SUNDRE – Barring any hurdles, the Town of Sundre's application to renew its existing approval for the wastewater treatment facility is expected to get the green light later in September.
Rasel Hossain, a municipal engineer with Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, joined representatives from the municipality and Soneera Water on Thursday, Aug. 21 at the town office’s council chamber during an open house to provide information and answer questions from the public about the project.
Hossain told the Albertan the ministry has worked alongside the municipality to reduce red tape and assist the municipality through the application to expedite the process.
“Usually, this type of application takes four months plus,” he said.
“But we took it as a priority.”
The ministry received the town’s application on July 17, and from that date the approval was expected to take approximately 60 days “unless there are major statements of concern from any citizens,” he said.
“So, we are following the process,” he said.
“We’ll try our best to issue the approval by mid- to end of September.”
Darrell Behan, Soneera Water’s CEO, said the company will be able to start construction once the provincial government approves the renewal application.
And provided the stars align, Behan said Soneera is aiming to have the new facility up and running by the end of March, 2026.
“If it’s ideal conditions … seven months,” he said.
Asked for an update on his previous announcement that Soneera had purchased a building in Sundre’s southwest industrial district, he said, “It’s coming along.”
The day the company gets approval from the provincial government, Soneera will not only be able to proceed with construction on the long-anticipated upgrades at the municipality’s wastewater treatment facility but also take the next steps towards establishing its headquarters in Sundre, he said.
The open house was scheduled throughout the day with sessions in the morning, afternoon and evening. The scaled-down mobile unit that was used throughout the testing phase was also brought onsite with Gonzales Lee, Soneera’s vice-president of technical services and technology provider, walking anyone who was interested through the process.
Approximately three dozen people attended overall. Among them were inquisitive residents who were curious about the project. But there were also representatives from other municipalities interested in learning more about the technology as well as its applications and implications.
“We’ve had other municipalities that are very interested in this technology that came today to take a look at our modular trailer and to speak with the professionals here so that we can at least get them up to speed on what they can look forward to,” said mayor Richard Warnock, who is eagerly anticipating the government’s approval.
“We are looking forward to it as soon as possible so that we can go to the next step.”
