- CRD RESPONDS ON LACK OF MARINE EIS
- ESQUIMALT SEWAGE PLANT COMMUNITY BENEFITS RESPONSE
- DRUGS IN CRD SEWAGE: AWMA TALK-LUNCH, 22 FEB
- WEST COAST MAYORS OUTLINE GREEN GOALS AT CONFERENCE
- CALVIN SANDBORN EARNS MORE LEGAL KUDOS
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Following is CRD Manager Jack Hull reply to my concern about lack of marine EIS for a McLoughlin Point sewage plant project. Will be interesting to see how CRD could escape from doing even a minimal marine EIS on sewage plant impacts, even under skimpy BC Municipal Sewage Regulations. Most critical is Hull's attitude that he assumes a land-based sewage plant could provide more environmental protection to marine environment, but without careful assessment of the marine and terrestrial costs of even attempting to provide such protection.
John N
Response from CRD/Jack Hull, 7 February:
Assuming that by the marine portion of the McLoughlin Point project you mean the shoreline part of the site, then during construction there will be strict restrictions in the contract on environmental management and protection of the marine environment. We have experience in implementing such measures – for example, during the expansion of the Sooke Reservoir construction took place within a few feet of the intake tower requiring the contractor to follow strict protocols to ensure no impact on the aquatic environment and drinking water quality.
When completed, all runoff from the facility will be directed into the treatment plant, not to the foreshore. It is hard to imagine that discharging effluent treated to secondary standards will not improve the marine environment compared to discharging screened raw sewage.
It is proposed to construct the pipeline under the harbour using directional drilling which will eliminate any work on the sea bed.
Before proceeding with construction the CRD will have to obtain the necessary Federal (CEAA) and Provincial (MSR) permits and authorizations and during construction will have to comply with same as appropriate.
Thanks,
Jack
It is proposed to construct the pipeline under the harbour using directional drilling which will eliminate any work on the sea bed.
Before proceeding with construction the CRD will have to obtain the necessary Federal (CEAA) and Provincial (MSR) permits and authorizations and during construction will have to comply with same as appropriate.
Thanks,
Jack
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ESQUIMALT SEWAGE PLANT COMMUNITY BENEFITS RESPONSE ATTACHED
ARESST:
The attached reponse from Jeff Miller, Esquimalt's Director of Engineering, to the CRD's sewage plant Community Benefits report, seems rather constrained, but the discussion of discrepancy #3 might a good point to ponder.
Report might have included more discussion of the uniqueness and value of the specific site under consideration - McLoughlin Point, and its Victoria Harbour location. Opportunity costs could be more specifically discussed - the alternative uses for the site that would fit more into Esquimalt's future. A sewage plant at McLoughlin Point not only prejudices Esquimalt plans, but also plans for other users of Victoria Harbour, as the sewage plant would have no connexion to the harbour development.
At least the ugly old petroleum tanks were an integral part of the fast-disappearing industrial part of the harbour system, but the move to a tourism-recreational harbour might offer more innovative opportunities for the site (even as restored green space).
What community benefits should Esquimalt receive for being forced to host the sewage plant, when neither Esquimalt nor the rest of the CRD receive any benefits from this land-based sewage treatment plant?
Send your thoughts to the CRD's Wastewater Made Clear comments site, or Esquimalt's The Wrong Plan comments site, or directly to Esquimalt Mayor Desjardins.
John N
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A reminder that you are invited to the next Technical Luncheon of the Air & Waste Management Association’s Vancouver Island Chapter.
The luncheon presentation is:
Pharmaceuticals, Personal Care Products, Illicit Drugs and Their Metabolites in Screened Municipal Wastewaters
When: Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011, 11:40 - 13:10
Where: Cedar Hill Golf Course, 1400 Derby Road, Victoria, B.C. (click to see map)
RSVP: RSVP by email to Markus at AWMAinformation@gmail.com
Cost: $10 AWMA members and students, $20 non-members
Abstract
Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are a large class of compounds of emerging environmental concern. These substances can potentially enter the aquatic and marine environments via discharge from municipal wastewater systems, runoff from agricultural fields, direct deposit from aquaculture, or washing off via bathing. Because PPCPs have the potential for biological or physical effects, there have been significant concerns that they could impact non-target organisms in the environment. This presentation will summarize the Capital Regional District’s (CRD) efforts to characterize PPCPs in the region’s wastewaters, as well as provide some environmental context to the results.
Chris Lowe is a biologist responsible for overseeing the CRD’s Wastewater and Marine Environment Program. He has worked within this program, which assesses the effects of the region’s municipal wastewater outfalls, for the last nine years. Prior to working at the CRD, Chris worked for four years as a biologist at Hatfield Consultants Ltd, an environmental consulting firm in West/North Vancouver. Chris has a B.Sc. in Biological Oceanography from UBC, a Dip. Tech. in Fish, Wildlife and Recreation from BCIT, and is currently trying to break the world record for longest time to finish an M.Sc. through UVic.
For more information on A&WMA Vancouver Island Chapter technical lunches, visit http://www.pnwis.org/
Markus Kellerhals
Technical Luncheon Chair
Vancouver Island Chapter, Pacific Northwest International Section
Air & Waste Management Association
markus.kellerhals@gov.bc.ca
RELATED ABSTRACT OR ARTICLE LINKS:
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ARESST:
Brief mention near end of news story below:
[T]here are several challenges ahead. Those include developing a sewage treatment system that allows for generation of energy
WEST COAST MAYORS OUTLINE GREEN GOALS AT SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE IN VICTORIA
BILL CLEVERLEY,
Timescolonist.com
February 8, 2011 7:01 PM
Letters to editor
Timescolonist.com
February 8, 2011 7:01 PM
Letters to editor
It's not easy being green but it's worth it, a panel of West Coast mayors
told municipal leaders from across Canada gathered in Victoria this week.
"China's plan is to spend $8 trillion over the next 10 years on clean
energy; on smart grid energy efficiency. That's $800 billion a year — try
wrapping your head around that number and compare it what we have here,"
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told delegates Tuesday at the Federation
of Canadian Municipalities sustainable communities conference at the
Victoria Conference Centre.
"We've seen markets growing at an unbelievable pace right now. Green
building materials are expected to be a $571-billion industry by 2013.
Clean energy investments globally have exceeded fossil fuels for the last
couple of years. ... It's a staggering level of investment right now and
it's increasing on a very steep curve."
Robertson was joined by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and Victoria Mayor Dean
Fortin in trumpeting some of their municipalities' green achievements and
outlining challenges ahead.
Robertson said Vancouver has set the goal of becominng the greenest city
in the world by 2020. That means doubling the number of green jobs — which
include positions in area such as land and water remediation, green
building, local food production and sustainable transportation — in the
city from its current 12,000.
It's expected about two-thirds of those jobs will be found in making
buildings more energy efficient, he said. "Fifty-five per cent of our
carbon emissions are coming from our buildings."
Seattle has a number of green building policies, McGinn said. All
commercial buildings are now required to conduct energy audits and report
the findings.
The city is developing a home energy retrofit program to do efficiency
audits in poorer neighbourhoods in order to create "thousands of jobs
while capturing the value of reduced waste for our local community," he
said.
Seattle is also considering energy audits when houses are sold. "Just like
you inspect your home to see if your roof leaking water in, maybe we
should check to see if you're leaking heat outwards and make it a
requirement at the point of sale," he said.
Both Robertson and McGinn cited developing infrastructure for electric
cars, such as charging stations, as one of the challenges ahead.
Fortin cited a number of sustainability successes in Victoria — ranging
from the Dockside Green development to the city's acquisition of two
bankrupt motels for social housing — but said there are several challenges
ahead.
Those include developing a sewage treatment system that allows for
generation of energy and development of an economic strategy that focuses
on objectives such as a high tech park downtown, a green tech exchange and
a sustainability framework.
The three mayors signed a letter of intent to work together to foster the
further development on the West Coast.
bcleverley@timescolonist.com
http://www.timescolonist.com/
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ARESST:
Re, Calvin Sandborn's award below.
UVic's Environmental Law Centre might be an interesting resource and they put law students to work as volunteers on environmental issues. ELC says it will provide student research and advocacy. Each semester ELC get a new batch of law students to work on public interest environmental law projects across British Columbia. There is a process to how ELC select cases, and application ELC give to potential clients. ELC always have more issues than students, so ELC cannot always take on new cases. ELC next file intake will be in April for the summer semester.
CALVIN SANDBORN EARNS MORE LEGAL KUDOS
Erin Cardone
Victoria News
February 07, 2011
For the second time in three weeks, Calvin Sandborn accepted a significant award for his work on environmental law in B.C.
The latest, the Dr. Andrew Thompson Award from West Coast Environmental Law, follows his honourary citizenship in the City of Victoria in January.
“I think the important thing about Calvin, in his position now with (the University of Victoria’s) Environmental Law Centre is his infectious enthusiasm,” said Andrew Gage, acting executive director on the staff council for West Coast Environmental Law.
“It would be fair to say since coming to the Environmental Law Centre, he seems to have come to new delight in his work and I think that comes from the students. ... My impression is that they love him.”
Gage said the Dr. Andrew Thompson Award is like a recognition of lifetime achievement.
Sandborn, a 61-year-old resident of Esquimalt, said much of his appreciation comes from the man, after whom his latest award is named. In his early years, Sandborn studied under Thompson.
“I realized why Andy did this stuff – it was all about the river,” Sandborn said, using the Nechako River as an example. “And it was all about the community that loved that river like family.”
Now, as legal director at UVic’s Environmental Law Centre, Sandborn’s passing on his decades of experience to a new generation of environmental lawyers.
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