County of Stettler council has decided that the current Road Use Agreement should be rewritten and updated to accommodate the changes that have occurred since it was last reviewed 10 years ago.
Council took up the matter during their regular meeting on Wednesday July 8.
In its current form, the document is considered cumbersome and long, and it was proposed that some of the sections needed to be revised and rewritten.
One of the revisions proposed and supported unanimously by the council is set to abolish perpetual site-specific decisions and move to annual permits. This move will lead to a more thorough monitoring and up-to-date records.
The annual permit would allow the use of county’s roads without companies having to amend or sign another agreement, and all they would need to do is request another inspection of their chosen route.
The other significant revision to the agreement has been the addition of how a haul is defined. The council decided to define it as ‘five or more trips, under the control of one company, in a 24 hour period.’ However, companies would still need to secure permits for a haul through a central database used throughout the province.
Although the county does not charge fees for Road Use Agreements and therefore there is no financial impact, the council might decide to look into it in the near future.
Council has not voted on the renewed version on the document to wait for minor amendments to be made to the text.