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Archived Springbrook and Area News
August 2008

August 30, 2008
Plasco Garbage Gasification Plant a Go East of Penhold
Plasco Energy has signed a long term agreement with the 15-member Central Waste Management Commission for a waste management project diverting solid waste from landfills by using a gasification process that can be converted to electricity. The agreement requires that 200-300 tonnes of garbage go to the plant each day. An agreement in principal had been signed in June 2007. The $100 million gasification plant itself will be funded entirely by Plasco. A tipping fee of $65 per tonne will be charged to municipalities to cover cost of operation. When the plant becomes profitable, municipalities will share a portion of the profits. It will be one of the first commercial plants of its kind in the world although test plants have been built in Ottawa and Barcelona, Spain. It will likely be built adjacent to the Horn Hill Waste Transfer site east of Penhold and Highway 2 and south of Highway 42. There will be no emissions into the land, water or air and the byproducts include sulphur, carbon dioxide and a black carbon-based material that can be ground up and used for construction material. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2009 and be completed one year later.

August 29, 2008
Oak Street Entrance Now Closed for Good
The Oak Street entrance to the former Mynarski Park area of Springbrook has been closed permanently to make way for future use of the Malibu development. Residents can still use the Tamarac Boulevard entrance or turn onto Redwood Boulevard (the first entrance) and turn left onto Oak Street.

August 22, 2008
Phase 1 Springbrook Infrastructure Rehab Wraps Up
Phase 1 of a 4 year project to completely overhaul the aging water and sewer infrastructure in Springbrook is now complete except for some landscaping. The 2008 phase included Poplar Crescent, 25th St. (future Harvard Drive), Spruce Street and part of Tamarac Boulevard. Another $2.5 million project near the airport is now underway, recently awarded to Pidherney. The next phase is expected to go to tender later this year.

August 20, 2008
Traffic Study Proceeds for Gasoline Alley
A $250,000 traffic study is currently underway to determine the future transportation needs for Gasoline Alley east and west of Highway QE2 south of the city as well as the future Liberty Crossing that may eventually house 8,000 people. The consultant reported to Red Deer County council yesterday that they have already met with county, city of Red Deer and Alberta Transportation officials to align future plans for each jurisdiction. Alberta Transportation will be rebuilding the interchange between the south side of the city and the highway that will include a flyover to bring merging traffic to the right side of the highway instead of the current dangerous left side. The service road alongside the highway will be eliminated with new access to Gasoline Alley. Meanwhile, the city is planning a ring road that could include McKenzie Road and its interchange at the south end of Gasoline Alley or a new interchange even further south. The study will also determine the value of an additional flyover midway between the two existing interchanges and how pedestrians, bicycles and transit buses can be best accommodated in the area.
County to Discuss New River Raft Launch Area
Due to overcrowding and dangerous parking practices on area roads by people who want to use the Red Deer River for boats, rafts, inner tubes, dinghies and anything else that floats, particularly at Fort Normandeau and Highway 2, Red Deer County will be discussing other options for a launch and parking area along the river. There is a launching spot at A-Soo-Wuh-Um Day Use Park west of Penhold, but it is so far upriver that it takes a day to drift down as far as Red Deer.

August 11, 2008
Search and Rescue Training Prepares for Emergencies
The Red Deer Regional Airport was the scene over the weekend of the annual Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) emergency exercise that attracted 90 volunteers from all over Western Canada. In this year's exercise, searchers were looking for an overdue plane. Searchers had to find 20 targets over a 600 km search area that included Drayton Valley, Nordegg, Forestburg and Three Hills.

August 10, 2008
World War Two Rifle Range Demolished
One of the last remnants of the Second World War still standing at former CFB Penhold now owned by Harvard Park Business Centre has been demolished to make room for an outdoor storage facility. A recent inventory of historic places in Red Deer County had identified the facility as a possible future historic site as it met the stiff criteria.

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