After a thorough study on wildlife impact, AltaLink is set to apply for the relocation of three kilometres of transmission line in Exshaw this February.
The application will be sent to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) after a year of process including environmental studies on wildlife and vegetation and open houses with a step-by-step progress report.
Construction of the new line, if approved by the AUC, is expected to begin in October.
“We would be done constructing the new line that is replacing the existing line by December 31, 2016,” said Peter Brodsky, AtlaLink manager, external communications. “Then we would salvage the older line and that would probably take us through to about June 2017.”
Lafarge requested relocation of a section of the 754L transmission line, which runs north of Lafarge’s operation and west towards Canmore, to allow for the planned expansion of its existing quarry site located on Crown land and leased from the province.
Energy company AltaLink will carry out the duties, estimated at $2 million.
Statements of Concern were brought forward over relocation of the lines and potential effects on wildlife, particularly a man-made osprey nest.
Brodsky said the nesting platform, just west of Exshaw, would be replaced to accommodate the changing of the line.
“When we do choose a route, we do go through the environmental studies and we engage biologists, we engage environmental specialists, people who know the grasslands areas, the patterns of wildlife in the area, and we take that into consideration when we are designing our route so we again feel the route we are putting before the AUC would be considered low impact,” Brodsky said.
Over the past dozen years, the nest has been established near a small body of water. The site includes a webcam at the nest so viewers can follow the mating osprey pair’s progress each season.
