Coleman plant closure discussed at Devon Open House
Stock Photo: Dec 2010
LINDSAY GOSS
Pass Herald Reporter
Devon Canada held an open house for Pass residents to display the work and progress Devon has achieved through its 52 years and to answer any final questions before the plant is demolished.
The open house was held on Tuesday, March 19th from 4 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at the Elks Hall in Blairmore.
It was presented at the open house that the demolition of the plant, located just west of Coleman had four primary steps.
The first step is deactivation of the plant, which includes isolation of people, purging of process piping and equipment, isolation of electrical sources and approval amendment.
The second step is dismantlement. This includes hazardous material abatement, redistribution/sale of reusable equipment and inventory dismantling.
The third step is remediation, comprising of supplemental investigations, remedial options analysis and development and implementation of the Remedial Action Plan.
The fourth and final step is reclamation. This included surface reclamation, monitoring and final reclamation of the plant.
The four step process has an approximate eight year timeline, starting in 2012 and ending sometime in 2019.
So far, the major steps achieved in 2012 were the decision to shut down the plant in April, the deactivation and gas shut off in June and the boiler shutdown in July.
The Pass Herald was told last April by Devon Canada that the decision to close the Coleman plant was based on two major factors, the sustained low price of natural gas and the age of the Coleman facility.
The Herald was told that Devon found the combination of the two factors to be nearly insurmountable, prompting the decision to cancel operations.
The announcement to close the Devon plant was made in early April last year to the 35 local employees who worked there.
The company employs approximately 1,800 total employees at nine field operations throughout Alberta and British Columbia, in addition to their head office in Calgary.
The closest Devon plant to Crowsnest Pass is a plant located in Turner Valley, Alberta.
