With cautious optimism Pic Mobert First Nation is continuing to move forward in developing two hydroelectric generating stations on the White River.
An environmental assessment proposal is currently being prepared with the intent of completing it within the next 18 months.
To begin preparation, a virtual tour of the future facilities, including the surrounding grounds in a three-dimensional software package, has been constructed using LIDAR technology.
"It gives us a detailed contour digital mapping of the river valley and the transmission corridor routes," Norm Jaehrling, project manager says.
The tool is used extensively in the oil and gas industry for seismic mapping and provides cost components, engineering information, habitat and water levels data for the new generating stations.
The environmental assessment will begin once the development process is complete.
Tenders for construction are expected to be filed in early 2006, Jaehrling says. Some job creation is expected during construction, as Pic Mobert intends to maximize employment opportunities, but the project will not be so much a job creator as a wealth generator.
Two generating stations with capacities of approximately eight and five megawatts respectively will be constructed on the White River, an estimated 25 kilometres west of White River Township.
