Elected representatives in Smithers are celebrating a federal investment of $3,052,584 for sewage plant upgrades. The grant is matched by $2.5 million from the provincial government and $2 million from the Town of Smithers.
“This is a really important project and I’m extremely pleased to see it finally come through after so much hard work,” said Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach in a press release. “The Town’s wastewater infrastructure improvements will mean less impact on the Bulkley River, which is such a cherished feature of our valley, and will accommodate future growth of the community.”
Bachrach provided a letter of support for the Town’s proposals, and highlighted the project through his role on the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities.
Mayor Gladys Atrill thanked the Federal and Provincial governments for the funding announcement on behalf of council and the Town.
"Congratulations to Town staff for their great work on the application to the ICIP-EQ Program, and to the staff who have maintained a high quality of operations at our wastewater facility while we waited for this much needed grant," Atrill said.
At the Town, we all want to do the best work possible and we recognized the need for improvements to the plant, though with a cost of nearly $8million, it is simply too expensive for us to do alone. So thank you to our MP Taylor Bachrach and MLA Nathan Cullen for their advocacy and support. We are excited to get going on this project," she added.
