The mayor of Clearwater says the federal approval on the pipeline expansion could not have come at a better time.

Merlin Blackwell says apart from jobs for local sawmill workers and others, the pipeline revenue will have a lasting impact.

“Trans Mountain is currently estimating it somewhere between $450,000 and $600,000 dollars in taxes annually after the dust settles on this construction. And at this point that’s somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20 per cent of our taxes in Clearwater. So that’s a substantial benefit to Clearwater in the long term.”

Blackwell says Clearwater also has a mutual benefit agreement with Trans-Mountain which will bring more than $350,000 dollars annually to the local tax base as well.

“But yeah, we’re looking at 600 to 800 jobs her for the duration (of construction), we’ll be a major staging point along this route. And the economic spinoffs around town would be tremendous. And it couldn’t come at a better time.”

Blackwell points out there would be cost-saving advantages for Trans Mountain to hire local people to build the pipeline in the Clearwater area.