The South Red Deer Regional Wastewater Commission has revised its business plan and is re-examining its rate structures.Dennis Cooper, chair of the commission, said the business plan was revised by tightening up the predicted amounts (of effluent) flowing through the system.The commission's administrative staff has been directed to forward the business plan on to Municipal Affairs, he said.Cooper said the revisions came after the Town of Innisfail, one of the partner municipalities in the project that's building a wastewater system that will take effluent from Olds all the way to Red Deer, voted against approving the commission's business plan and rate structure.“As a commission we started to move toward answering the concerns,” Cooper said.Other partner municipalities voted for the business plan and rate structures as presented to council.Cooper said they're addressing Innisfail council's concerns by looking at pre-connection rates.“We're going to study options of beginning rates,” he said, noting Olds and Innisfail wouldn't be sending all of their wastewater through the system right away.The commission needs the approval because it is trying to get the debt limit for the project increased. Cooper said currently the debt limit is $7 million.“We're asking for a debt limit of $21 million,” he said.The higher debt limit is needed to pay contractors in advance of receiving hold-back money from the government, he said.Currently the project is estimated to cost $134 million.“We've already spent approximately $71 million,” he said.It's hoped that by spring the Olds lift station will start pumping wastewater up the line, though Cooper said it might be earlier if the winter weather isn't bad.“It's winter construction and I'm thinking March,” he said.
