Trans Mountain signs funding agreement with District of Clearwater for infrastructure upgrades

“When we began planning the Expansion Project, we made a commitment to work with communities to minimise the impact of construction activity, and maximise the long-term benefits for local communities,” said Ian Anderson, President and CEO of Trans Mountain. “Through a cooperative effort between our team and the District of Clearwater, we developed a solution that meets Trans Mountain’s needs while leaving lasting benefits for the District and the citizens of Clearwater.”

“Trans Mountain has been an absolutely stellar corporate citizen to us. We are excited about the many legacy projects Trans Mountain is partnering with us on, many of which will help us now with some important safety and infrastructure needs, but will then provide us future opportunity to grow our local economy and to improve the quality of life for our citizens,” said Merlin Blackwell, Mayor, District of Clearwater.

Trans Mountain’s North Thompson office is in Clearwater, where there are a number of operating facilities and many Trans Mountain team members who work and live in the community. As a good neighbour, Trans Mountain is committed to providing benefits through the Expansion Project. On top of the nearly CAN$900 000 annually paid in local taxes after expansion, a community benefit agreement was announced in 2015 with the District of Clearwater for CAN$390 000 that will go towards funding community projects and local education and training opportunities.

Construction of the upgrades to drinking water, wastewater management and sewer treatment systems began in late July 2020 and will take approximately three months to complete. Two waterline installations will provide potable water and fire suppression to the worker accommodation camp and will benefit the future development of the industrial lands located in the area. The sewer capacity expansion provides the ability to accept raw sewage generated by the camp without interfering with the town sewer system and eliminating the impacts of trucking waste to Kamloops.

Trans Mountain’s worker camp community in Clearwater, BC is operating on land owned by the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. The camp will house up to 550 people working on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project during construction in the area, scheduled from September 2020 to late 2022. The site will be operated by Tsetsk’wem Management Services – a Joint Venture between Simpcw Resource Group and ATCO, a partnership formed specifically for the Expansion Project. Trans Mountain camp communities are planned for smaller communities to limit pressure on local housing and services. Camp communities are designed to be self-sufficient, to minimise the impact on local infrastructure and services and will provide for their own utilities, primary health care, security, fire and recreational services for their residents.

“The District is very thankful and appreciative of the development of a funding agreement to complete the necessary infrastructure improvements for our water and sewer systems to be able to serve the Trans Mountain camp. These three projects alone will fast track our infrastructure upgrades the equivalent of 10 years, and that is assuming we were successful in applying for grants to fund and complete them. It has been a pleasure working with the team at Trans Mountain this past six years to bring this to fruition,” said Leslie Groulx, Chief Administrative Officer, District of Clearwater.

The District of Clearwater is part of Trans Mountain’s North Thompson construction spread that includes approximately 275 km of pipeline construction between Mount Robson Provincial Park and the Darfield Pump Station north of Kamloops. Construction on the Temporary Stockpile Site in Valemount began in February 2020 and pipeline construction is expected to begin in 3Q20. Trans Mountain understands the importance of ensuring our workforce and their accommodations are well-managed and are aligned with the host community’s interests and capacity. In addition to our Worker Code of Conduct, there are clear camp policies and management practices in place to ensure a safe and respectful environment for all.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/12082020/trans-mountain-signs-funding-agreement-with-district-of-clearwater-for-infrastructure-upgrades/