Re: Sundre, Mountain View County explore land annexation potential
Here are some facts that were not included in the recent article regarding the Town of Sundre and Mountain View County (MVC) agreeing to initiate the process of annexation of the town’s sewage lagoon property.
I wrote the complaint as my family farm is located adjacent to this property.
The Town of Sundre Wastewater Treatment Plant is zoned as ‘Agricultural District’ and contains a lagoon system, associated buildings, and additional and land to the west and north of the lagoon system.
The site has been owned and operated by the Town of Sundre as a wastewater treatment plant since 1982. The land surrounding the lagoons is currently being utilized as a waste management facility including storage of construction waste and up until recently, animal carcass disposal pit.
A waste management facility is defined in MVC bylaws as a site used primarily for the storage, processing, treatment and disposal of solid and/or liquid wastes, which may have adverse environmental impact on adjacent sites by virtue of potential emissions and/or appearance.
The land surrounding the lagoons is zoned as agricultural. No approval was given to the Town of Sundre to use this land as a waste management facility, and no consultation was given to neighbouring landowners that this productive agricultural land would be transitioned into a waste management facility.
During the original approval process for the project in 1982, landowners brought up concerns that the project would be cited in prime agricultural and recreational land.
To mitigate landowner concerns, the project was approved with conditions including keeping the site free and clean of weeds at all times, maintaining the fencing around the site, seeding of the site to the satisfaction of the county and balance of tree planting, to mitigate the visual impacts of the lagoons.
As this land is zoned as agricultural, the complaint called upon the town and MVC to ensure this land is meeting MVC’s definition of agricultural land.
As per MVC bylaws, the purpose of agricultural district land is to accommodate and promote agricultural land uses on larger parcels while having regard for the rural agricultural character of the area.
Specifically, the complaint called for the following:
1. Immediate action from the MVC to stop any additional storage of construction waste, debris or animal carcasses at this site.
2. A detailed environmental site assessment to appropriately outline and characterize all actual and potential areas of environmental concerns now at this site as a result of transitioning the land use from agricultural land to a waste management facility.
3. Enforcement of the Town of Sundre to remediate any areas of actual environmental impact and reclaim the site back to its approved land use of agricultural land.
In response to the complaint, which was submitted Oct. 15, 2025 to MVC, the Town of Sundre did complete some clean-up efforts at the site including burning of brush piles and removal of some debris.
However, the site is still being utilized as a waste management facility. It currently contains construction debris, as well as an active animal carcass pit.
Immediate action was not taken by MVC to stop any additional storage of construction waste, debris or animal carcasses at this site.
The April 1 article regarding annexation of this land notes: “the option was considered to redesignate the lands to institutional, educational and cultural district from agricultural district.”
The approved uses for “S-IEC zoning” include waste management facility. As such, it appears MVC and the Town of Sundre are looking at alternative ways to keep this parcel of land functioning as a waste management facility as opposed to stopping storage of construction waste, debris or animal carcasses at this site.
Contamination knows no boundaries. As our third generation family farm boarders this site, we are concerned about the potentially contaminating activities occurring at this site.
Surrounding landowners and residents within the northern part of the Town of Sundre should also pay attention to this parcel of land, as it appears that approval for a new waste management facility may be in the works.
Janelle Mikal,
Mountain View County
