CRIME: PLANS BEGIN FOR BORDER DRUG TUNNEL'S DEMISE

The cost of filling in a tunnel believed used to run pot into the United
States will be initially paid by local taxpayers.

Langley Township staff is working with Whatcom County officials to
coordinate the filling in of the tunnel which travels from a property in
the 26800-block of Zero Avenue to a home in Lynden, Wash.

The tunnel needs to be dealt with as soon as possible, Township
administrator Mark Bakken said, to ensure safety of the public and the
roadway it travels under.

After the work is done, the Township will seek financial contributions from
other levels of government and will ultimately go after the owner of the
Aldergrove property to recoup the cost.

The RCMP's investigation is complete, said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Tom Seaman,
and the logistics of dealing with the tunnel are in the hands of Langley
Township and municipal authorities in the United States.

The Township plans to use a process called "injection grouting" to fill the
tunnel, said acting director of engineering Clive Roberts. The tunnel will
not be dug up.

A wet concrete mix will be injected into the tunnel through a hole drilled
in the surface. The hole would only be a few inches in diameter, Roberts said.

"We can probably do it from a centre point," he said.

Injection grouting is the process that is used to fill in old mine shafts.

If the tunnel was left alone, the wooden boards holding it up would
eventually rot, Roberts said.

While the cost has yet to be determined, Roberts estimates it could cost
between $35,000 to $40,000 to completely fill the tunnel.

The Township would be responsible for filling in the two thirds of the
tunnel on the Canadian side of the border, Roberts said.

Plans are to fill in the tunnel next month.

The tunnel, allegedly used to smuggle drugs from Langley into the U.S., is
110 metres long and was described by a U.S. official as a national security
threat to both countries.

The tunnel was shut down in July after a joint Canada/U.S. investigation.