If all goes according to TransCanada's plans, a new natural gas pipeline could be in the ground just east of Sundre by the end of the year, council heard last week.
"We're here tonight to provide an overview and an update on the work we've been doing with the proposed Sundre crossover project," said Kristen Monzingo, a community relations advisor with TransCanada, during the May 8 meeting.
TransCanada's proposed project is for a 21-kilometre stretch of a natural gas pipeline that's 42 inches in diameter, she said.
"The purpose of this project is to deliver volumes from two existing pipelines."
The plan is essentially to connect the Edson main line located northeast of Sundre and to deliver that gas onto the western Alberta main line system just south of the municipality, she said, adding a lot of effort went into that route selection.
Work on the project got underway about a year ago, starting with initial environmental studies as well as conversations with different stakeholders and landowners along the proposed route, including the Sundre Petroleum Operators Group. Most recently, TransCanada submitted an application to the National Energy Board at the end of March, she said.
"We anticipate that we'll be through the regulatory process in the early summer," she said.
"We would hope to move towards construction later in the summer, targeting around August."
Maintaining relationships that have been established in the region over the many years TransCanada has been operating in the area is important to the company, as is developing projects responsibly, she said.
"We don't only engage while we're developing projects ó it continues on," she told council.
"We are long-standing members of the community and we certainly want to keep up a positive reputation here."
If and when possible, TransCanada also seeks to employ local businesses and labour, she said.
"We've been talking a lot about how we can work with our prime contractor ó once they're selected ó to see if there are local businesses that could bid on and work on this project."
An attempt will also be made to use local accommodations, she said.
"We of course don't want to book the hotels solid for our purposes knowing that there are people who want to come through town to enjoy the tourist opportunities here, but we certainly do want to support the local businesses."
When developing any project, safety is a priority for TransCanada, and time is invested to ensure pipelines are designed safely, she said.
"Being safe operators is certainly extremely important to us."
Aside from following strict construction guidelines, TransCanada also takes measures to restore land to its original state following a project's completion so any agriculture producers can continue to farm, she said.
"We're not an intrusive operator in the community. Once we're in operation, it looks like we were never there almost."
Also providing some background about TransCanada, she told council the company has in Alberta alone more than 24,000 kilometres of gas pipelines. Across the continent, the company has more than 90,000 kilometres.
"Every day, we're delivering about a quarter of the gas that people use across North America."
Mayor Terry Leslie said council appreciated being kept in the loop regardless of the fact the proposed pipeline does not actually come through the municipality.
Sundre's chief administrative officer Linda Nelson said a question raised by municipal staff regarding safety planning was satisfactorily answered by TransCanada.
Council later went on to carry a motion to receive the presentation as information.
