Cape Broyle council supportive of proposed gun assembly facility
By Chris Lewis | Vol. 13 No. 3 (February 6, 2020)
A new facility is making its way to the Cape Broyle area, but not all are enthusiastic.
On Thursday, January 2, a registration was undertaken through Municipal Affairs and Environment that would see the construction of a jet perforating gun assembly facility. Although not set to be constructed directly within town boundaries, the proposed location is just north of the municipality nearby a cabin area known as Hell Hill Pond. More specifically, the exact area set for this facility is known as Whitehorse, or the Whitehorse Barrens.
The Cape Broyle council is enthusiastic about the project, with Mayor Beverly O’Brien stating that any new business coming to the shore is a good thing in the long run.
“The majority of council support this proposal for the facility. We welcome any project that could bring work to our area, and abides by the environmental standards of the government,” O’Brien said.
The decision from Minster of Municipal Affairs and Environment, Derrick Bragg, is due on Sunday, Feb. 16th, with public comments due five days prior on Tuesday, Feb. 11th.
O’Brien says that although the facility is not going to be set up in the heart of the community, there are still benefits that come along with these types of businesses to any community found along the southern shore.
“Any project that gets set up near any town is going to have benefits, really,” she said. “Our stores are there, and I’m assuming that the workers are going to be making use of those while they’re working. I mean, hopefully, it’ll bring some new residents to Cape Broyle, too. You never know.”
One resident of Cape Broyle, Aaron O’Brien, says that while he is not opposed to the facility itself, or any such development making its way to the southern shore, he is still a bit skeptical about how good a fit the jet perforating gun assembly facility is for the proposed area.
He says the people who will be in the closest proximity to the project are those living in the Hell Hill Pond region, with the location for the facility coming in at only less than a kilometre away from them.
“The area that they have proposed to put this facility is one that I’m familiar with; I hike in that area, and I just appreciate the natural beauty of the place. For that reason, it’s concerning to me,” Aaron said. “I’d rather not see the forest there be destroyed.”
As such, Aaron is not wishing to see the facility turned away or brought to an area outside the southern shore, but instead is hopeful for a simple location change for the sake of the people living nearby, as well as the natural habitats that can be found in and around Hell Hill Pond.
“If they could find a location that’s already developed in some way that’s not just a grove of woods that hasn’t been cut in a very long time, I’d just rather them put it somewhere else,” he added.
Once the facility is up and running, both Aaron and Mayor O’Brien said they expect any employment going into the project would likely be hired from within the proponent company, Baker Hughes Canada, as opposed to hiring straight from the nearby community of Cape Broyle. Still, Beverly was hopeful that this facility may even bring one or two jobs to the people of the community.
She said that, as far as she can tell, the majority of the people of Cape Broyle seem to be on board with the facility.
“We went through this proposal with a fine-toothed comb, and we can’t find anything negative that would come out of this if they abide by everything they’re saying,” she said. “We had several inquiries as to exactly where this is going – a lot of ‘is it in my backyard?’ but beyond that, we as a council haven’t heard any direct complaints about it.”
