There could be up to nearly 600 people working for two years in the Clearwater-Vavenby area if the proposed twinning of the Trans Mountain Pipeline goes ahead.
That was the message brought by a delegation from the pipeline company to a meeting of Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce on Monday evening, Nov. 18.
“Kinder Morgan’s goal is to create as much local employment and economic impact as possible,” company spokesperson Kate Stebbings said.
Kinder Morgan will submit the application for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project by the end of December 2013, she told the Chamber.
A decision from the National Energy Board is expected by mid-2015.
If approved, pipeline construction would begin early in 2016, with land clearing activities preceding that construction
Construction would take place during 2016 and 2017. Kinder Morgan anticipates the twinned pipeline will be in operation by 2018
Property taxes paid to District of Clearwater would increase from $343,000 to $856,000 per year during operations (once the project is completed in 2018).
The TNRD would see an increase from $5,651,000 to $13,135,000 – though about 50 per cent of that would be school taxes.
In Clearwater, construction is anticipated to begin in August, 2016 and will continue until the end of 2017. Workforce in the area will fluctuate, with a peak of 590 workers based in the Clearwater and Vavenby area in the early spring and summer of 2017.
Almost 150km of pipeline and one new pump station (at Blackpool) will be constructed from the Clearwater construction hub.
The pipeline from Darfield south to Kamloops already has been twinned.
“Two workforce accommodation models are being considered for the Clearwater region. We heard very clearly from local business owners that they were concerned that hosting a large work crew in Clearwater would result in the loss of regular tourism business,” said Stebbings.
The two models are:
• Using local accommodation; and
• Workforce camp in Vavenby.
Workforce calculations are based on a standardized statistical model and will be refined over the coming year.
Estimated spending by the workforce, if it is based in Clearwater, would be $32.5 million over the 2016/2017 construction period. This estimate is subject to revision, Stebbings emphasized.
This estimate includes $1.4 million in fuel, $900,000 in vehicle services, plus $3.2 million in snacks, beverages, papers and magazines
Estimated spending in the Clearwater area if workforce is based in Vavenby camp would be over $10 million.
Once again, the Trans Mountain spokesperson emphasized the estimate is subject to revision.
Other local impacts would include pipeline and pump station employment. This would involve semi-skilled, skilled and trades positions. The estimate is there would be 20-30 per cent local employment, depending on availability and competition from other projects and employers.
Other opportunities would involve pipeline and pump station contracting, for example, trucking, sand and gravel, security, traffic management, logging and clearing, Stebbings said.
Community members can register their interest in receiving updates about jobs and procurement opportunities in two ways:
• www.transmountain.com/procurement
Anyone interested in receiving general project updates can sign up for Trans Mountain's email newsletter at www.transmountain.com.