Sandstill – BC Shuts Down Fraser River Dredging
Source of 95% of Sand Used on Lower Mainland Golf Courses and Sportsfields Suspended
By Jerry Rousseau
Sanscorp Dregding Operation, Maple Ridge. Image courtesy Sanscorp
An interesting voice mail the other day from Kim Andrews of Sanscorp Products Ltd, a company that dredges the Fraser River for sand used in agriculture and a wide variety of industries, has kicked off another major advocacy initiative for the British Columbia turf management industry.
I spoke with Kim near the end of October and learned that dredging of the ‘Langley Bar’, a federally recognized navigational channel near Maple Ridge, is at a standstill due to the BC Provincial government’s permitting restrictions under the guise of the Water Sustainability Act. Critically, this is the source of 95% of the sand used on golf courses and sportsfields in the lower mainland.
On October 11th, a formal letter and call-to-action was circulated by the company to their customers throughout the lower mainland with the following message:
___________________________________________________
Dear Valued Customers,
We would like to inform you that, due to recent Provincial Government permitting restrictions, Sanscorp Products Ltd. has had to suspend its routine periodic maintenance dredging of the Langley Bar to -6.0 LLW. This service is essential for the safe navigation of Transport Canada, as well as public and private vessel traffic, at no cost to the Government. More detailed information regarding this decision and its impacts on golf courses, sports fields, dairies for agricultural sand, septic fields, and NSF certified water filtration sand is included in the attached formal letter.
Please note that Owens Pit will remain fully operational, and we will continue to source all necessary materials, excluding river sand products.
Your voice can make a difference. If you have concerns or thoughts on this matter, we highly encourage you to reach out to the officials listed below. Your input is invaluable in ensuring that we can maintain a strong business partnership moving forward.
Important Contacts:
Due to the ongoing election period, Nathan Cullen is currently out of the office. For any inquiries or to garner a response, please contact the minister’s office directly at:
Provincial Contacts:
Caroline Ashekian
Licensed Section Head - Stream Management
Email: Caroline.Ashekian@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 236-468-1281
Ross McElroy
Executive Director, Authorizations Branch
Permitting Transformation Division
Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS)
Email: Ross.McElroy@gov.bc.ca
Phone: (250) 739-8452
Tammy Hillyer
Director, Resource Authorizations South Coast
Email: Tammy.Hillyer@gov.bc.ca
Phone: 778-572-2172
Federal Contact:
Ryan Greville
Manager, Navigable Waters Protection
Transport Canada
Email: ryan.greville@tc.gc.ca
Phone: (604) 775-5486
Thank you for your continued support during this time. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you need further information.
Kind Regards
Brody Long
Sanscorp Products Ltd.
________________________________________
Turf managers take note - the province’s decision has effectively halted Sanscorp operations leaving no other local lower mainland source for USGA spec topdressing sand or sportsfield sand. There are other local sources however they are not exactly to specification for golf course greens.
I’ve talked to a few key players and feelings are mixed. One perspective is that topdressing greens shouldn’t be interrupted but a price increase is expected. Fairways on the other hand could be impacted just due to sheer volume and golf courses may need to consider recycling what they already have, ie. pulling cores, letting them dry and dragging them back in.
Certainly, we are in the very early stages of this issue, advocacy efforts are just getting going and an awareness campaign, starting with this article, is the typical the first step. The WCTA Board has discussed the situation, is currently in the ‘seeing further information’ stage and I anticipate much more to come on the subject in the next few months.