Cypress County reviewing details of its recently implemented dust control policy

By ANNA SMITH Local Journalism Initiative on February 6, 2025.

asmith@medicinehatnews.com

Cypress County is evaluating its rates and policies for a new dust control program, which came into effect for 2025.

In 2024, council chose to transition to calcium, or a similar product, for new private dust control patches. As part of this transition, administration was asked to develop a costing formula.

It was recommended by administration that the county adopt a cost-sharing policy, where the applicant covers 65 per cent, representing the cost of materials, and the county covers the remaining 35 per cent, representing labour and equipment expenses.

Coun. Dustin Vossler suggested directing administration to prepare a rate in which the applicant initially covers the full cost of the application, but for the placement of maintenance re-applications to be cost-shared.

There were concerns as to how long the initial application will last and how often it will need to be re-applied for maintenance purposes, and about the fact that people were being encouraged to build close to roads, where they might experience dust.

Ultimately, it was suggested the county complete a more comprehensive review of the current dust control policy, which was noted to have not been reviewed in some time. A motion was passed to complete this review, and return recommendations to council for the first meeting in April.

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