The answer is yes, we have been in communication with federal authorities on this. They are aware of our need for funding from the federal government.
I mentioned that it was somewhat ambiguous. The criteria said if you wanted the green fund—which you would think this would be part of—it was for rehabilitation purposes or upgrades. Well, this is a brand new plant. If I want to interpret that appropriately for funding, I would say it's an upgrade or an improvement to the overall system of treating waste water. If it could be defined in that particular way, it could be eligible for funding. Certainly affording any project in the hundreds of millions of dollars would present a major challenge for a local municipality or a regional municipality. That is why we are seeking funding for it.
There are a couple of purposes there, and the councillor and Mayor Sendzik spoke about the need for the Great Lakes. As you know, from time to time when there's a major storm, waste-water treatment plants across the country tend to have to open up and “let 'er rip” to put it bluntly, because they cannot take the capacity—the volume of water coming into the existing waste-water plants.
Environmentally speaking, this would be a project that would benefit the environment—the Niagara River in this case and ultimately the Great Lakes. Also, it would accommodate growth, including the new hospital in Niagara Falls, of which portions have received early approval. Having this new waste-water plant available would allow that to proceed and would allow development around the hospital, which will inevitably come, to proceed as well.
Being able to define that as an improvement to the overall waste-water system as opposed to strictly an upgrade or an improvement to an existing facility would be very beneficial.