Local News

Mountain View County councillors have approved the construction of a Fortis power line west of Didsbury.During the Dec. 12 council meeting, councillors approved the three-phase line on the municipal right-of-way on the south side of Twp. Rd. 314.

Mountain View County administration has outlined its plan to help inform residents about new provincial regulatory requirements pertaining to abandoned oil and gas wells on rural properties.

As 2013 inches closer, the federal government is preparing its annual budget by gathering input from constituents, including West Central Alberta residents.

Residents who attended an open house at the McDougall Flats Church on Dec. 10 said they are opposed to a West-Can Seal Coating Inc. proposal to renew operations at a former gravel pit located about seven kilometres west of Sundre.

The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) has handed down its report into the fracking blowout near Innisfail 11 months ago but due to a lack of enforcement regulations at the time no punitive measures are being taken.

At its regularly scheduled board meeting last week, the board of the Chinook's Edge School Division directed superintendent Kurt Sacher to investigate further procedures for expense disclosure by trustees and the superintendent.

The newly formed EQUS rural electrification association plans to work with Mountain View County on a number of issues over the coming month, including seeking permission to utilize county road allowances for some future line routes, say officials.

Alberta's Energy Minister Ken Hughes is talking tough after Greenpeace revealed he met with industry leaders as the government began to decide on parameters for a review of the province's 400,000 kilometres of pipeline.

The Western Alberta Transmission Line was approved with minimal route changes by the Alberta Utilities Commission in a decision released on Dec. 6.The line is to run from Genesee, which is west of Edmonton, to the Langdon area east of Calgary.

Mountain View County councillors have expressed their displeasure with the delay of the $2.8-million Big Prairie Bridge project over the Little Red Deer River northwest of Cremona.