July 17, 2012



- SEWAGE OVERRUNS TO FALL TO TAXPAYERS
- TIME FOR BUILDERS TO PIPE UP ON SEWAGE (ARESST mention at end)
- THREE GOVERNMENTS ANNOUNCE DEAL FOR GREATER VICTORIA SEWAGE PLANT
- GOVERNMENT FUNDS CONFIRMED, GREATER VICTORIA SEWAGE TREATMENT PROJECT MOVING AHEAD
- PUBLIC HAS ITS SAY ON COLWOOD SEWER COSTS (CRD sewage plant cost/capacity sharing concern)
- LETTER: SEA VEGETATION GOOD FOR COMPOST (sewage plant mention)
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SEWAGE OVERRUNS TO FALL TO TAXPAYERS
Province won't pay $248M share until project done

Cindy E. Harnett And Rob Shaw
Times Colonist
July 17, 2012
Letters to editor: letters@timescolonist.com 

Local taxpayers are on the hook for any overruns for the region's new secondary sewage treatment system, officials confirmed Monday after the federal and provincial governments announced the maximum amounts they'll contribute.

To cover the expected total bill of $782.7 million, the federal contribution will be up to $253.4 million, the provincial contribution is a maximum of $248 million and the Capital Regional District provides the balance, estimated at $281.3 million.

Federal money will arrive before and during construction, but the province will wait until the system is running.

Conservative MP James Moore announced the federal money at a news conference Monday at the Inn at Laurel Point. "The construction is beginning soon, work begins this year, the funding is now flowing and a partnership has been built," Moore said.

The goal is to end the pumping of raw sewage into the waters around Victoria, Moore said. "Its time has come, and we're taking action."

The provincial government made it clear that its contribution - based on 2010 cost estimates - will only be delivered when the project is up and running in 2017-18 or 2018-19. "We want to make sure we get to substantial completion before we start contributing," said Oak Bay-Gordon Head Liberal MLA Ida Chong.

"Basically you have to show your receipts ... and it has to be working," said CRD chairman Geoff Young.

The CRD is on the hook for land purchases, legal fees and annual operating costs of $14.5 million. The estimated property-tax burden for homeowners ranges from $100 to $500 a year, depending on the municipality and how much waste and wastewater it produces.

If the project goes overbudget, the CRD has to pay the difference, said Jack Hull, the CRD's general manager of integrated water services.

Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard said the funding caps by senior governments are justifiable. "I think it inspires discipline."

The system consists of three projects: the McLoughlin Point wastewater treatment plant in Esquimalt, a biosolids energy centre proposed for Saanich and piping-system upgrades.

At McLoughlin Point, liquid will be extracted and discharged into the ocean through a new marine outfall on the same site.

Leftover sludge will be piped 18 kilometres to a biosolids energy centre, proposed for Hartland landfill in Saanich. It will be built through a public-private partnership with support from P3 Canada Fund, a Crown corporation that assesses, provides consultation and makes recommendations on public-private partnerships. Biosolids are to be processed into a fuel for cement kilns in Vancouver, replacing coal.

Ownership of the facility and accountability stays with the CRD.

Denise Blackwell, chairwoman of the CRD's liquid waste management committee, expects construction to start in 2013, will generate 10,000 "person-years" of employment.

The CRD is to debate whether municipalities will phase in the increased tax burden as part of property taxes or on water bills.

Currently, sewage flows through metal screens before it is piped about a kilometre into the ocean.

ceharnett@timescolonist.com rshaw@timescolonist.com

http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=bdff6d15-caeb-4520-9615-6f5fa8a561fb

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TIME FOR BUILDERS TO PIPE UP ON SEWAGE (ARESST mention at end)

CRD to seek qualified contractors, create committee to oversee details

Cindy E. Harnett And Rob Shaw
Times Colonist
July 17, 2012
Letters to editor: letters@timescolonist.com  

Politicians may continue to debate the locations and methods used by the region's proposed $782-million secondary sewage treatment plant. But with funding secured, the Capital Regional District will now seek qualified builders.

"There's a number of things we have to set up over the next few months," said Jack Hull, the CRD's general manager of integrated water services. But by year's end, the CRD will issue a request for qualified builders to construct a liquids-only treatment plant in Esquimalt. That will be followed by a request for proposals in early 2013.

The technology chosen for the wastewater treatment system will dictate the kind of technology used by the biosolids facility, Hull said. It's expected the biosolids facility will go to construction in early 2015.

The CRD must also establish an arm's-length sewage commission - a condition of funding by the federal and provincial governments - in which unelected appointees with experience in major capital projects will sign contracts to start the work and handle day-to-day decision-making during construction.

The CRD board, which will maintain ultimate oversight over the budget and scope of the program, authorized the commission last August.

View Royal Mayor Graham Hill, a longtime CRD sewage committee director, said there's a lot of work to be done to create the independent sewage commission. While the plan for the project, in principle, is done, "nothing is finalized in this game until you get concrete in the ground."

Denise Blackwell, chairwoman of the CRD's liquid waste management committee, said "shovels in the ground at the end of this year is a bit optimistic, but next year for sure."

A manager must be hired to oversee the project through to its completion, projected to be in 2018.

Although a business case for the project has been complete for almost two years, discussions continue about the possibility of a better site for the biosolids facility.

The proposed Hartland landfill site has never been considered ideal for such a facility, but it has the advantage of being owned by all CRD municipalities.

Green party leader Elizabeth May, representing Saanich-Gulf Islands, said that having called for cleanup of Victoria's system for decades, she continues to hope a more sophisticated system to maximize resource recovery will be found. "We certainly do not want to transfer a marine sewage problem to a landbased sewage problem."

B.C. Conservative MP James Moore said Prime Minister Stephen Harper has delivered on his 2006 campaign promise to fund sewage treatment in the capital region, and now it's time for residents to decide how to move forward.

"At least we now know there is an end goal - that money is on the table and there is actually serious planning and thinking going into this," Moore said.

A community group called ARESST - the Association for Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Sewage Treatment - has lobbied for the plans to be scrapped altogether and for improvements to be made to the current method of screening and discharging effluent into the Pacific.

The group argues that Greater Victoria's unique marine environment of cold, deep waters show little sign of harmful pollution under the current system, and that the treatment plant project would be a waste of money with little environmental benefit.

Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins contends that the gateway to the Inner Harbour, McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt, is not suitable for a wastewater treatment plant as planned.

ceharnett@timescolonist.com
rshaw@timescolonist.com

http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/capital_van_isl/story.html?id=ea3ec685-65f5-4222-93a1-a8ab291c2b17

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 THREE GOVERNMENTS ANNOUNCE DEAL FOR GREATER VICTORIA SEWAGE PLANT
 
CINDY E. HARNETT
JULY 16, 2012 12:27 PM
Letters to editor: letters@timescolonist.com
 
The federal, provincial and regional governments today announced a deal to fund a proposed $782-million secondary sewage treatment plant in the capital region. 

Conservative MP James Moore made the long-anticipated infrastructure announcement on the outdoor terrace of the Inn at Laurel Point, in Victoria, at 11 a.m.

“This is a quarter of a billion dollars to end dumping of sewage into the waters around Victoria,” Moore said of the federal government’s share of the money.

Construction is beginning soon and the work begins now, Moore said.

“This infrastructure project will create local jobs, leverage private sector investment and contribute to the long-term well-being of Vancouver Islanders,” he said.

Oak Bay Liberal MLA Ida Chong and Langford Coun. Denise Blackwell, chair of the Capital Regional District’s liquid waste management committee, also announced their governments’ contributions.

“I look forward to seeing shovels in the ground,” Chong said.

“This project is intended to bring the region’s infrastructure in line with environmental standards, help to preserve our precious waterways, and create vital jobs for B.C. families,” she said earlier in a statement. “It’s good for the environment, it’s good for the economy, and it demonstrates leadership in sustainability.”

The total capital cost of the system is estimated to be $782.7 million. The total proposed federal contribution will be up to $253.4 million, the total provincial contribution is a maximum of $248 million, and the CRD will provide the balance, estimated at almost $281.3 million, according to the CRD.

The biosolids energy centre portion, currently proposed to be built at the Hartland landfill in Saanich, will be built through a public-private partnership (P3), with support from the P3 Canada Fund. 

“As a P3, the CRD will be able to harness private sector innovation and ensure the best possible value for taxpayers’ money,” according to the CRD.

The participating municipalities in the CRD are also on the hook for operating costs of $14.5 million and any land acquisition costs. The estimated property tax burden for homeowners is to range from $100 to $500 a year.

The approved treatment plan calls for a liquids-only treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt. There, the liquid would be extracted and the sludge left over would be piped 18 kilometres to a biosolids digestion facility at Hartland. Underground storage tanks would be built at Cadboro Bay.

Currently, sewage is sieved through a six-millimetre metal screen before it is piped about a kilometre into the ocean.

The new treatment system will consist of three construction projects: The McLoughlin wastewater treatment plant and marine outfall; a biosolids energy centre; and “conveyance system” upgrades, according to the CRD.

Work is expected to start this year. The new facilities will be designed to satisfy B.C.’s wastewater regulation and the proposed federal wastewater systems effluent regulations. 

“This funding consideration brings us one step closer to providing effective, innovative and environmentally responsible wastewater treatment for our residents,” said Geoff Young, CRD board chairman, in a statement. “I am pleased to see our federal and provincial partners’ investment in this important initiative.” 

The fine print of the funding deal, however, shows the federal funding for the McLoughlin wastewater treatment plant and marine outfall, and conveyance system upgrades is conditional on treasury board approval and the signing of the contribution agreements. 

The project must also meet all the terms and conditions of federal infrastructure programs, as well as respect legal obligations, including those related to aboriginal consultation and environmental assessment, the federal government said.

Canada’s environment minister was told by bureaucrats in January 2011 that untreated sewage from municipal systems was one of the largest sources of pollution in Canadian waters, with negative effects observed over 20 years on drinking water, swimming areas, fish and wildlife populations, and commercial fishing industries. 

Although the business case for the entire project has been complete for almost two years, discussions continue about the possibility of a better site for the biosolids facility.

“If there is a better one, certainly we will look at [it],” Young said last week. “Right up until the time when we select a proponent or proponents and sign a contract, we will always be open to better options.”

The Hartland site has never been considered ideal, but it is owned by all municipalities within the CRD. Other properties the CRD has considered would cost in the range of $15 million to $20 million.

There has been ongoing discussion of other sites that may be suitable. But with little provincial or regional land available, the price tag could prove a deal breaker.

The location of the liquids-only treatment plant at McLoughlin Point, at the entrance to the Inner Harbour, has been less contentious, except in Esquimalt.

The site is centrally located, for the most part away from neighbourhoods, and is near the new outfall proposed for the harbour. The former Esso site, which would have to be remediated, was also considered relatively inexpensive.

The site is too small to house both liquids-only treatment and a biosolids digestion facility. The CRD considered a site that would house both, but due to the cost is now considering separate locations.

Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins continues to call for the liquids-only and biosolids plants to be integrated at a single site away from McLoughlin Point.

The Esquimalt mayor posted a note to the Esquimalt Residents Association Sunday saying: ‘McLoughlin Point looking into Victoria, what a waste (wastewater treatment plant) of waterfront, and the gateway property to the Inner Harbour. 

“If we were to recover energy and water or receive potential revenue [it] would make it somewhat easier to accept, but the projected $3 million in resource recovery by 2030 compared to the cost to build and the operational cost per year just doesn’t cut it.”

The provincial order — B.C.’s wastewater regulation — for the capital region to treat sewage from the region’s core came in 2006. The new facilities will be designed to satisfy the provincial guidelines and the proposed federal wastewater systems effluent regulations — both of which would put the region out of compliance with the new regulations.

(The sewage to be treated under the new system comes from Victoria, Saanich, Langford, Colwood, Esquimalt, View Royal and Oak Bay. Meanwhile, Central and North Saanich, Sidney, Sooke and the Gulf Islands treat or deal with their own sewage.)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper committed to fund the region’s secondary sewage treatment plant in 2006.



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GOVERNMENT FUNDS CONFIRMED, GREATER VICTORIA SEWAGE TREATMENT PROJECT MOVING AHEAD

Daniel Palmer 
Victoria News
July 16, 2012 5:49 PM

VN-Sewageannouncement1PJuly1812.jpg
Denise Blackwell, Langford city councillor and chair of the Capital Regional District’s core liquid waste management committee, speaks at a press conference Monday to announce federal and provincial funding for a new wastewater treatment system for the region. James Moore, second from left, federal minister responsible for British Columbia; Oak Bay-Gordon Head MLA Ida Chong, and John McBride, CEO of Public-Private Partnerships Canada were also on hand at the Inn at Laurel Point for the announcement.

Greater Victoria homeowners are bracing to see an extra $200 to $500 on their annual property tax bills, now that the federal and provincial governments have committed their share of the $782-million cost of building sewage treatment infrastructure.

Residents in the seven invested municipalities of Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, Langford, View Royal and Colwood will have to absorb the tax hikes until the project is completed in 2018, said Denise Blackwell, chair of the Capital Regional District’s liquid waste management committee.

“A lot of people know that this is something that’s been a long time coming and is probably overdue,” she said.

“We still have some people who think dilution is the solution, but we’ve been ordered by the provincial government to do it. I believe later this week, the federal government is announcing the new regulations that will mean we have to do it anyway.”

The CRD needs to contribute $281 million – approximately one-third of the total cost – of the Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program, which includes construction of a treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt, upgrades to the conveyance system and a biosolids energy centre.

“Fundamentally, it’s time for us to treat our sewage,” said Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin. “We just cannot continue to dump our sewage into the ocean.”

James Moore, federal minister responsible for British Columbia, was on hand Monday to announce the federal funding portion.

He said the project is long overdue.

“This is a quarter of a billion dollars to end dumping of sewage into the waters around Victoria,” he said, adding he expects to see work to begin “later this year.”

The next step for the CRD will be hiring a project manager to oversee the work and to create a bylaw to establish a management committee.

The CRD will then receive requests for proposal from various contractors before breaking ground on the project, which is expected to create 10,000 person-years of labour.

“I think shovels in the ground at the end of this year is probably a bit optimistic, but beginning of next year for sure,” Blackwell said.

The ins and outs of sewage treatment

A wastewater treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt would extract biosolids, which would then be pumped 18 kilometres to Hartland Landfill in Saanich. There, a biosolids energy centre would dry the material and deposit it in cement kilns, to be housed at Cadboro Bay.

Some fast facts about the Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program:

• Total project cost: $782.7 million

• Start date: late 2012 or early 2013

• Projected completion date: 2018

• Annual operating costs to Capital Regional District: $14 million to $15 million

• Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay, Esquimalt, View Royal, Colwood, Langford are involved in the project

• The federal government initiated funding talks with the CRD in 2006



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PUBLIC HAS ITS SAY ON COLWOOD SEWER COSTS (CRD sewage plant cost/capacity sharing concern)

Kyle Wells 
Goldstream News Gazette
July 16, 2012 12:49 PM

Less capacity, more local treatment and more public input on cost sharing was the message from Colwood residents about proposed sewage treatment costs.

Colwood city staff heard from the public, who weighed in last week at a transportation and public infrastructure meeting held to discuss concerns over sewage costs.

The issue revolves around sewage treatment for the Capital Regional District. Municipalities are being asked to buy in for whatever capacity they will need over the next 20 years. For a fast growing community such as Colwood that means potentially paying large amounts of money now for capacity that may not be used for years to come.

Based on what was heard at the meeting, Coun. Judith Cullington said the infrastructure committee she chairs will recommend council buy in for less capacity than originally planned. The city can then build its own treatment facilities when needed in the future, with developers footing the bill.

"(We’ll) look at opportunities for smaller, localized treatment plants and kind of address new development as it comes on board," said Cullington. "That's certainly not a done decision, but that's certainly what we heard from people."

The second issue is how the city is going to pay for sewage capacity.

"It's unfair to put it all on the backs of the existing sewer users because that could be horrendously expensive," Cullington said. "Equally, it also seems unfair to put the treatment costs on to the backs of people who don't get that service."

The committee is also recommending council have ongoing consultation with the public going forward.

"This is something that affects every homeowner, or potentially affects every homeowner, so how do we make sure that people have an opportunity to say their piece."

The decision about capacity needs to be made soon now that senior levels of government have committed funds, while the decision over how to allocate the costs is less urgent.

Colwood city council will address the issue at its next meeting on Monday, July 23 at 7 p.m.



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LETTER: SEA VEGETATION GOOD FOR COMPOST (sewage plant mention)
 
Steve Ireland
Times Colonist
July 17, 2012

Re: "Rotting sea lettuce is malodorous, but it's no health risk, officials say," July 13.

The offending odorous sea vegetation should be free for the taking. It's of great use in gardens and compost piles, and is best picked up after first washing ashore. All tidal municipalities should encourage people to help themselves to a few wheelbarrow loads.

Esquimalt may soon have a much smellier problem if sewage treatment is added to the neighbourhood, so it could use all the help it can get.

Steve Ireland
Denman Island

http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id=9023e724-b09b-434a-97b5-b3fbd6738378

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