Status Update as of February 5, 2017,

The Bimose Tribal Council HUB completed its second month of operation on February 5, 2017 and now has a staff of 5 employees. The latest additions to the team include FN operators Aaron Henry and Nolan Penace. Aaron’s first day was December 27 and Nolan’s first day was January 9th.

With the complement of 4 Operators in Charge (OICs) and one Overall Responsible Operator (ORO) the team has prioritized some of their Hub deliverables.

They include meeting with all member community Chiefs and Councils and or their proxies, delivery of the Circuit Rider Training Program, weekly visits to community water and wastewater plants to assist operations and maintenance and the planning and scheduling of comprehensive plant inspections

AS of April 1, 2017 the HUB has completed the following tasks

• The Hub responded and assisted with over 25 water treatment emergencies within the communities under Bimose’s council. The emergency response assistance ranged from providing corrective action advice over the phone to immediately travelling to a community with a spare part and physically completing the repair(s).
• The Wabauskang water treatment plant upgrade was completed. Tweaking of the facility is ongoing.
• Ochiichagwe’Babigo’Ining and Eagle Lake First Nations are on the verge of being the first of our communities to be in receipt of 24/7 monitoring services.
• The Bimose Hub is planning on initiating its 24/7 monitoring services by the end of September 2017.
• The services offered by the Bimose Hub remain unchanged. The BTC Hub continues to offer Overall Responsible Operator (ORO) services, WTP monitoring, operator relief, emergency response assistance as required, acquiring equipment and or materials for emergency response, INAC reporting, funding application completion assistance, WTP maintenance and repair, mentorship, operator training, water and wastewater advisory services and operator subsidy administration services.
• Barry Strachan (CET) was hired to assist with the operation of the Hub. Welcome the BTC Hub Barry!

The BTC HUB offers the following services to all of its member communities:

• 24/7 Remote Monitoring
• Vacation and extended absence relief at First Nations WTP's that do not have a back-up operator employed on site.
• Multi-Barrier Approach to Drinking Water Protection Awareness.
• Source Water Protection Requirement Awareness and Implementation.
• Treatment requirement recommendations related to Process, Groundwater, Surface water and Groundwater under Direct Influence of surface water (GUDI).
• Continued develpment and administration of the annual training planfor operators under the INAC, WTP, and WWTP Operator Training Subsidy.
• Maintenance Management Program (MMP) Planning and Implementation.
• Preventative Maintenance Scheduling and Implemntation.
• Emergency Response Planning and Implementation.
• Direct assistance with Reporting and Corrective Action for Adverse Results.
• Quality Assurance: ACRS and Annual Inspections/Reports.
• Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Facilities and Decentralized Systems Protocols and Reporting (WSPR).
• Prepare annual O & M reports and other required documents for INAC funding and C & C's.
• Compile detailed assessments of the present condition of all of the BTC WTP's, with an estimated cost to upgrade the facilities to standards.

The HUB invites comments and suggestions. We'd love to hear from you!

Contact Phil at (807) 708-8335 anytime or call the office at (807) 468-5551 ext. 233.