The Federal and Provincial Governments are committing to help fund a wastewater treatment plant upgrade for the town of Vermilion.
In an announcement made Monday, the federal government says they will commit $8,023,187Â through the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund towards the project. The provincial government will provide two million dollars through the Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership . The program is part of 21.9 billion dollars in federal funding allocated for green infrastructure.
Provincial Minister of Transportation Brian Mason says the project addresses a “crying need” in terms of infrastructure for rural Albertans.
“Frankly nothing could be more in my view than making sure that we have safe drinking water and that we deal in an environmentally safe way with our water and our waste water.”
This green infrastructure initiative will also provide funding for waste water treatment plant upgrades in St. Paul, Barrhead and for treated water storage in Pincher Creek. Federal minister of infrastructure Amerjeet Sohi says the project shows a federal commitment to reducing a lack of funding for clean water.
“Access to clean water is fundamental to quality of life and many communities don’t have access to clean water, and the water that’s being released back into the waterways needs to be at a standard that is not polluting the waterways.”
Sohi adds that towns who receive the funding can begin utilizing it right away.