The Village of Boyle is hoping for better communication in the future with emergency responders regarding substance spills within the community.
Emergency responders attended to an incident May 21, where a tractor-trailer got involved in a single-vehicle collision, causing it to spill hydrochloric acid.
"The news story of the event at the time stated the accident happened three kilometres south of the community," Boyle CAO Charlie Ashbey said. "And looking at the aerial photo of it, it did look like is was three kilometres south because it looked like an uninhabited area. But later on, I found out it was actually only half a kilometre south of Boyle."
In his report to council, he mentioned that they were not originally contacted by authorities about the spill, and no dust suppression was done.
"There needs to be better communication between the village and emergency responders," Ashbey said. "Even looking at the google maps to where it says Boyle is, I still do not understand where the three kilometres comes from, but it was definitely closer than that. If the truck had hit the ditch on the west side of the road, it would have been within the Village of Boyle. But because it was on the east side, it was half a kilometre out."
Ten people were evacuated from their homes when the spill happened, but were allowed to return home the next day.
"But if the spill had happened further south, then a lot more people would have had to been evacuated," he said. "While no major health hazards happened as a result, workers visiting the site just a few days later found it irritating to be within the vicinity."
Ashbey said the village fire department remained on the scene for 15 and a half hours until the spill was completely cleaned up.
"The department is to be commended for their hard work in getting this incident under control," Ashbey said.
Fortis franchising fees increasing in Boyle
An application made by the Village of Boyle to increase out the FortisAlberta franchise fee has been given approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission.
Starting July 1, the fee will move up from three per cent to six per cent.
"The village's fee is still one of the lowest in the province, even with the increase," Ashbey said. "The maximum percentage a community can pay is 20 per cent, and it is only going up to six per cent, which is still about a percentage lower than the Town of Athabasca."
Ashbey said the village is entitled to charge Fortis for their services.
"Fortis provides the transmission lines and the distribution for the power," he continued. "They do not generate the power, they just distribute it. As part of their franchise, the village is entitled to charge a fee, which is not paid on the actual power consumption. The percentage we charge is six per cent of the total distribution costs."
He added that Fortis collects the fee from each consumer on their bill, and then the company pays the amount to the Village of Boyle.
Boyle recycling fees rose 1.1 per cent June 1
The recycling rate within the Village of Boyle saw an increase June 1 of 1.1 percent.
The community received a fax from their recycling service provider, Dr. Recycle, on May 30, which informed them the increase was due to an increase in the consumer price index for the Province of Alberta.
"Overall, the fees will rise from $6.72 per/home/month to $6.79 per/home/month," Ashbey said. "The increase in costs can be absorbed by the village's current rate structure, so we are not anticipating any additional changes to our utility rates as a result."
Ashbey added that the money collect primarily goes into paying the contractor for their services.
"Not everybody, of course, uses the recycling services within our community," he said. "But we pay an amount based on the number of residences. So at some point, we have to look at it, and hopefully get to a point where people are disciplined enough that if you add a central depot, that everybody could drop their recycling off at the location."
The fax from Dr. Recycle said the increases will take place on the June billing for all residential pick-up.
- With notes from Joseph Quigley
