Mountain View County councillors have been told about a proposal by Secure Energy Services Inc. to develop and operate a full service terminal (FST) in the Harmattan area southeast of Sundre.
Mark Welty, Secure business development representative, appeared as a delegation at the recent Mountain View County policies and priorities committee meeting, outlining plans and answering questions from councillors.
Welty told committee members the 16.4-acre site would be located at 12-35-314W5, just north of the existing Shell Shantz plant off Highway 27.
The facility would process oilfield byproducts generated by the upstream petroleum industry in the Sundre area, conducting custom treating, waste management, truck and tank wash, and water disposal, he said.
The facility would accept fluids and solids generated by local oil and gas producers, including crude oil emulsions, tank and vessel residual solids, hydrocarbon contaminated soils, completion fluids and drilling byproducts, he said.
All fluids and solids would comply with Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) guidelines for Class Ib and Class II fluids and solids handling, he said.
"Secure will employ best engineering practices in the development of this project to meet or exceed all applicable regulatory requirements,î said Welty.
Criteria reviewed for site selection have included proximity to residents, traffic and noise impact, distance to market, paved highway access and existing infrastructure, he said.
Produced (Class II) and residual treatment waters (Class Ib) from the facility would be disposed of by deep well injection, he said.
The company has identified a former well site about two kilometres north of the proposed FST that may be suitable for the injection, he said.
Residual solids from the site would be transported offsite to a Class II landfill owned by Secure at Willesden Green, north of Rocky Mountain House on Highway 22, he said.
The FST would have noise and odour suppression measures in place, as well as groundwater monitoring, he said.
For the project to move forward, a Mountain View County change in land use designation from agriculture to industrial would be required for the site, along with a development permit.
Welty says residents in the surrounding area are being consulted, with some of those talks already completed.
John Rusling, MVC director of planning, told the committee: "The first step in the process is going to be a rezoning application and that is a public process. In other similar types of applications we have expanded the notification zone and we could certainly do that there. I think it is important to see the results of the consultations and certainly a second round might be a good idea.î
Coun. Al Kemmere, who chaired the Feb. 5 committee meeting, said he would like to see a public meeting held regarding the project.
"I would be leaning towards a good public discussion, good public involvement. There is a community hall in the area that could probably facilitate that,î said Kemmere.
Coun. Ken Heck told Welty residents may want the company to design the facility so that it doesn't unduly stand out in the surrounding area.
"I wonder when considering the visual impacts you could make your facility blend in rather than stick out, using natural colours,î said Heck.
Welty replied, "That is something we can definitely look at.î
Welty's presentation was received for information.
Following the meeting Welty told the Gazette pending the necessary approvals, the facility could be up and running by 2015.
