Wawa Municipal Council's approved a few steps toward bringing liquefied natural gas to the community.
Council last night declared eight plots in "Phase 3" of the Wawa Industrial Park to be "surplus land" - a move required to sell the land - before approving a resolution confirming intent to sell or lease two of those plots to the Marathon Economic Development Corporation, for an LNG depot.
Municipal CAO/Treasurer Maury O'Neill emphasized to Council that the resolution only confirmed intent to sell or lease the land - and that an actual sale or lease would need to be confirmed in a future by-law - and that the Marathon EDC's only being used as a "placeholder" for a regional distribution corporation or local distribution entity that needs to be formed at some point in the future.
Similarly, Council authorized a "Model Franchise Agreement" to "distribute, store, and transmit natural gas in the Municipality of Wawa", using Marathon EDC as a placeholder for "an entity to be formed or corporation to be incorporated" - such an agreement was noted to be another important step in moving the project forward with provincial regulators, and to help Council get important information on the project.
O'Neill also noted that reports on the feasibility of local LNG and the potential depot site are expected later this year.