5667 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

I can't see it being stopped this time; Esquimalt Council might say no, but I'm sure that the Province would step in at that point, and over-rule them..

 

Before the election?

[JohnN]

Before the election?

Can't see that the Liberals would get any push-back from NDP in an election because NDP totally support a make-work CRD sewage plant operation. Liberals know that the only disagreement voiced by NDP was over the P3 sludge plant where the NDP CUPE friends expressed angst at the thought of P3 operating anywhere but especially side-by-side at Hartland where CUPE Local 1978 holds sway. Back in 2013, NDP MLA Maureen Karagianis did reject the notion of sludge plant in Esquimalt because to support it would have been her political termination. More recently (2015?) John Horgan announced some sort of CRD MLA group who would assist CRD to get the sewage plant moving but seems like total silence on that. 

[JohnN]

Lana Popham excerpts:

I received many emails and calls from constituents, most expressing frustration or outrage at different aspects of the plan. A majority of the people who contacted my office live in the Prospect Lake and Willis Point area. Their drinking water is from wells, and a top concern I heard was that this plan puts their water supply at risk.

...Residents in both communities asked me to help organize a public meeting. They wanted answers to their specific questions and they wanted their concerns addressed. They did not want a repeat of what has happened before: they are “consulted” after decisions have already been made.

 

http://www.peninsula.../407504916.html

 

Here is map of registered drinking water wells in vicinity of planned sewage pipe route to Hartland:

 

Attached Images

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[JohnN]

Letter-writer concludes about CRD sewage plant project:

If committee members need greater justification, they should note Yogi Berra’s advice in problem-solving: “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” The committee ain’t there yet.

 

http://www.timescolo...berra-1.5201599

[JohnN]

Sechelt's problem poses the question for Esquimalt Council's rezoning of McLouglin Point: do CRD projections of population growth match the planned sewage plant size?

Excerpts:

A controversial $25-million sewage treatment plant in Sechelt will have to be expanded as early as 2023 at a cost of $13 million...

...And while the two-year-old facility has won six industry awards for design excellence and environmental values, it has also been dogged by criticism for a lack of transparency, financial waste and conflict of interest.

...The Deloitte review — commissioned by the district — found no evidence that the district took steps to establish the true market price of the project.

...Now, it appears that the capacity of the plant is far short of that needed for a growing community.

...The 4,000 cubic-metre-per-day capacity will be met by 2023, according to the report. The existing site has space to expand, but a larger plant would also require a $3-million ocean outfall upgrade by 2026.

 

Sechelt’s two-year-old sewage plant must expand by 2023, review finds: http://www.timescolo...finds-1.5327320

 

 

[Sparky]

It will be even obscener by the time the first turd circles the bowl.

That is the best sewage visual quote of the year.

It is true, funny, and sad....all at the same time.

[VicHockeyFan]

Every year, 30 billion litres of sewage waste-water is invisibly dumped into the ocean fronting Vancouver’s Stanley Park — enough to fill B.C. Place Stadium to the roof more than 11 times over.

It flows around the clock through a 1.37-metre-diameter outfall pipe leading from Metro Vancouver’s Lions Gate sewage plant out 270 metres into First Narrows, at a depth of 24 metres.

The plant was state-of-the art when it opened in 1961 as the region’s first sewage-treatment plant.

Today, located on four hectares beneath the Lions Gate Bridge and serving almost 200,000 residents of West and North Vancouver, it is an archaic holdover, providing only primary treatment in a world where secondary treatment has become the minimum environmental standard.

As such, replacement of the plant is the region’s latest megaproject — a new $700-million secondary-treatment facility scheduled to be built by 2020 to meet new federal regulations.

“It’s an old plant,” said Metro Vancouver project manager Paul Default. “It doesn’t owe us anything.”

The new plant is planned for a three-hectare industrial site about two kilometres east of the current plant at Pemberton Avenue and West First Street, across from the Pemberton Station Pub. Pub general manager Cameron Isenor said there were rumours that Costco might move onto the site, or even a bus depot, both of which would have been good for business. The neighbourhood got a sewage plant instead.

“Obviously, there are other things I wish it was (rather) than that,” said Isenor, his concerns cushioned by Metro Vancouver’s promise to address nuisance odours. Unlike the current open-air system, the new system will involve covered tanks located under a roof, or in a building with an odour-control system.

 

http://www.theprovin...8444/story.html

[North Shore]

The pertinent quote, however, is this:

 

But $700 million is a lot of money. What will the upgrade actually do for the region’s marine environment?

 

Surprisingly, Andjela Knezevic-Stevanovic, regional director of environmental management for liquid waste, says that no significant adverse effects can be traced to the existing operation. “We are very fortunate with the location. It’s a high-energy, very-well-mixed area of the outfall.”

[JohnN]

http://www.theprovin...8444/story.html

Vancouver Sun's version of story has couple of photos but missing some points of Province version: http://vancouversun....eatment-upgrade

[JohnN]

The pertinent quote, however, is this:

 

But $700 million is a lot of money. What will the upgrade actually do for the region’s marine environment?

 

Surprisingly, Andjela Knezevic-Stevanovic, regional director of environmental management for liquid waste, says that no significant adverse effects can be traced to the existing operation. “We are very fortunate with the location. It’s a high-energy, very-well-mixed area of the outfall.”

Elizabeth James, columnist for North Shore News is skeptical about the environmental value of the sewage plant:  

Excerpt:

So, do we need a secondary treatment plant because the current facility is polluting the environment at its outfall? Absolutely not.

JAMES: Treatment plant doesn't need fixing:  http://www.nsnews.co...ixing-1.1933247

[JohnN]

Jack Knox CRD sewage plant excerpt:

 

13. Shotgun marriage for sewage treatment

 

It took a couple of decades, but with half a billion bucks worth of government grants hanging in the balance and no end to Greater Victoria’s longest-running soap opera in sight, the provincial government finally lost patience and decided to help* the capital region’s 13,456 local politicians find a sewage-treatment solution (*in the same way that Iraq decided to “help” Kuwait in 1990).

 

The process was wrested from Victoria-area councillors and handed to an expert panel, which quickly dismissed a proposed two-plant solution that — based on politics, not sound engineering or economics — might have cost an extra $250 million. Instead, the panel persuaded* the CRD to approve construction of a single $765-million regional sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point by 2020 — basically the same plan deep-sixed by Esquimalt’s opposition two years ago (*see Iraq, above).

 

If the plan proceeds (we just learned that Esquimalt council might get another kick at the can) the estimated annual costs for homeowners in the seven affected municipalities are: Oak Bay, $344; Saanich, $208; Victoria, $296; Esquimalt, $258; View Royal, $248; Colwood, $146; and Langford, $239.

 

http://www.timescolo...-2016-1.5909170

 

[JohnN]

Interesting that CRD holding the meeting in Esquimalt probably because CRD is the project proponent so only they can do that prior to Esquimalt Council's official rezoning hearing?

Public Meeting: Wastewater Treatment Plant at McLoughlin Point

Jan 12, 2017, 6pm-8pm

Esquimalt, Royal Canadian Legion, Esquimalt Dockside Branch

Event Information. The Capital Regional District (CRD) invites
residents to learn more about the Wastewater Treatment Plant at
McLoughlin Point. Meetings will begin with a presentation, followed by
an opportunity to chat with knowledgeable experts one-on-one in an
open house setting.

https://www.crd.bc.c...cloughlin-point

[JohnN]

Peter Pollen has died.

Peter Pollen was very civic-minded and he expressed his concern about the CRD's sewage plants by co-signing the Open Letter about the poor sewage plan, published in 2007. Excerpt from the letter (that many of us also co-signed):
Excerpts
...At present, only hypothetical benefits have been identified for proposed land-based treatment. The costs are substantial. This is hardly good evidence for acceptable, rational public policy.
...Before the CRD spends more of our local tax dollars on planning for land-based treatment, it is essential that the evidence be assembled on the costs and benefits of all viable alternatives. We call on the Ministry of Environment to fund, commission, and publish such a study, with no further delay. 

Open Letter - What do ordinary Victorians think of this issue? Letter published in the Victoria Times Colonist November 1st 2007 http://aresst.ca/info/open-letter/

[JohnN]

CRD letter on McLoughlin-related geotechnical analysis is introduced at Esquimalt Council meeting on Jan 9:

Letter from Dave Clancy, Project Manager, Core Area Wastewater Treatment Project, Capital Regional District, dated January 5, 2017, Re: Core Area Wastewater Treatment Project - Work Related to Geotechnical Information

https://esquimalt.ca...7D-6941893B9B02

[JohnN]

CBC excerpt:

Marg Gardiner, the president of the James Bay Neighbourhood association, is hoping people who live in the neighbourhood will attend the meeting.

...The Capital Regional District is hosting the meeting, but officials have not shared the sewage design plans ahead of the event.

...Gardiner has concerns about the construction based on the previous design plans from Seaterra that were ultimately rejected by Esquimalt.

Community meeting to discuss impact of sewage construction on Victoria's James Bay:

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...toria-1.3931158

[JohnN]

CRD quiet about sewage project now but that might be more because provincially-demanded Project Board has appropriated management of the project from CRD.

 

However, CRD might have more to say about the sewage project if they start to hear residents concerns about paying sewage plant taxes while having to cope with new sewage plant sludge issues...

 

CRD chairwoman Barb Desjardins cites housing, parks as priorities

http://www.timescolo...ities-1.7100087

[JohnN]

CHAIR OF THE CORE AREA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROJECT BOARD DOES NOT ANTICIPATE ANY COST OVERRUNS: http://www.iheartrad...rruns-1.2331569

[LJ]

^Then she is a delusional idiot.

[JohnN]

Excerpts:

The Capital Regional District has approved up to $200,000 in additional compensation for the sewage treatment project board chair and vice-chair even though some directors complained they didn’t have enough information to justify the expense.

...Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell recommended the decision be postponed until the board had more information, including the amount of per diems and expenses paid to date.

...He noted that the $20,000 is in addition to the honoraria paid to board members.

...Stan Bartlett of the Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria group agreed. “The question here is about process. You don’t do business that way,” Bartlett said. “You don’t do business that way with that amount of money involved. You have all the facts and figures and details in front of you, and you make a decision.”

Sewage board leaders to get $20,000 a month:

http://www.timescolo...month-1.7442540

 

 

[spanky123]

CHAIR OF THE CORE AREA WASTEWATER TREATMENT PROJECT BOARD DOES NOT ANTICIPATE ANY COST OVERRUNS: http://www.iheartrad...rruns-1.2331569

 

And if there are cost overruns then it won't cost her a dime.