CONTENTS OF THIS BLOG:
ARESST ACTION:
- CALWMC MEETING 13 FEBRUARY - AGENDA & REPORT LINKS
- PUBLIC EVENTS 21/26 FEB: MCLOUGHLIN PT REZONING & CRAIGFLOWER PUMP STATION
CRD-RELATED SEWAGE & RELATED NEWS:
- LIBERAL LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE JOYCE MURRAY SUPPORTS SEWAGE TREATMENT
RELATED LOCAL NEWS
- HOME HEATING OIL LEAKING INTO CECELIA RAVINE CREEK
LETTERS:
- SEND IN YOUR LETTERS!
RELATED ENVIRONMENT NEWS
- SMART STORM DRAINS DETECT TOXIC SPILLS
- WASHINGTON STATE: FIRST OCEAN ACIDIFICATION LEGISLATION
- CRD SEWAGE COMMISSION BYLAW 3851 NOW POSTED
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ARESST ACTION:
ARESST members encouraged to go to events below, take notes and/ormake presentations(submit online notice to present before Monday, 4:30pm) at the events, write letters afterwards to public media and contact ARESST Board for discussion of your concerns.
Wear your yellow t-shirts!
CALWMC MEETING 13 FEB, 9:30am, CRD Board Room, 6th floor, 625 Fisgard Street.
AGENDA & REPORT LINKS:
Item 5 Correspondence From Mayor Of Port Angeles, December 18, 2012 Re: Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program
Item 6 Compensation For Members of the Core Area Wastewater Treatment Commission
Item 7 Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program 2013 Budget (CAL 13-04)
Item 8 Funding for New Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program
Item 9: Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program Progress Report (CAL 13-03)
Item 10: Request For Funding For Innovative Research For Advanced Wastewater Treatment (CAL 13-05)
LINK TO 13 FEB REPORTS INDEX: http://www.crd.bc.ca/
LINK TO 13 FEB AGENDA: http://www.crd.bc.ca/
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PUBLIC EVENTS 21/26 FEB: MCLOUGHLIN PT REZONING & CRAIGFLOWER PUMP STATION
Public Open House to Discuss McLoughlin Point Rezoning
As part of the rezoning process, the CRD is providing an opportunity for the public to get information about the project, and ask questions and express their opinions and concerns.
A Public Open House to discuss McLoughlin Point Rezoning Project will be held:
Thursday, February 21, 2013, 4 - 8pm
Esquimalt Legion, 622 Admirals Road
Rezoning Application (PDF )
Appendices (7MB PDF )
Site & Floor Plans (7MB PDF )
Public Open House to Discuss Craigflower Pump Station Project
Prior to construction of the pump station, the CRD is providing an opportunity for the public to get information about the project, and ask questions and express their opinions and concerns.
A Public Open House to discuss the Craigflower Pump Station Project will be held:
Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 5 - 8pm
Shoreline School, 2750 Shoreline Drive
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CRD-RELATED SEWAGE & RELATED NEWS:
ARESST: Note that Murray was talking to Green Party leader Jane Sterk at UVic - and Jane Sterk opposes this CRD sewage plan. See Jane's excellent commentary at: http://goo.gl/5wpTC
LIBERAL LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE JOYCE MURRAY SUPPORTS SEWAGE TREATMENT
CINDY E. HARNETT
TIMES COLONIST
FEBRUARY 7, 2013
Liberal leadership hopeful Joyce Murray supports the region’s provincially ordered secondary sewage treatment — unlike at least two of her challengers.
“I think we need to treat the sewage when the testing is showing it’s creating a problem,” said Murray, MP for Vancouver-Quadra and a former B.C. environment minister. “But let’s find a way to have that treatment serve our other goals of energy efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
During Victoria’s recent federal byelection, Liberal leadership candidates Justin Trudeau and Marc Garneau supported candidate Paul Summerville’s assertion that ocean currents adequately disperse the screened sewage discharged into local waters, making the current plan to build a $783-million secondary sewage treatment plant in Esquimalt by 2018 unnecessary.
Murray spoke at the University of Victoria on Thursday, bringing the same message she’s been delivering across the country. “If you like my commitment to a sustainable society and would like to see Stephen Harper defeated so we could have a more constructive electoral system in Canada, then sign up as a supporter by the end of this month,” Murray said in an interview.
Murray’s platform supports a non-compete pact among parties in the next federal election.
Under her proposal, opposition parties would hold a run-off to decide who would run in ridings the Conservatives won in the last election despite having less than 50 per cent of votes.
“In those ridings, I would empower the riding association to have an open and democratic process for working with the other two parties and ensuring — whichever candidate goes forward carrying the progressive banner — that there’s just one,” Murray said.
“I’m confident that would lead to defeating Stephen Harper.”
NDP leader Thomas Mulcair has rejected collaboration with the Liberals, while Green Party leader Elizabeth May has said she supports it.
Murray said she doesn’t expect Mulcair to talk about co-operation in the middle of a Liberal leadership race and denied she’s pinning her hopes on the NDP.
“My hopes are pinned on Canadians — there are 18 million Canadians who didn’t vote Conservative in the last election,” she said.
Murray said she opposed “massive investment in pipeline infrastructure to transport crude oil” to B.C.’s coast — both Enbridge Inc.’s $6.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline proposal and Kinder Morgan’s $4.1-billion proposal to expand its Trans Mountain pipeline.
Murray supports: a carbon tax, the legalization, taxation and regulation of marijuana, shifting taxes to “harms, not goods” and increasing income equality rather than creating greater gaps.
There are nine candidates vying to lead the federal Liberal party: Murray; Garneau; Trudeau; Ottawa lawyer David Bertschi; former Montreal MP Martin Cauchon; Toronto lawyer Deborah Coyne; Toronto lawyer Martha Hall Findlay; retired Canadian Forces Lt.-Col. Karen McCrimmon; and Toronto-based technology lawyer George Takach.
The race concludes April 14.
LIBERAL LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE JOYCE MURRAY, LEFT, TALKS TO GREEN PARTY OF B.C. LEADER JANE STERK AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA ON THURSDAY.
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ARESSTer Richard has found that the CRD has now posted its new Commission bylaw, and given the wording, he asks how the commission bylaw will be enforced.
CRD SEWAGE COMMISSION BYLAW 3851 NOW POSTED
Highlights:
4. Meetings
4.1 The Commission shall meet at least six times each year, and more frequently as required
for the proper management of the Program.
4.4 Meetings shall be open to the public except insofar as the Commission determines, in
accordance with sections 90 and 91 of the Community Charter, that a meeting should be
closed to the public
6.2 The Commission must cause the following plans to be prepared:
(a) a Program Implementation Plan;
(b) a Program Management Plan; ylaw No. 3851 5
1229467
(c) a Financial Plan; and
(d) Public Communications and Consultation Plans,
2.2 The purpose of the Commission is:
(a) to administer all aspects of the management of the Program except as set out in this
bylaw;
(b) to conduct the procurement process to promote innovative design and approaches,
in addition to those approved in the Liquid Waste Management Plan, that minimize
tax payers costs over the long term and are consistent with CRD social,
environmental and economic objectives;
(c) to complete the Program within the established budget and timeframe;
(d) to achieve best overall value for money of the Program and the best overall triple
bottom line outcomes for the Program; and
(e) to ensure Program compliance with all applicable Provincial and Federal regulations
and Contribution Agreements.
bylaw;
(b) to conduct the procurement process to promote innovative design and approaches,
in addition to those approved in the Liquid Waste Management Plan, that minimize
tax payers costs over the long term and are consistent with CRD social,
environmental and economic objectives;
(c) to complete the Program within the established budget and timeframe;
(d) to achieve best overall value for money of the Program and the best overall triple
bottom line outcomes for the Program; and
(e) to ensure Program compliance with all applicable Provincial and Federal regulations
and Contribution Agreements.
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RELATED LOCAL NEWS
HOME HEATING OIL LEAKING INTO CECELIA RAVINE CREEK
Kyle Slavin
Saanich News, Victoria News, Oak Bay News, Goldstream Gazette
February 08, 2013
A broken feed line from a home heating oil tank appears to be to blame for the latest fuel spill in the region that’s seen a sheen of pollutants leak into area watersheds.
Saanich public works crews were notified of the sheen on Cecelia Ravine Creek in Victoria around noon on Friday (Feb. 8).
Within three hours, the source of the leak had been traced to a home on Harriet Road, near Burnside Road.
“It looks like the line’s been leaking for some time. We have no idea how much (has leaked), but it looks like, because it’s been dripping onto the soil for a while through the rain and winter, it’s gotten into the drain tile,” said Mike Ippen, Saanich’s manager of public works.
Booms were set up on the creek to prevent any more oil from leaking into the watershed, and Saanich crews intended to install booms inside some manholes between the property and the creek.
“The next step is monitoring. It’s now up to the property owner to deal with. They can fix the leak quickly, but they’ll be dealing with any contamination (cleanup and costs),” Ippen said.
Since November 2011, there have been at least nine known oil spills in Saanich, as a result of home heating tanks. Two of those spills saw a combined 1,600-plus litres contaminate Colquitz River.
http://www.saanichnews.com/news/190471251.html
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LETTERS:
- SEND IN YOUR LETTERS:
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RELATED ENVIRONMENT NEWS
SMART STORM DRAINS DETECT TOXIC SPILLS
A Victoria company built around protecting natural water systems is taking its fight to storm drains.
A pilot project launched Tuesday at Royal Roads University will see Petro Barriers’ patented drain barrier systems coupled with new sensors and communication technology to create a wireless drain monitoring system that will both strip run-off water of oils and hydrocarbons and alert clients when there is a problem with water quality.
“Big spills make the news, but tonnes of little spills are happening right outside your door and we are all a part of it. People don’t really realize the magnitude of pollution that comes from storm drains alone,” said Mike Ansley, vice-president of marketing and communications for Petro Barrier.
Ansley said as much as 80 million gallons of oil seeps into storm drains in Canadian cities every year.
“That’s the equivalent of 10 Exxon Valdez [spills] every year,” sad Petro Barrier founder Iain Muir.
The company’s product — a pad filled with absorbent chemicals that react with and remove hydrocarbon oils from water while allowing water to pass through — aims to stop all of that spillage.
The product has been on the market and has been in use in cities around North America for nearly a decade. Petro Barrier has created products for CN Rail, Ontario Power Generation and the Toronto Hydro Electric System. Campus Honda Victoria has been using the storm drain filters for several years to keep pollution out of Cecilia Creek.
But Ansley admits there has a been a problem getting wide adoption of the technology. “People love the product, but without manual inspection, they don’t know what’s going on in the drain,” he said.
That’s where the pilot project comes in. The company has partnered with Camosun College engineering professors Will Spaulding and Imtehaze Heerah, who have developed sensors that attach to the filtration pad to alert clients when oil is in the system or when there is a risk of clogging.
“As oil gets through the sensor, [the system] is tripped and sends a wireless signal to a computer and you check what’s going on,” said Heerah. “We have also implemented a flow sensor, so if the oil sensor is not tripped, but the flow sensor is, that means muck and leaves have clogged the drain and it needs someone to clear out the system.”
All data, including water-flow and daily temperatures, are then delivered to smart phones, iPads or desktops to make it easier for clients to avoid costly cleanups and prevent damage to surrounding ecosystems.
There will eventually be eight test drains used at Royal Roads and in a lab at Camosun College where it will undergo testing in extreme temperatures.
Ansley said potential growth for the company could be huge. The cost of installing one pad, without the monitoring gear, ranges from $1,500 and $2,000.
Ansley said if the system works well they will sell it as a service. “We think the market is ready for this.”
http://www.timescolonist.com/
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WASHINGTON STATE: FIRST OCEAN ACIDIFICATION LEGISLATION
Bill would create a new council overseeing marine protection.
Jennifer Langston
Sightline Blog
February 6, 2013
On the heels of Washington State’s pioneering efforts to identify local steps to slow ocean acidification, Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island) has introduced legislation to begin coordinating that response. SB 5547 would create a new council of elected and tribal representatives and affected industries to oversee research and action to curb profoundly troubling changes in ocean chemistry.
The bill would also include acidification as a possible justification for extending urban sewer services to rural areas (normally not allowed under the state’s Growth Management Act), in areas where local pollution from leaky septic systems combines with global carbon dioxide emissions to make the problem worse.
As seawater becomes more acidic, tiny creatures at the bottom of the food chain dissolve. Fish become confused. Young oysters die. While it’s impossible to predict all the ways that changing ocean chemistry will affect seafood supplies, and the hundreds of thousands of related jobs, Washington State leaders have recently recognized ocean acidification as a major problem for the state and mobilized to begin addressing it. (To get up to speed on the threat and solutions, see Sightline’s primer and blog series.)
Former Gov. Christine Gregoire last year assembled a blue-ribbon panel of scientists and policymakers to establish what we know about the problem, what we still need to learn, and come up with local responses. They settled on a long list of recommendations, including strategies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (such as implementing a carbon tax or allowing people who drive less to get a break on car insurance).
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Other local pollution can make the problem worse. Nutrients from leaky septic systems or in stormwater washing off farms and yards and urban streets may be making some bodies of water significantly more corrosive. So the blue ribbon panel strongly supported efforts to quantify those contributions and to control polluted runoff. Ranker’s bill takes a first stab by adding acidification to the universe of public health and environmental problems that can be used to argue for extending sewer lines outside urban growth areas under extenuating circumstances.
The panel also recommended steps to help the struggling shellfish industry adapt to new realities, and identified many research projects that need to be funded. (Gregoire recommended in her outgoing budget that $3.3 million be dedicated to acidification science and policy work, including a new research center at the University of Washington.)
Ranker, who sat on the blue ribbon panel, said tackling ocean acidification cuts across state agencies, differing needs in Puget Sound and coastal areas, and scientific disciplines. He said the most basic need at this point is a structure to begin moving forward.
The biggest thing is that we don’t know who is going to do all this. This isn’t just the Department of Ecology, or Fish and Wildlife, or the University of Washington, or NOAA. This is everybody. So I think the most important thing we can do right now is create this council so that leaders…can have one stop shopping on how to advance this.
Ranker’s bill would establish the “Washington Marine Resources Protection Council” to coordinate acidification work and address broader ocean issues. The 21-member panel would include Washington’s governor and commissioner of public lands, heads of state agencies, tribal members, elected officials from Puget Sound and coastal areas, and representatives from fishing and marine industries. The council could also start getting ahead of other marine issues, such as the increasing number of uses proposed for ocean areas and the conflicts they create.
Much like the panel that preceded it, the marine council would also be another venue to begin educating local officials and creating buy-in for the politically difficult actions that the state must take if it hopes to see meaningful changes in acidification trends. Ranker said it was “extremely valuable” to have everyone from Weyerhaeuser representatives to shellfish farmers, Republicans to Democrats, sitting on the blue ribbon panel, getting up to speed on ocean acidification, and deciding collectively what actions the state should take.
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END.
