By Dominic Abassi

Federal Cash lessens Taxpayer Load for Outfall pipe

Jul 8, 2016 | 11:33 AM

Federal gas tax money is helping the Regional District of Nanaimo pay for a sizable infrastructure project.

$6 million was announced Tuesday morning to support the $18 million outfall pipe in Hammond Bay, which will carry treated waste water into the ocean.

RDN Board Chair Bill Veenhof says getting nearly half of the project funded federally from a pair of gas tax payments is huge.

“In this case, we’re getting $6 million, but we’ll see an $8 million savings, so that’s significant, that’s kind of leveraging money,” said Veenhof.

Veenhof says the federal funding means taxpayers will save $400,000 a year for the next 20 years.

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“As we move forward on these infrastructure upgrades, this kind of funding makes it much easier on the taxpayer, makes it much easier on the RDN as well.”

The RDN’s manager of wastewater services Sean DePol says most of the work is scheduled to be finished by the end of August.

The outfall pipe will serve about 95,000 people in Nanaimo, Lantzville and parts of the RDN.