(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Ben Tompkins

ICIP Projects

Decisions to be made on decommissioning of Town of Nipawin landfill

May 31, 2023 | 4:24 PM

The Landfill Decommissioning Project is a big topic of discussion for the Town of Nipawin and its council, as decisions are now having to be made on which route will be taken.

The town originally took over the operation of the landfill at the beginning of this year, and the previous owner, Boreal Area Regional Waste Authority (BARWA), had a decommissioning plan in place.

BARWA then executed a proposal with Pinter and Associates Ltd. prior to the change in ownership.

Near the end of April, Pinter and Associates Ltd provided the town with a cost estimate, which was requested prior to posting to public tender by administration, to ensure project costs were known.

Unfortunately, the cost estimate was roughly double the previous estimate provided when the ICIP grant was approved for BARWA (about $3.5 million to now $6.8 million).

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The newly retained cost estimate also excludes some scopes of work, which in the opinion of Jamie Fast, the town’s director of public works and engineering, should be included within the scope of work required for the project and consistent with the decommissioning.

“There has been a significant increase in construction costs over the past couple of years due to inflation and the consultant advised that some provisions were not accounted for and included within the original cost estimate,” read the report.

Administration has since forwarded the project information to the designated municipal consultant for a second opinion and evaluation of the recently received cost estimate.

They also met virtually with two Government of Saskatchewan representatives (Program and Policy Advisor and Program Engineering) and they responded to the town with the three options.

1 – Request a change of scope: Saskatchewan and Canada would undertake a review of the proposed change of scope request. This may result in a reduction of funding if the approved outcome of the project changes; however, there is a possibility that funding may not be impacted and may be a feasible option for at minimum, proceeding with one phase of this project.

2 – Proceed with the project: Continue as is with cost overruns being the responsibility of the recipient as per the Ultimate Recipient Agreement.

3 – Withdraw the project: The town could potentially reapply for the project if there is another program for this infrastructure type. There are currently no intakes open for infrastructure grants through the Ministry of Government Relations.

All funding under ICIP has been allocated, however, a new grant program is anticipated for the future. No information is available at this time regarding the types of projects that will be funded under future programming.

Grant program intakes will be communicated directly to eligible communities and posted on the Saskatchewan Government’s website. Infrastructure Canada is no longer accepting new applications under ICIP, so there is a risk that funding returned to the program through project cancellations will be re-directed to other federal priorities and may not be invested in Saskatchewan projects.

The town would also be responsible for repaying any funding received as outlined in the Ultimate Recipient Agreement.

“Within the aforementioned options, there is risk to be considered. In applying an appropriate risk assessment in the evaluation of these options, at this time, administration is of the opinion that further requests/negotiations are required with the granting authorities and/or external funding sources, in order to reduce the risk of withdrawing the current funding and to apply for additional funding,” the report stated.

The provincial government representatives requested the town advise the province when a new cost estimate is received from a separate consultant.

Administration has also contacted the Saskatchewan Environmental Protection Officer assigned to the Nipawin Area Waste Diversion Site regarding the issues the town is facing with the project, and “a favourable response was received.”

“Administration will advise council regarding any additional information as it is received and would like to re-assure council that it is working effectively in achieving a favourable outcome, in consideration of the circumstances that have been inherited,” it added.

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