Ownership and Management
The current landfill & transfer stations were owned or leased by Northern Sunrise County and the Eco Centre land was owned by the Town of Peace River and the Eco Centre building was owned by Northern Sunrise County. Upon completion of the Membership Agreement in November 2012, all of the East Peace Regional Landfill Authority assets were turned over to the PRWMC.
The Company shares are held by the 3 member municipalities and governed by a Board of Directors from the 3 member municipalities. The membership of the Board of Directors is comprised of 3 Directors appointed by the County, 3 Directors appointed by the Town, and 1 Director appointed by the Village.
The PRWMC serves an area of 21,875 square kilometers and a population base of 8422 residents, based upon the 2006 Statistics Canada Population Census, plus an additional “shadow population” in excess of 444 people (2011 Year).
Funding for the Company is currently accomplished through tipping fees, service sales and sales of recyclable materials.
The Company’s 2023 Board of Directors is comprised of:
Chair, Shelly Shannon, Town of Peace River
780-625-6969, sshannon@peaceriver.ca
Vice-Chair, Carolyn Kolebaba
780-617-2381, ckolebaba@northernsunrise.net
Director, Brad Carr, Town of Peace River
780-618-9657, bcarr@peaceriver.ca
Director, Elaine Manzer, Town of Peace River
780-219-9227, emanzer@peaceriver.ca
Director, Corinna Williams, Northern Sunrise County
780-617-2381, cwilliams@northernsunrise.net
Director, Daniel Boisvert, Northern Sunrise County
780-618-2112, danboisvert2013@gmail.com
Director, Evan Matiasiewich, Village of Nampa
780-618-7259, evanmatwek@hotmail.com
The Company General Manager is Art Sawatzky.
The Company retains the services of lawyers, accountants, engineers and consultants, as the need arises, to act as advisors.
The professional services of the following firms are currently in use:
- Legal Services – Brownlee LLP
- Engineering Services – GHD Ltd.
- Auditors – MNP LLP
Making of the Eco Centre
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- Getting Started
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- Group Effort
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- Bringing in the Hay Bales
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- Placement of Hay Bales
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- Back View
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- Front View
GEOSLAB FLOOR & HEATING SYSTEM
Above is a photo during construction of the installation of the 4” air pipes for the in floor heating system. Hot air is used rather than hot water to circulate heat through the sand just below the concrete. A fan, located here, moves hot air through multiple pipe loops. The hot air is produced by hot water running through a radiator in front of the fan. This method of heating the floor is more flexible and less prone to failure such as a cracked water line with water pipe systems
GEOSLAB FLOOR INSULATION
This construction photo shows the Hard EPS foam perimeter insulation of the building foundation. This insulation is 6” thick and 4 ft deep.
It encloses the gravel and clay under the concrete floor and creates a large “passive” heat storage for the building. As shown below the foam is also used for the concrete forming.
The resulting foundation is a low cost “passive” geothermal system.
PASSIVE SOLAR HEAT GAIN
This building design demonstrates passive solar heating through the use of a large window area on the south side and minimal window exposure on the north side. On sunny days in the winter, the sun will contribute as much heat to the building as the heating system.
Peace River is ideal for passive solar heating since the sun is low in the winter. There is less over-heating here in the summer since the sun is high enough to only slightly penetrate the windows.
This photo was taken last winter solstice. The solstice sun is low enough to reach the back wall to a height of 6 feet.
PELLET BOILER & HEATING SYSTEM
This harman pellet boiler produces the hot water for the in floor heating system. (see station # 3) the fuel is wood pellets made from wast spruce sawdust. They are locally made and are a renewable resource. backup hot water is made from an electric element powered by the grid.
The wood furnace to the left creates extra space heating with the use of waste lumber or purchased fire wood
Modern pellet heaters employ electrical ignition and the pellets are delivered automatically from the hopper through an auger.
SOLAR PANELS FOR ELECTRICITY
The solar panels along the outside front of the eco-centre provide power for the office. the power is stored for night time use in the large battery bank you see here in this cabinet.
This solar systems has a total of 18 panels which produce 4 kilowatts per hour of full sunshine. This is equal to power for one large house or two small houses. the remainder of the building power is provided by the grid. this includes electricity for the shop and the cardboard bailer.
The battery storage also allows for key building functions to continue during a grid power failure.
SUPER-INSULATION WITH STRAW
The walls of this building make use of barley straw bales for insulation. The photo above was taken just before the stucco was to be installed. (fall of 2009)
The bales create an R40 wall. along with R60 cellulose insulation in the ceiling and the R27 foam foundation insulation,
The building is super-insulated. This makes the passive heat gain more effective and can reduce heating costs by 75%.