The fate of a proposed $15-million frac sand facility near Leslieville has been put on hold.
A subdivision and development appeal board hearing at the Clearwater County offices on Tuesday did not resolve the contentious issue because of the sheer quantity of information.
Rick Emmons, secretary for the appeal board, said the board felt the amount of information was too much to assess at once.
The board has recessed to allow additional time to properly review the information and data from all parties. No date has been set to make the decision.
Eleven residents in Leslieville hired a lawyer to appeal the county’s development approval of the centre that Edmonton-based Di-Corp wants to build about three km west of Leslieville.
Residents argued that the facility would create a dangerous situation on local roads with 30 or so trucks coming and going from the site every day.
They also fear that a rail spur line that will be created for the fracking sand facility will mean a constant noise and ruin the view of the distant mountains.
Six 30-metre silos are proposed and a conveyor system will loom another 20 metres above the silos. The area is zoned industrial with railway access.
Di-Corp told the Advocate that the company spent a lot of time evaluating sites that would have the least impact on landowners and agricultural land.
A traffic impact assessment prepared for the project does not foresee any traffic problems posed by the project.