Weir’s to move asphalt plant built on NL Hydro easement
Weir’s Construction will have to move its asphalt plant on the outskirts of St. John’s as part of a court settlement so Nalcor Energy can build a new power line for the Muskrat Falls project.
The settlement agreement is the end of a legal tussle that’s been going on since 2009, after Weir’s built an asphalt plant, a garage and an office on NL Hydro’s easement land used for high-capacity power lines.
NL Hydro, a subsidiary of Nalcor, will pay Weir’s Construction $60,000 to move the asphalt plant as part of the settlement, and will support Weir’s application for new Crown land to relocate the plant.
Weir’s did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
NL Hydro issued a statement, saying, “Weir’s Construction will remove its assets and equipment from Hydro’s easement lands in the area of Bremigan’s Ridge via a staged approach between now and February 2017.”
The land in question is right by the Trans-Canada Highway near the cloverleaf interchange with the Conception Bay South bypass.
Satellite photos included with the court file show the asphalt plant jutting into the easement corridor cleared by NL Hydro.
In an affidavit, company director James Weir said NL Hydro never objected to the company putting the asphalt plant there, and even connected a power line to it.
Hydro officials, on the other hand, insisted they never consented to anything, and have been insisting Weir’s must move the offending equipment for the last seven years or so.
According to the statements from Hydro officials, there was also cause for concern because in 2011 Weir’s equipment hit one of the big transmission lines already running through the easement.
“This contact caused the transmission line to trip,” said Jeana Peach, real property coordinator with NL Hydro.
“It was considered a serious safety breach which (a) could have caused serious injury or death to the operators of Weir’s Construction Equipment, and (b) could have cause a widespread power outage to the northeast Avalon Peninsula.”
Peach noted Weir’s would have needed a permit to do work in that area, and no such permit was requested or granted.
The $60,000 from Hydro won’t cover anywhere near all Weir’s costs, according to Weir’s affidavit.
James Weir estimated the cost of moving the garage would be about $750,000, plus $250,000 to move the office and another $300,000 to move the asphalt plant.
“Those amounts, especially for the plant, do not account for losses incurred as a result of the downtime when the plant is not operational and for the fact that Weirs (sic) does not have sufficient land on which to relocate the plant without crippling other aspects of it (sic) business,” Weir said.
“Such a burden would put Weirs (sic) out of business.”