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By Dylana Kneeshaw

TMX FUNDING AGREEMENT

District of Clearwater and Trans Mountain sign $3.1 million agreement for water infrastructure upgrades

Aug 11, 2020 | 10:04 AM

KAMLOOPS — Trans Mountain and the District of Clearwater have penned a new $3.1 million funding agreement to improve the area’s infrastructure and water systems.

The District says in a release that the money will be used for upgrades to Clearwater’s drinking water, wastewater management, and sewer treatment systems. In order to service the Trans Mountain worker accommodation camp and minimize the impact of the community, the infrastructure upgrades are necessary.

The camp is on Thompson-Nicola Regional District land, and will house up to 550 workers of the expansion project during construction. The site will be operated by Tsetsk’wem Management Services – which is a partnership between Simpcw Resource Group and ATCO.

Clearwater is included within Trans Mountain’s North Thompson route, which is approximately 275 kilometres of pipeline construction between Mount Robson Provincial Park, and the Darfield Pump Station north of Kamloops.

Clearwater Mayor Merlin Blackwell says the water line and sewer system improvements were already needed, so the District decided to see whether Trans Mountain would be interested in helping fund the projects.

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“We put a business case to Trans Mountain saying that it might be in their financial interest to actually help us build these water lines and sewer improvements versus trucking both water and sewer to other locations,” he explains, “And they listened to us, went through the business case, and said ‘Yes that’s a great idea.’ ”

Blackwell says the agreement will bring a lasting benefit to the region.

“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.”

The $3.1 million in funding comes on top of the nearly $900,000 annually paid in local taxes after the expansion, and a $390,000 community benefit agreement for community projects, and local education and training opportunities.

Construction upgrades to the various water management and treatment systems began in July this year, and will take about three months to complete. The sewer capacity expansion will provide the ability to handle raw sewage from the camp without interfering with the town’s sewer system, and it will eliminate the impacts of trucking the waste away to Kamloops. Two additional waterline installations will bring potable water and fire suppression to the worker camp, and be in place for any future development of the industrial lands.

“When we began planning the Expansion Project, we made a commitment to work with communities to minimize the impact of construction activity, and maximize the long-term benefits for local communities,” Ian Anderson, President and CEO of Trans Mountain states in the release.

“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.”