Clearwater County Council is supporting a resolution from neighboring Mountain View County regarding the use of fresh water for fracking purposes in the oil and gas industry.

It calls on the Government of Alberta to prioritize finding alternatives to the use of fresh water for fracking and that if drought restrictions are implemented, the fracking industry will reduce water use proportional to all other users.

Additionally, it raises concerns about overlap in water diversion policies between the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA).

It says the AER has been issuing water temporary diversion licenses (TDL) without verifying it has also met the processes and policies developed by the EPA.

According to the document, the EPA’s primary responsibility is to protect and enhance Alberta’s environment and ecosystems to ensure a sustainable future, making life better for Albertans.

The resolution adds that residential and agricultural use of water should be prioritized above industry needs for fracking.

Ultimately, officials say the purpose of the resolution is to lobby the province to make changes so that TDL approvals are done through EPA, and the AER be responsible for industry compliance.

Division 2 Councillor Sydney Graham mentioned she gets calls from constituents raising concerns about fracking activity in the county.

While making it clear she is a strong supporter of the oil and gas industry, Deputy Reeve Genny Mehlhaff says she hopes the industry can return to older methods of fracking which don’t include the diversion of large amounts of fresh water.

During the July 23, 2024 meeting, council unanimously passed a motion to second the resolution.

According to procedure, any motion that gets brought up at the RMA requires a seconder. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the council body supports the content of the motion.

Now that its been seconded, the resolution will come up for further debate and possible amendments at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) in November 2024.