Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Vito’s Restaurant, Hazen Avenue, Saint John and Tour of Milford Side of St. John River
Roger Burton, Brunswick Pipeline Co-Chair
Peter Fenety, Community Co-Chair
Susan Harris, Brunswick Pipeline Community Relations Manager
Lyman Stears
Peggy Thompson
Burt Stewart
David Peterson
The agenda was accepted as presented.
The minutes were accepted as presented.
The Environmental Protection Plan for the operation if the pipeline is under draft.
Continuation of SNBCLC: Since the construction and pipe laying progress will be completed before winter, the question was asked whether the SNBCLC would like to continue meeting on a regular basis during the winter months. The Committee was established under the premise that it would meet regularly for a 2 year period. However, it is up to the Committee should they wish to suspend the meetings until the spring, when environmental mitigation and 2009 clean up and restoration of the RoW begins. The Committee agreed to meet in October and to discuss and decide the question.
Roger provided an overview of construction progress:
Urban- Approximately 73% complete with work continuing on road boars and road crossings. Clearing and grading have begun at the Galbraith gravel pit.
Rural- Approximately 42% complete in the rural area. Grading and trenching have been slow due to the wet weather.
St. JohnRiver HDD – The 42” ream was completed on August 28, 2008. The pull-through will begin on Friday, September 12 and is expected to take about two days. A video of the pull-through will be made of the pull, with copies made available after it is completed.
The expected construction completion date is mid-November, with hydrostatic testing to be completed by the end of November. The pipeline is expected to be declared “in-service” by early or mid-December. Rough clean-up of the ROW will begin along the RoW as construction is finished. Final clean-up scheduled for May-June 2009.
Overall, the project is approximately 62% complete.
Susan provided an update on the other Brunswick Pipeline Committees. The Rockwood Park Committee has not been as active. The new trail in Rockwood Park is almost finished. The Rockwood Park Committee will meet again after completion of the trail then will disband until the spring, to review how the RoW made out over the winter and to review the spring/summer 2009 environmental program.
The Saint John Community Liaison Committee (SJCLC) met on August 18, at which time they were taken on a tour of some of the construction sites. The SJCLC meets again next week.
There will be a Milestone event for stakeholders at noon, Monday, September 22 at the Lily Lake Pavilion in Rockwood Park. In addition to the St. John River pipe pull-through, a construction update will be provided, including items completed and what is left to do. The entire committee is invited to join the event. The Community Contact 6 newsletter will be circulated in the next few weeks; environment will be its primary focus.
While construction will be completed by end-November, general clean-up only will be started by winter. As environmental concerns are primary with southwest New Brunswick residents, there will likely be concerns expressed about the condition the RoW is left in. Committee members can advise residents that Brunswick Pipeline will return to the RoW in the spring/summer of 2009 to continue clean-up, reseeding and environmental assessments of the ground above the pipeline.
Committee members were reminded that if any questions or concerns are expressed, the members can contact Susan directly or can address the concern directly. If given to Susan, it will be addressed and a report on the resolution provided at the next SNBCLC meeting. This will ensure that questions are answered without delay and concerns addressed in a timely manner.
A visit of the Milford side of the St. John River Pull through took place.
TBA
Download Minutes (pdf)