Union leader looks back fondly on Waneta project

A local labour leader says the winding down of the Waneta expansion project is the end of a golden era.

Chuck Chatten of the labourer’s union represents about 200 workers on the powerhouse addition.

He says Columbia Power’s three large hydro projects — also including the Brilliant expansion and Arrow Lakes generation station — kept people working around here for 15 years.

Chatten says the workforce at the Waneta expansion should be finished by the end of May.

The project is already generating power.