.

Highway 625 is part of the provincial high load corridor, which consists of designated highways that have had overhead utility lines raised to accommodate loads up to nine metres high, unless noted otherwise.

Nisku has a series of high load corridors designated through the traffic bylaw, such as Nisku Spine Road, that are utilized by companies with over-dimensional loads that travel both from and to Nisku. In Nisku, the traffic signals have bases that can rotate, which allow the signals to move out of the way to allow over-dimensional loads through.

After the 2019 annexation with the City of Beaumont, jurisdiction of the lands on both sides of Highway 625 became the City’s. The City is now planning new non-residential development on the south side of Highway 625, enhancing the opportunity for additional direct points of access from private lands onto the highway.

It is administration’s understanding that the City of Beaumont is completing a functional planning study* on its portion of Highway 625 to add more access points – located at Range Road 243 and 50 Street and Range Road 241 and 50 Street – to the highway. These two points would be in addition to the access point that exists at Range Road 243 and 60 Street.

The current access point at 60 Street, Beaumont, was supposed to be in place temporarily until the ring road in Beaumont was complete; however, after the ring road was complete the access point remained in place. This access point was granted by Leduc County when it was in our jurisdiction (pre-annexation).

Adding additional signals will slow high-load traffic significantly and affect key businesses in Nisku Business Park.

*To date, Leduc County has not been involved in the functional planning study.

Background

Leduc County is home to the Nisku Business Park, which is located just south of Edmonton in Alberta. Together, the Nisku and Leduc business parks form the second largest energy manufacturing industrial park in North America and the largest in Canada.

Nisku Spine Road is a north-south roadway in Leduc County that supports the Nisku Business Park, Edmonton International Airport (YEG), the cities of Edmonton, Leduc and Beaumont and surrounding region.

The road is designed to accommodate oversized and over-dimensional vehicles in and out of Nisku and provides an alternate route from the City of Edmonton through Nisku to communities south of Leduc County.

Once complete, the road will run from 41 Avenue SW in Edmonton south to 65 Avenue in the City of Leduc.

Currently, Nisku Spine Road consists of four paved lanes that run from 41 Avenue SW in Edmonton south to Township Road 510 in Leduc County. Two paved lanes continue south from Township Road 510 to Airport Road. There is one gravel section of Nisku Spine Road remaining, which runs from Allard Avenue to 65 Avenue in the City of Leduc.

Leduc County is advocating to increase Nisku Spine Road from two lanes to four paved lanes from Township Road 510 to Airport Road.

Background

The Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) grant will be replaced by the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) grant beginning in the 2024-25 fiscal year. While the Local Government Fiscal Framework Act establishes some aspects of how the LGFF will look, the Government of Alberta is engaging Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) and Alberta Municipalities to develop an allocation formula and approach to program design.

MSI has been a consistent source of funding for municipalities. On average, Leduc County received approximately $5.7 million of funding annually through the MSI program. Once the LGFF program is in place, we are anticipating a drop from $5.7 million to $3 million annually.

Background

The Vantage Pointe country residential subdivision was approved and constructed with communal water distribution and wastewater collection systems. Water is hauled to the subdivision to a cistern, and wastewater is selected in a central holding tank and then hauled away. The original plan for the subdivision was to have a communal wastewater treatment system to allow the collected wastewater to be treated onsite.

Vantage Pointe submitted an application – first in 2014 and then re-submitted in 2016 – for the construction of a communal wastewater treatment plant to Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP).

Since 2014, Leduc County administration has been working with the Vantage Point Homeowners Association (HOA) to assist them with the approval of their communal wastewater treatment plant.

• In 2014, the HOA submitted an application under the Environment Protection and Enhancement Act for approval to treat domestic wastewater from the development and disperse it into the local wetland. This system was designed in conformance with the standards in effect in 2014.
• In Oct. 2017, after numerous design revisions, an email from AEP was delivered to the applicants stating a draft approval was complete and the final approval would be issued.
• Before the final approval could be issued, non-compliance issues arose with regard to Water Act approvals for stormwater management and wetland work for this project.
• A remediation proposal was submitted by the developers to satisfy the issues of concern, based on AEP requirements.
• Even though they are unrelated, AEP held the wastewater approval in abeyance until the stormwater management and wetland issues were addressed.
• After the two issues were separated, AEP then applied a new set of standards and requirements to the Vantage Pointe communal wastewater treatment plant. The redesign would require both increased expenses and operating costs.
• On July 3, 2020, the residents of Vantage Pointe submitted an appeal to the Alberta Environmental Appeal Board.
• The Appeal Board shared a decision on Jan. 28, 2022, agreeing with AEP’s position that a decision had not been made on the application, and therefore, there was no decision that could be appealed.