Robertville, New Brunswick, November 9, 2011 – Residents of the Local Service Districts of Robertville, Pont Landry and Allardville will benefit from improved water treatment systems thanks to an investment from the Government of Canada.
Robert Goguen, Member of Parliament for Moncton–Riverview–Dieppe and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, along with the Honourable Bruce Fitch, Minister of Local Government, joined members of the community to announce funding for Phase II of the wastewater collection system extension in Robertville and the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant in Beresford. They also took the opportunity to announce funding for Phase II of two other projects in Pont Landry and Allardville. The total estimated Phase II costs of these three projects is close to $14.8 million and will be funded through the federal Gas Tax Fund and contributions from the municipalities.
"Through this investment from Canada's Gas Tax Fund, our government continues to support economic growth across New Brunswick while, at the same time, improving the environment and the quality of life of all Canadians,"
said MP Goguen, on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. "High-quality wastewater treatment is a priority and we are pleased to see that these projects are moving forward."
"Today's infrastructure investments contribute to the sustainability of our communities, and provide capacity for future community growth,"
said Minister Fitch. "We are pleased to partner with the federal government to deliver this important program. It is very important to ensure community infrastructure is renewed and upgraded to meet the needs of residents in our communities."
Phase II of the Robertville project involves constructing a 10.7-kilometre extension to its collection system in order to connect up to 385 users. The wastewater collected from these new users will be brought to the treatment facility in Beresford, requiring its plant to increase capacity. The Government of Canada is contributing $8 million to this project and the Municipality of Beresford is contributing $500,000.
Phase II of the Pont Landry project involves constructing a 2.7-kilometre collection system to connect residences along Route 160. The system will bring wastewater to the treatment facility in Tracadie-Sheila. This will provide a viable regional wastewater treatment solution for the residents of both the Local Service District and the Village of St-Isidore and will eliminate poorly operating septic systems. The Government of Canada is contributing $2.8 million to this project and the Village of St-Isidore is contributing approximately $69,000.
Lastly, Phase II of the Allardville project consists of completing the upgrade and extension of the Allardville wastewater system. The old lagoon has been converted into an engineered wetland and a new lagoon is constructed beside it. The collection system is extended 800 metres along Route 134, to the south of the community, to accommodate 25 additional connections. The Government of Canada is contributing $3,335,347 to this project and the Commission des égouts d'Allardville is contributing $79,000.
In total, the Government of Canada is contributing over $14.1 million from the Gas Tax Fund for Phase II of the projects in Robertville, Pont Landry and Allardville. Combined with Gas Tax funding of almost $7.5 million announced in 2007, the total estimated investment by the Government of Canada for these projects is almost $22 million.
The Gas Tax Fund provides stable, predictable funding to municipalities in support of environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure projects such as green energy, public transit, water and wastewater infrastructure, and local roads. On October 4, 2011, the Government of Canada tabled legislation to make the Gas Tax Fund a permanent annual investment of $2 billion beyond 2014. By 2014, New Brunswick communities will have received more than $295.5 million in federal support for infrastructure through the federal Gas Tax Fund.
To learn more about the Gas Tax Fund, visit infrastructure.gc.ca.
For further information contact:
Pierre Floréa
Press Secretary
Office of Canada's Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
613-991-0700
Ryan Donaghy
Director of Communications
Local Government
506-471-5554
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Or Toll-free 1-877-250-7154
