Construction is expected to begin on a regional garbage transfer facility at the Canmore wastewater treatment plant in the spring of 2013.
Once construction begins, the east regional waste transfer station is expected to be open by the fall of 2013, according to Canmore councillor Hans Helder, one of six directors for the Bow Valley Waste Management Commission (BVWMC) director.
Construction is not being planned to occur over winter as the site will have to be excavated and the water table is at its lowest in April and May, Helder said on Aug. 29 during a BVWMC meeting at the Canmore Civic Centre.
He added costs would likely be higher if construction takes place during winter.
The project steering committee is currently waiting on two outstanding issues: a third-party cost estimate for the facility and further information from the Province of Alberta in regards to the lease of land needed for the facility.
“We have made good progress,” Helder said. “With respect to having ISL engineering provide detailed designs drawings, we’re hopeful to have that in the near future. One of the things we have discussed is to have a general meeting of the board to deal with these substantive details at which time the board will be given detailed design and cost estimates.”
The general design is complete. However, the steering committee is still working with the cost estimate.
“We want to be comfortable before we come to the board,” Helder said.
BVWMC chair Dene Cooper, who also sits on the transfer station subcommittee, said delaying the project until spring has more to do with getting the site prepared than the engineering.
That is still an important element, he said.
“The key item for us is we can’t start until we get board approval and we can’t get board approval until we get good costing estimates,” Cooper said.
“We need to get a better understanding of that. It is a really important installation for waste management in the Bow Valley. If it takes a bit of time, it’s a good thing to do,” he said, adding being hasty is not worthwhile.
“The land title takes the longest to resolve as it includes the province in that.”
Darcy Edison, BVWMC chief administrative officer, said without a lease the project will not move ahead and the more general cost estimate will be broken down and brought back to the transfer station subcommittee.
“We would like to pick apart the numbers and bring that back to the subcommittee so we can move forward,” he said.
