Epcor wants to move parking outside its current facility

Gold Bar residents fear Epcor expansion plans larger than first revealed

A plan to cut down trees to make room for an Epcor parking lot in Gold Bar Park has ignited a firestorm of resistance.

Area residents are worried Epcor plan is just the beginning of a much larger expansion project for its Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Not only are they scared an internal decision to reroute a major sewage trunk line from southeast Edmonton to the river valley plant will increase volume, they fear a seemingly innocuous rezoning request canada goose clearance sale tucked alongside the parking lot plan will open the door to even further expansion on site.

canada goose factory sale Now lawn signs in the community are hotcanadagoose popping up, some 3,000 people have signed a petition,and organizers of a campaign to stop any expansion are calling for a full public debate. Community members will get that chance Oct. 25 at city council utility canada goose black friday sale committee. canada goose factory sale

Canada Goose online us as residents, (increasing) the volume says to us more odour, more impact to our lives, said Simone Klann, a key organizer behind the neighbourhood resistance. are already significant odours in this area. We deal with that on a daily basis, said the speech language pathologist. Canada Goose online

reject any plan for expansion, said fellow area resident Jim Rickett, a telecommunications field manager.

only is it buy canada goose jacket cheap nuisance odours, there potential for dangerous odours, Rickett added, pointing to a 2015 Alberta Environment report on hydrogen sulphide levels exceeding provincial guidelines. That had experts warning people not to continue exercising in the popular park if the rotten egg smell is bad.

buy canada goose jacket Alberta Environment says Epcor has improved air quality since and is now self monitoring. buy canada goose jacket

canada goose clearance For its part, Epcor is now backing off the original parking lot plan, saying it heard neighbourhood opposition and will re evaluate alternatives before launching another round of consultation early next year. canada goose clearance

Canada Goose Jackets heard from people a desire to understand why we need to go forward with anything at all, said Martin Kennedy, director of public and government affairs at Epcor canada goose store in a recent interview. Because of that, the company is also looking at options to share parking, use shuttle buses and change who works based at the plant. Canada Goose Jackets

New parking lot is about safetyBut the basic issue is safety, said Kennedy. Epcor wants to move parking outside its current facility boundary because inside, it canada goose coats on sale fragmented and unsafe.

The proposal was for up to 220 stalls on the far side of a multi use path, with a raised pedway over the path to a new employee change room. Relocated parking, plus a request to rezone and allow administrative buildings outside the fence, would let the city owned company continue modernizing and expanding the treatment buildings inside the fence.

canada goose coats The company has $235 million in upgrades budgeted in the current five year plan. canada goose coats

buy canada goose jacket cheap Illustration of Epcor’s proposed expansion for its Gold Bar wastewater treatment facility. The North Saskatchewan River is just north of this map. buy canada goose jacket cheap

Canada Goose sale That work is important, he stressed. will Canada Goose Outlet be increased flows over the next several decades just to deal with the growth of the city. sewage trunk line that residents are upset with would serve most of the new development in southeast Edmonton. Since 1998, the plan was for a new trunk line to take that sewage to the Capital Region Wastewater Treatment Plant, which is downstream and so far outside Edmonton that it surrounded by farmers fields. Canada Goose sale

canada goose coats on sale Sewage trunk lineLast year, an internal city committee decided it would cost less to reroute that line directly north to Gold Bar. That was never debated by council but, because of neighbourhood buy canada goose jacket interest, it now on council Oct. 25 utility committee meeting agenda. canada goose coats on sale

canada goose uk black friday Epcor says modernizing the plant will let it handle all sewage treatment on its existing site, canada goose outlet moving only administrative buildings onto what now trees and a mountain biking trail. It promises it will replace any trees taken down, and use upgraded technology to keep odours to current levels or less. canada goose uk black friday

But that not enough for the residents.

uk canada goose outlet really seeing this movement gather steam, said Rickett, pointing to the many ski clubs, orienteering groups and others that use the park space. uk canada goose outlet

Canada Goose Outlet Some residents are even cheap Canada Goose calling for Edmonton to phase out this large industrial plant so close to residential homes and move more sewage treatment to the region, he said. Canada Goose Outlet

But Rickett said his canada goose deals group is calling for a freeze. expansion of sewage volume is an expansion. We reject that. The original plan called for a parking lot between Gold Bar Park Road and the asphalt shared use path. The treed area north of the shared use path would be rezoned public utility Canada Goose sale to allow for expansion. Epcor would relocate some administrative functions outside the existing footprint.

An Epcor decision to deny neighbourhood residents access to planning documents for the Gold Bar plant also has city councillors concerned.

canada goose clearance sale When council voted to hand drainage operations to the city owned company last summer, it was on the canada goose condition that it voluntarily make itself subject to Alberta freedom of information and protection of canada goose coats privacy legislation. canada goose clearance sale

But then the neighbourhood lobby group Save Gold Bar Park requested three documents the environmental impact assessment for the new parking lot, development plans for the wastewater treatment plant, and engineering reports on the decision to reroute the southeast sanitary sewer line.

canadian goose jacket Epcor only provided engineering reports because only that request related to its drainage functions, according to a Epcor response letter shared with Postmedia. canadian goose jacket

That obeys the of the law, but certainly isn the canadian goose jacket spirit of the agreement, said Coun. Ben Henderson, wondering if council can compel Canada Goose online the organization to extend its obligation to transparency.

canada goose black friday sale Coun. Andrew Knack said he intends to bring it up an upcoming shareholders meeting. Council Canada Goose Jackets members represent Edmonton as both the sole shareholders and the regulators for the utility company canada goose black friday sale.