- CRD CALWMC AUDIT REPORT + CALMWC MEETS 8 FEB (orientation for new members and in camera)
- GREATER VICTORIA AMALGAMATION CONVERSATION (GUDGEON)
- OAK BAY ARESSTERS: GET ONTO OB'S NEW ENVIRONMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (deadline to apply 8 Feb)
- PRESENTATION LINKS FROM 2011 SALISH SEA CONFERENCE, OCTOBER 2011
- HAVE YOUR INPUT ON GEORGIA STRAIT ALLIANCE ONLINE MARINE ATLAS
- AIR YOUR VIEWS ON LRT FUNDING (suggest they divert sewage plant funds?)
- SHIPYARD MOP-UP NEARS COMPLETION (Yarrows - Esquimalt Harbour legacy contamination)
- GUERNSEY UPDATES (5)
------------------------------
CRD CALWMC AUDIT REPORT + CALMWC MEETS 8 FEB (orientation for new members and in camera)
Audit report attached was excerpted from agenda for CRD Board meeting, 8 Feb, 1:30pm
CALWMC Agenda 8 Feb, 9:30am, CRD Boardroom:
Item: 5. Staff Presentation: Overview of Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program (Orientation for New Members)
Item 7: In Camera
Next Meeting: Wed., March 14, 2012 @ 9:30 am
------------------------------
ARESSTer Bruce informs:
You may want to make ARESST members aware of this session next Tuesday evening. I understand it may get some good coverage. I would expect that many of the people that will be attending are the type of people that could help Smart Sewage Treatment Victoria. If there is an opportunity to have SSTV added to their Amalgamation issues, and possibly to get on their distribution list, this could be helpful. I will be lobbying to get integrated urban planning on the list with focus on the social, economic, environmental sustainability drivers.
Click here to listen to relevant CBC radio interview with Shellie Gudgeon.
The Greater Victoria community are invited to attend and participate in a public meeting on local and regional governance.
Tuesday, 7 February
S. J. Willis School, 923 Topaz Ave (enter by Gillie Place and park at back lot). Click here for location.
7pm to 9pm
Speakers will provide short presentations on the history of Greater Victoria – how we arrived at 13 municipalities – and the current challenges facing regional government. The presentations will be followed with an opportunity for the community to share thoughts, comments, suggestions and questions at a number of engagement stations.
Meeting Conveners: Shellie Gudgeon, Tamara Hernandez, Susan Jones, Rod Phillips and Mat Wright
Mission Statement: We are a group of Greater Victoria citizens opening the conversation on how we are governed
Speakers will be announced when confirmed. Further information can be found on the Facebook Page, (Amalgamation Victoria) and through the media contact.
Please include this event in community calendars and public service announcements. Media enquiries and requests for interviews please contact Mat Wright
Mat Wright
contact@wrightresult.com
250 686 5945
Cheers,
Shellie Gudgeon
Victoria City Council
e: shellie@shelligudgeon.com
w: www.shelliegudgeon.com
t: @ShellieGudgeon
----------------
John Vickers has started a second Amalagation Group and he will be having his meeting on this date:
10am Saturday February 11th
Boardroom of the James Bay Community Project
547 Michigan Street.
10am Saturday February 11th
Boardroom of the James Bay Community Project
547 Michigan Street.
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OAK BAY ARESSTERS: GET ONTO OB'S NEW ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE (deadline to apply 8 Feb)
ARESST Oak Bay members:
Oak Bay Council has recently formed two new advisory Committees and changed the mandate for a third, and is seeking interested volunteers for these three committees. Click here to link to an advertisement for volunteers, and click the appropriate links below to obtain specific frameworks for the Committees noted in the advertisement. Note that the mandate of the Environment Advisory Committee includes:
- reduce harmful impact of wastewater contamination (chemical, mineral, biological)
- rainwater (stormwater) and wastewater impact management
Click: Environmental Advisory Committee (mandate and volunteer requirements)
------------------------------
PRESENTATIONS FROM 2011 SALISH SEA CONFERENCE, OCTOBER
Presentation slides that discuss sewage treatment, but there may be others I missed:
Teizeen Mohamedali: Puget Sound nutrient loading: Sources and magnitudes
Cait Nelson: Industrial contaminants in coastal river otters
Chris Lowe: Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, illicit drugs and their metabolites in municipal wastewater
Chris Lowe: Pharmaceuticals, personal care products, illicit drugs and their metabolites in municipal wastewater
Heather Osachoff: Detection of estrogenic hormones in BC sewage treatment plant effluents
Peter Ross: Ranking contaminant threats to the killer whales of the Salish Sea
Sophia Johannessen: Local and global change in the Strait of Georgia
GUERNSEY STATES ASKED TO FOLLOW UK BEST PRACTICE
BBC News Guernsey
3 February 2012
The costs and practicalities of a wastewater plant for Guernsey will be looked at if a politician gets his way.
The Public Services Department has recommended not building a full sewage treatment plant after a report found it would have no environmental benefit.
Deputy Shane Langlois has called for an investigation into primary treatment only as part of the liquid waste strategy, due to be debated next week.
He said the change would mean the island followed UK best practice.
If Deputy Langlois's move is approved by the States the Public Services Department will be tasked with returning with proposals by the end of the year.
A full sewage treatment plant, which would include three stages of treatment, has been estimated at costing £100m over 25 years.
Deputy Langlois said: "I would not propose full secondary or tertiary treatment because that is happening naturally, but there should be a compromise and we should be using primary sewage treatment before we discharge out into the Little Russell."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
JUST FOUR DEPUTIES ACCEPT THE BIG POOP BAY SWIM CHALLENGE
This Is Guernsey
3 February 2012
JUST four deputies have so far agreed to dive into Belle Greve Bay to prove it is clean enough to swim in.
Islander Philip Cox challenged politicians to take a dip in the bay because he was concerned about the way the island treats its sewage.
Deputies Robert Sillars, Andrew Le Lievre, Mike Collins and Barry Paint have accepted.
The task has been called Politicians Outsmart Outfall Protesters, or Poop, by Mr Cox.
The 41-year-old accountant said he wanted to highlight the issue.
http://www.thisisguernsey.com/
--------
DIVER ROLAND DOMAILLE DISAGREES WITH SURFERS' SEWAGE COMPLAINTS
BBC News Guernsey
25 January 2012
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has called for full sewage treatment, rather than the current system of pumping waste into Belle Greve Bay.
Diver Roland Domaille claimed the group did not understand the local sewage dispersal situation.
Andy Cummins, of SAS, said people were not always aware of what they were looking for in terms of sewage.
He said: "People associate sewage with what might be found in the bottom of their toilet."
He added that sewage likely to be seen in the case of Guernsey was microscopic and would not be immediately visible.
'Little odour'
Mr Domaille said he had dived for scallops and flatfish in the bay for 40 years and had suffered no problems.
He said that while he did not agree with Surfers Against Sewage, he did support the Public Services Department's plan to upgrade the outfall pipe at Belle Greve.
He added that sewage from the pipe was quickly dispersed and produced little odour.
Surfers Against Sewage's campaign has involved questioning and warning passengers travelling to Guernsey by boat about the island's sewage policy.
The group said 79% of people questioned on one day at Weymouth ferry port had said they would not be happy to use the beaches and the seas around Guernsey.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
Webpage of complete list of presentations: http://www.
------------------------------
HAVE INPUT ON GEORGIA STRAIT ALLIANCE ONLINE MARINE ATLAS
Over the coming year, the Georgia Strait Alliance will be applying some of the information found on our online atlas to develop what we are calling “Georgia Strait Protection Principles”. These will be a set of protection statements aimed at ensuring that community leaders think about marine sustainability while making decisions within their city, town or region.
We’ll be urging decision-makers to adopt the Principles and commit to using them, in order to incorporate marine habitat protection and restoration values into urban and community planning and development processes all around our region.
GSA SURVEY: http://mapping.uvic.
------------------------------
AIR YOUR VIEWS ON LRT FUNDING (suggest they divert sewage plant funds?)
Times Colonist
February 01, 2012
The Capital Regional District wants more public feedback on possible funding options for Greater Victoria's proposed light transit system.
A joint task force of the CRD and B.C. Transit is preparing a report on local funding options before presenting a business plan to the federal government later this year.
Light rail transit systems usually require one-third local funding and another one-third each coming from the provincial and federal governments. Victoria's LRT is estimated to cost $950 million.
Last month, the task force posted online surveys for residents to submit ideas. So far, 80 residents have participated and about 60 have signed up for public forums scheduled for Feb. 14 to 16.
"We're seeing some new ideas and themes emerge from the 80 responses we've received so far," said Bob Lapham, chairman of the local funding task force. Lapham is also general manager for CRD planning and protective services.
B.C. Transit completed phase one of the project, which cost an estimated $3.1 million. Before moving to phase two, the joint task force of the CRD and B.C. Transit must complete its report on local funding options.
Phase two will cost about $5 million for a detailed business case, which will include an independent review. Construction will start in phase three.
Anyone wanting to participate in the focus groups must sign up by Feb. 5. The online survey can be found at http://www.lrtlocalfunding.
------------------------------
SHIPYARD MOP-UP NEARS COMPLETION (Yarrows - Esquimalt Harbour legacy contamination)
Historic Yarrows site a challenge; future uses still undetermined
Carla Wilson
Times Colonist
February 03, 2012
More than a century after shipbuilding began at the old Yarrows site in Esquimalt and 18 years after the ship builder closed down, a multi-million-dollar environmental cleanup is almost complete.
The ultimate use for the 12-acre site, now part of CFB Esquimalt, has still to be determined.
"Our goal is just to make sure that if and when development happens in that area, the site does not have environmental limitations," said Graham Smith, base environment officer. He said the aim is to bring the site to government standards for industrial use.
A new wall now separates the sea and the land, and a gravel base tops the remediated portion of the site. Wells around the property allow underground conditions to be monitored.
"It really was a fix-up success story," said safety officer Duane Freeman, Department of National Defence project manager for the major cleanup work. Public Works and Government Services Canada issue tenders and manage contracts on behalf of DND, such as this remediation.
The base has used its own funds to perform incremental rehabilitation while Public Works has managed contracts for major rehabilitation, which total $11 million to date.
In 2006, high concentrations of hydrocarbons - natural compounds found primarily in crude oil - were discovered. Freeman said that "two solid feet" of Bunker C oil - used on ships - was revealed in a monitoring well.
Bids closed Wednesday for the latest stage in the cleanup, expected to be worth close to $1 million.
The winning bidder will remove and dispose of contaminated soil, replacing it with new fill.
This portion of the site is further upland and less contaminated than the alreadyscrubbed area closer to the water. Funds will come out of the base's environmental works budget.
Also coming is a risk assessment of the uppermost section of the former shipyard, where Yarrows' offices and parking were located, to learn if further work is needed.
As the defunct shipyard land is being rehabilitated, B.C.'s shipbuilding industry is celebrating winning the right to negotiate to build $8-billion worth of federal non-combat ships. The first steel is expected to be cut early next year under contracts anticipated to bring stability to the industry and create thousands of jobs.
In its lifetime, Yarrows built hundreds of vessels, including Canadian Pacific Railway Princess passenger ships, tugs, barges, ferries, fishing trawlers, minesweepers, patrol frigates, corvettes, landing craft, scows and federal research and patrol vessels. The yard also repaired countless others.
But shipbuilding has waxed and waned on the coast. The industry's future looked bleak when Yarrows and Victoria Machinery Depot, another shipbuilder, closed in 1994.
When the federal government took possession of the land, it also took on the responsibility to clean it up.
The most severe contamination was that closest to the water where the heaviest industrial use took place. A hodgepodge of fill had been dumped on the shore to create more land in a time when environmental sensibilities and knowledge were far different.
That area was cleaned up in 2008-2009 when 90,000 tonnes of material was removed in what base environmental staff described as a technically challenging, complex project. Quantum Murray and SLR Global Environmental Solutions were the major contractors on the job, supported by 35 sub-contractors, Smith said.
Contaminated fill below the historic 1924 shoreline was removed. Material was tested at laboratories, taken to approved disposal sites, and new fill was put down.
Digging through the muck to depths of nine metres brought surprises.
"They used whatever they could to fill in the land," Freeman said.
A huge propeller was unearthed and saved for display. Boulders the size of cars, scrap metal, slag, chunks of concrete, creosoted piles, oils, greases, heavy metals such as lead, and riveted tanks still holding oil were among the discoveries.
The bomb squad was called in after a barrel containing sticks of dynamite was found.
The amount of material removed was the equivalent of 7,642 tandem truckloads of soil, Smith said.
Ocean barges, trucks and rail cars carried away material, including 60,000 tonnes sent to permitted facilities, plus another 3,000 tonnes of hazardous waste metals and hydrocarbons. About 27,000 tonnes of coarse rock was screened and reused.
Construction of a 201-metre barrier wall separating land and sea was "really challenging," said Freeman. Excavators worked to depths of up to nine metres below sea level as it was being installed.
A clay mineral slurry wall was constructed in places where the bedrock was close to the ground's surface. More than 2,500 cubic metres of concrete was used. A secant pile wall - a kind of retaining wall - was built in deeper sections.
Building the wall was tricky. If seawater pushed it more than 10 centimetres, the excavator, working in a slurry, would move away for safety reasons. Approximately 350 metres of steel piles were used to support the wall, which was almost 13 metres high in some places.
About 28,000 cubic metres of water was pumped, treated and discharged in the project.
YARROWS: A TIMELINE TO VICTORIA'S SHIPBUILDING HISTORY
1893: The Esquimalt Marine Railway Co. is incorporated by W. Fitzherbert Bullen. Work includes painting, repairing and copper resheathing of wooden hulls.
1898: Name changes to B.C. Marine Railway Co. A small marine railway is built in the Inner Harbour to haul out tugs, fishing vessels and sealing schooners. The yard wins jobs to construct CPR vessels such as the Princess Maquinna, and repair Royal Navy and deep-sea vessels.
Dec. 1913: Sir Alfred Yarrow of England buys the Esquimalt yard for $300,000. He owned Yarrows Shipbuilders on the River Clyde in Scotland.
January 1914: Son Norman Yarrow takes over the company and renames it Yarrows.
1914 to 1918: The yard repairs and refits many ships for the Royal Navy, and also produces high-explosive shells during the First World War. Employment hits 800 men.
Mid-1920s: Shipbuilding gets a boost as the Esquimalt Graving Dock opens, helping to attract additional work.
1932: Ten per cent pay cut at Yarrows after work drops off during the Depression years.
1939 to 1945: The Second World War drives production to new levels. Yarrows arms the auxiliary cruiser Rajputana, owned by the P & O line, as well as the CPR's deep-sea fleet with its Empresses of Russia, Japan, Asia and Canada. During the war years, Yarrows repairs more than 2.5 million tons of Allied ships. Orders include two cargo ships, 17 frigates, five corvettes and five landing ships.
At its peak during the war, 4,000 employees work for Yarrows.
Early 1942: In a top-secret operation, Victoria High School technical students are recruited in a rush job to do the final work to convert the Queen Elizabeth, the world's largest passenger liner, into a troop carrier with capacity for 3,000 passengers. A total of 1,000 work on the job. Painters used 10 tons of grey paint and 4,000 paintbrushes.
April 1946: Norman Yarrow retires and the company is sold to Burrard Dry Dock, owned by the Wallace family.
1950s: Yarrows diversifies production with aluminum towers for the Aluminum Company of Canada's smelter in Kitimat.
1956: $300,000 fabrication building is constructed on the Yarrows site.
Mid-1950s: The company spends $5 million per year on goods and services. The number of hourly paid workers ranges from 900 to 1,000, plus 160 salaried staff.
1962: Yarrows has built more than 100 steel barges for B.C. industries. Employment hits a postwar high of 1,200, with a weekly payroll of $135,000.
1969: The shipyard builds the largest log barge in history, able to carry 20,000 tons of logs.
1970: A lack of marine work leads Yarrows to fabricate garbage containers, kitchen furniture and truck bodies.
1979: Yarrows formally amalgamates to become Burrard-Yarrows Corp.
1980: New Queen of Oak Bay is launched by Burrard-Yarrows.
Princess Marguerite refit. ? 1981:
Burrard-Yarrows Corp.
1985: renamed Versatile Pacific Shipyards, part of a Vancouver-based industrial conglomerate.
1989: Shieldings Inc., a Toronto investment firm, buys Versatile from B.C. Pacific Capital Corp.
1990: Cancellation of the long-promised $650-million Polar 8 icebreaker a major blow. However, Versatile wins piece of the Spirit of B.C. ferry contract.
1991: Shieldings closes its North Vancouver Burrard-Yarrows shipyard, laying off 325. Local yard renamed to Yarrows Ltd.
1994: Tough times in shipbuilding see the workforce drop off. The company owes Esquimalt more than $1 million in back taxes. Yarrows closes, as does Victoria Machinery Depot, a local firm producing everything from ships to water mains.
May 26, 1994: Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers holds three-day auction to disperse Yarrows machinery, boats, trailers after WCL Canada buys the shipyard's assets, excluding land and buildings. A $3-million target in sales is reached in the auction, which attracts 1,500 buyers.
Ottawa buys the bulk of the Yarrows shipyard property, 12 acres, for $10. Esquimalt obtains two acres for $1 million.
------------------------------
GUERNSEY UPDATES (5)
GUERNSEY STATES ASKED TO FOLLOW UK BEST PRACTICE
BBC News Guernsey
3 February 2012
The costs and practicalities of a wastewater plant for Guernsey will be looked at if a politician gets his way.
The Public Services Department has recommended not building a full sewage treatment plant after a report found it would have no environmental benefit.
Deputy Shane Langlois has called for an investigation into primary treatment only as part of the liquid waste strategy, due to be debated next week.
He said the change would mean the island followed UK best practice.
If Deputy Langlois's move is approved by the States the Public Services Department will be tasked with returning with proposals by the end of the year.
A full sewage treatment plant, which would include three stages of treatment, has been estimated at costing £100m over 25 years.
Deputy Langlois said: "I would not propose full secondary or tertiary treatment because that is happening naturally, but there should be a compromise and we should be using primary sewage treatment before we discharge out into the Little Russell."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
--------
This Is Guernsey
3 February 2012
JUST four deputies have so far agreed to dive into Belle Greve Bay to prove it is clean enough to swim in.
Islander Philip Cox challenged politicians to take a dip in the bay because he was concerned about the way the island treats its sewage.
Deputies Robert Sillars, Andrew Le Lievre, Mike Collins and Barry Paint have accepted.
The task has been called Politicians Outsmart Outfall Protesters, or Poop, by Mr Cox.
The 41-year-old accountant said he wanted to highlight the issue.
http://www.thisisguernsey.com/
--------
BBC News Guernsey
25 January 2012
Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) has called for full sewage treatment, rather than the current system of pumping waste into Belle Greve Bay.
Diver Roland Domaille claimed the group did not understand the local sewage dispersal situation.
Andy Cummins, of SAS, said people were not always aware of what they were looking for in terms of sewage.
He said: "People associate sewage with what might be found in the bottom of their toilet."
He added that sewage likely to be seen in the case of Guernsey was microscopic and would not be immediately visible.
'Little odour'
Mr Domaille said he had dived for scallops and flatfish in the bay for 40 years and had suffered no problems.
He said that while he did not agree with Surfers Against Sewage, he did support the Public Services Department's plan to upgrade the outfall pipe at Belle Greve.
He added that sewage from the pipe was quickly dispersed and produced little odour.
Surfers Against Sewage's campaign has involved questioning and warning passengers travelling to Guernsey by boat about the island's sewage policy.
The group said 79% of people questioned on one day at Weymouth ferry port had said they would not be happy to use the beaches and the seas around Guernsey.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
-------
GUERNSEY'S 'UNIQUE TIDES' WASH AWAY SEWAGE
BBC News Guernsey
31 January 2012
Guernsey does not need full sewage treatment, according to a former deputy who was responsible for dealing with the island's liquid waste for 10 years.
From 1974 to 1984 Peter Bougourd served as a member and later as president of the Public Thoroughfares Committee.
He has backed a report, due to be debated by the States next week, which found no treatment was needed.
He said: "There's no visible harm, there's no sewage debris on the beaches, none of it comes back ashore."
Mr Bougourd said: "I'm told we are unique, and we could well be, in so far as our tidal system runs away from the island and doesn't run up and down shore parallel."
He said there used to be five sewers discharging liquid waste into Belle Greve Bay, but that was stopped and replaced with a "long sea outfall".
Mr Bougourd said extensive research and testing in the 1960s confirmed the new outfall was far enough out for the sewage to be carried out to sea and treated naturally without harming water quality or the environment.
The lack of sewage treatment carried out in the island has been highlighted to travellers to Guernsey by UK campaign group Surfers Against Sewage.
Mr Bougourd said of the campaign: "I'm concerned about our reputation, but it is quite, quite undeserved because the proof of the pudding is in the eating - 40 years and the beaches are still perfectly clean."
------
GUERNSEY DEPUTIES CHALLENGED TO SWIM IN 'SEWAGE SEA'
BBC News Guernsey
2 February 2012
A Guernseyman has challenged island politicians to swim in the water together at Belle Greve Bay to prove the water is safe.
Phil Cox has concerns that pumping raw sewage into the sea in the bay affects the island's image and if it does not change people will holiday elsewhere.
He said he had seen things floating in the water and thought sewage treatment needed to be pursued.
So far four deputies have accepted his challenge, while 11 have declined.
The four who have agreed so far are Deputy Mike Collins, Deputy Andrew Le Lievre, Deputy Barry Paint and Deputy Robert Sillars.
Mr Cox has called his challenge Politicians Outsmart Outfall Protesters - or Poop for short - as he thinks deputies need to do something to counter campaigning done by the UK-based group Surfers Against Sewage.
It has campaigned against a proposal going to the States next week to approve a report that found the island does not need to implement full sewage treatment.
Mr Cox said the swim would take place in a few month's time.
------------------------------
END.
