ACTION:
UPCOMING:
- CORE AREA LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 12 JUNE
- PREPARE FOR CRD'S SEWAGE SLUDGE OPEN HOUSES:VIC WEST OPEN ADDED
PAST:
VIDEO PRESENTATIONS AT CRD SEWAGE MEETING:
- RICHARD ATWELL (AUDIO & VIDEO)
- DIANE CARR
- FIL FERRI
- JUSTINE SEMMENS
- WARREN WELSH
- ARESST'S DAVID ANDERSON AND BRIAN BURCHILL ON CFAX
CRD SEWAGE NEWS
- CRD DISCONTINUES PURSUIT OF FEDERAL LANDS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND BIOSOLIDS FACILITIES
- DISCOURAGED BY LENGTHY PROCESS, CRD ABANDONS CFB ESQUIMALT AS POSSIBLE SEWAGE SITE
- ANDREW WEAVER ON CFAX
- ESQUIMALT PARENTS CONCERN ABOUT MCLOUGHLIN CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS
- SEWAGE PLANT IS CAUSING ISSUES WITHIN THE GREENS
- CRD TO STUDY USE OF SEWAGE FERTILIZER
- CRD MIGHT BUDGE ON SLUDGE; FERTILIZER BAN RECONSIDERED
- CRD UPDATING SEWAGE WEBSITE - HOPES TO MAKE IT MORE USER FRIENDLY?
- RAESIDE SEWAGE CARTOON
- CFAX SEWAGE SLUDGE-SPREADING POLL 6 JUNE
LETTERS
- GARDEN CITY REPUTATION AT RISK (Wills)
- SEND IN YOUR LETTERS!
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ACTION:
UPCOMING ACTIONS:
CORE AREA LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Meeting on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.
4. Presentations/Delegations:
[Submit online form before Monday, 4:30pm to present]:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/about/boa
5. Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan – Amendment No. 9.
Amendment No.9: http://www.crd.bc.ca/
6. Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program Commission Minutes from April 26 and May 17, 2013
Minutes:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/reports/c
http://www.crd.bc.ca/reports/c
Reports index: http://www.crd.bc.ca/
Agenda:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/agendas/c
Meeting on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, at 9:30 a.m.
4. Presentations/Delegations:
[Submit online form before Monday, 4:30pm to present]:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/about/boa
5. Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan – Amendment No. 9.
Amendment No.9: http://www.crd.bc.ca/
6. Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program Commission Minutes from April 26 and May 17, 2013
Minutes:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/reports/c
http://www.crd.bc.ca/reports/c
Reports index: http://www.crd.bc.ca/
Agenda:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/agendas/c
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CRD BOARD MEETS June 12, 1:30pm
Agenda: Sewage sludge land application issue (EE 13-15) is page 30-33.
PREPARE FOR CRD'S SEWAGE SLUDGE OPEN HOUSES: VIC WEST OPEN ADDED
Thursday, June 27, 2013, 5 – 8pm
Da Vinci Centre , Upper Hall
195 Bay Street
READ MORE:
http://www.crd.bc.ca/media/
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PAST ACTIONS
VIDEOS OF 6 JUNE CRD SEWAGE MEETING:
ATWELL PRESENTS ON AUDIO AND VIDEO
www.youtube.com/watch?v=
Victoria West Community Association President Diane Carr speaks at the CRD to demonstrate how vibrant and sustainable the community of Victoria West is and how it is not an industrial area or suited for a biosolids plant.
Diane highlights the proximity of three schools to the Viewfield site the CRD proposes to use as a sludge processing complex and the safety implications that will follow.
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FIL FERRI PRESENTS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Fil Ferri speaks at the CRD to highlight the biosolid plant explosions that have occurred in Europe.
The proximity of three schools to the Viewfield site the CRD proposes to use as a sludge processing complex is totally inappropriate and would never get build in Alberta where there is a 300m buffer required between facilities like this and homes.
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JUSTINE SEMMENS PRESENTS
Justine Semmens speaks at the CRD to remind directors that their own data concludes that neighbourhood centers are inappropriate for Biosolid facilities. The Viewfield Rd. site is adjacent to land that is least compatible for this purpose according to the CRD's own data.
Biosolids from anaerobic digestion also have a more offensive odour than pig manure as indexed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME).
Social and economic impacts have not been adequately considered by the CRD ahead of their $17M purchase of the Viewfield Rd. property.
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WARREN WELSH PRESENTS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Warren Walsh speaks at the CRD and explains his methodology used to give Viewfield a lower TBL score than the figure in the Westland Report used by the CRD using Westland's own ranking criteria.
Warren Walsh speaks at the CRD and explains his methodology used to give Viewfield a lower TBL score than the figure in the Westland Report used by the CRD using Westland's own ranking criteria.
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DAVID ANDERSON AND BRIAN BURCHILL ON CFAX
Alan Perry in for Stephen Andrew || 9:00am to 9:30am David Anderson, ARESST's Honourary Chair & Brian Burchill, ARESST Chair & Mechanical Engineer || 9:30am to 10:00am Andrew Weaver, Oak Bay/Gordon Head Green party MLA-elect
Published Date: Jun 03, 2013
Anderson-Burchill discussion starts at about 05:20 minute mark:
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CRD SEWAGE NEWS
CRD DISCONTINUES PURSUIT OF FEDERAL LANDS FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND BIOSOLIDS FACILITIES
Information Bulletin
For Immediate Release
June 7, 2013
Victoria, BC – The CRD Board confirmed it is withdrawing its request to purchase or lease federal lands on the Canadian Forces Base (CFB) in Esquimalt for the Wastewater Treatment Program (the Program) facilities due to the challenges associated with the federal process for the disposition of land.
READ MORE:
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DISCOURAGED BY LENGTHY PROCESS, CRD ABANDONS CFB ESQUIMALT AS POSSIBLE SEWAGE SITE
JEFF BELL
TIMES COLONIST
JUNE 7, 2013
The Capital Regional District will no longer pursue CFB Esquimalt land as a possible site for a sewage-treatment plant or sludge facility.
The prospect of a lengthy, complex federal approval process is the main reason behind the decision announced Friday, said CRD sewage committee chairwoman Denise Blackwell.
“We had asked for some land, but the process takes so long,” she said. “We just want to make sure that the funds are still in place, and they told us it would take years.
“We really need more certainty than that. Otherwise, the private sector won’t bid on it.”
The CRD said long delays could mean higher construction costs due to inflation.
Blackwell said the right parcel of federal land could have allowed the CRD to put the main plant and a sludge or biosolids facility next to each other. As it stands, options for dealing with sewage sludge are being considered at the Hartland landfill and a controversial site on Esquimalt’s Viewfield Road.
“If we could have gotten land, for example, at Macaulay Point, right beside where we have our current pump station, then we could put the whole plant on one site,” Blackwell said. “Or if we could have gotten some of [the federal] land that’s beside McLoughlin Point, we could put the whole thing on one site.
“We just haven’t been able to find a piece of land where we can put both things together.”
The CRD sent a request to the federal government in February asking it to take another look at selling or leasing 1.6 hectares of land next to the McLoughlin site already chosen for sewage treatment. That was followed by an April letter from the CRD expressing an interest in four hectares at Macaulay for a combined treatment plant and biosolids facility.
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins pointed out that the municipality has long expressed opposition to having regional sewage treatment at Macaulay Point.
“I’m disappointed that they even pursued it, but pleased that they’re not going to follow through.”
Desjardins added that the current McLoughlin site is clearly too small because it can’t accommodate both sewage treatment and processing of biosolids. That has led to the ongoing issue of where a biosolids plant should go, she said.
“It all comes down to putting a size 14 foot into a size five shoe, and you can’t do it.”
The federal process in dealing with the CRD would involve a number of steps, such as assessing whether the land is needed by the Department of Defence, conducting the federal government’s own environmental assessment and reaching a formal agreement with First Nations. Building on federal land also raises the possibility of having to renegotiate current funding agreements.
A series of eight open houses on the Hartland landfill and Viewfield Road options for dealing with biosolids begins June 17 with a 4-8 p.m. session at the Esquimalt Legion, 622 Admirals Rd. Other sessions are June 18-20 and June 24-27 at a variety of locations around the region.
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ANDREW WEAVER ON CFAX
Alan Perry filling in for Stephen Andrew interviewed Andrew Weaver on CFAX this morning:
http://stopabadplan.ca/media/
http://stopabadplan.ca/media/
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ESQUIMALT PARENTS CONCERN ABOUT MCLOUGHLIN CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS
May 27, 2013 Esquimalt Council Chamber Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Tina Neale and Jody Spark from Macaulay PAC attend a full house at Esquimalt Council Chambers to express their concerns about the impacts from the CRD's proposed sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Pt. just down the road from their school.
Risks and issues for children and parents: safety, curb hopping, traffic congestion, parking, noise, air quality (exhaust and dust)
PAC Requests:
1) Mandatory use of barging instead of trucking
2) Establishment of Project Liason Committee
3) Student safety education
4) Reduced truck traffic during drop-off and pick-up times
5) Increased crossing guards and signs
6) Incentives for carpooling
7) School parking needs
8) Avoid use of engine brakes
9) Increased street cleaning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Tina Neale and Jody Spark from Macaulay PAC attend a full house at Esquimalt Council Chambers to express their concerns about the impacts from the CRD's proposed sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Pt. just down the road from their school.
Risks and issues for children and parents: safety, curb hopping, traffic congestion, parking, noise, air quality (exhaust and dust)
PAC Requests:
1) Mandatory use of barging instead of trucking
2) Establishment of Project Liason Committee
3) Student safety education
4) Reduced truck traffic during drop-off and pick-up times
5) Increased crossing guards and signs
6) Incentives for carpooling
7) School parking needs
8) Avoid use of engine brakes
9) Increased street cleaning
-------------------
Weaver's statement not causing issues within Greens because it is similar to Jane Sterk's statement:
Weaver's statement not causing issues within Greens because it is similar to Jane Sterk's statement:
SEWAGE PLANT IS CAUSING ISSUES WITHIN THE GREENS
Teddy Jenner
CFAX 1070
June 03, 2013
Sewage Treatment in the CRD has become such a contentious issue; it has even divided the Green Party.
Green Party MLA Andrew Weaver does not think that enough research has been conducted into the issue of sewage treatment in the CRD.
Weaver says the timeline for the proposed McLoughlin point treatment plant is a political creation.
Weaver would like to see a cost benefit analysis from the auditor general before any further steps are taken.
http://www.cfax1070.com/News/
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Comments by Richard:
Denise Blackwell was on CBC this morning continuing her Biosolids PR Campaign:
http://stopabadplan.ca/media/1
You may be wondering why she's in such a rush to undo in a few weeks, the bylaw that the CRD spent 18 months studying and debating?
She wants to roll this change into Liquid Waste Management Plan Amendment No.9 which will include her application to have Viewfield identified as a biosolids site.
Don't think for a second that the CRD is just going through the motions on Viewfield. All the evidence points points to an aggressive push to use that site:
- $17M spent on Viewfield
- Open Houses in 12 days far in advance of the closing of Wilson's business (summer 2014).
- A rush to change the biosolids ban
- CRD is now calling up the former members of the Technical & Community Advisory Committee (TCAC) to have them review and rubber stamp LWMP Amendment No.9
Blackwell's argument that biosolids are being used at the treatment plant "garden" at Annacis Island largely ignores the landscape: Annacis is an industrial "wasteland":
http://goo.gl/maps/ub8uv
There's nothing green about it and a few flower pots or shrubs there doesn't justify producing these biosolids in the first place.
This is the worst kind of green washing trying to fool the public into approving of a toxic product.
A product that is supposedly is too risky to dilute into the ocean, yet somehow it will be ok to apply on the land in concentrated form which will allow the toxins to build up with each application and then leach back to guess where through the water courses? The ocean!
Stop A Bad Plan!
http://stopabadplan.ca/media/1
You may be wondering why she's in such a rush to undo in a few weeks, the bylaw that the CRD spent 18 months studying and debating?
She wants to roll this change into Liquid Waste Management Plan Amendment No.9 which will include her application to have Viewfield identified as a biosolids site.
Don't think for a second that the CRD is just going through the motions on Viewfield. All the evidence points points to an aggressive push to use that site:
- $17M spent on Viewfield
- Open Houses in 12 days far in advance of the closing of Wilson's business (summer 2014).
- A rush to change the biosolids ban
- CRD is now calling up the former members of the Technical & Community Advisory Committee (TCAC) to have them review and rubber stamp LWMP Amendment No.9
Blackwell's argument that biosolids are being used at the treatment plant "garden" at Annacis Island largely ignores the landscape: Annacis is an industrial "wasteland":
http://goo.gl/maps/ub8uv
There's nothing green about it and a few flower pots or shrubs there doesn't justify producing these biosolids in the first place.
This is the worst kind of green washing trying to fool the public into approving of a toxic product.
A product that is supposedly is too risky to dilute into the ocean, yet somehow it will be ok to apply on the land in concentrated form which will allow the toxins to build up with each application and then leach back to guess where through the water courses? The ocean!
Stop A Bad Plan!
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CRD TO STUDY USE OF SEWAGE FERTILIZER
TIMES COLONIST
JUNE 5, 2013
The Capital Regional District’s committee of the whole narrowly voted Wednesday to authorize a study of the economic and social implications of using sewage sludge as fertilizer.
The CRD currently bans the use of biosolids sludge — the leftovers from the sewage treatment process — from being used as fertilizer on public and farm land, due to concerns about chemical contamination and pharmaceuticals leaching into the soil.
However, the committee voted to authorize a staff study on lifting the ban. By allowing sludge to become fertilizer, the CRD could opt for less expensive technology in its planned biosolids facility and shave $50 million off the planned $783-million sewage treatment project.
The report has to return to the committee and the board before lifting the ban can be put to a vote.
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CRD MIGHT BUDGE ON SLUDGE; FERTILIZER BAN RECONSIDERED
ROB SHAW
TIMES COLONIST
JUNE 4, 2013
A ban on using sewage sludge as fertilizer could soon be overturned, as Greater Victoria politicians wrestle with how to handle the leftover waste from the planned sewage treatment megaproject.
The Capital Regional District’s committee of the whole will debate the issue Wednesday, as it votes on whether to authorize an economic, social and environmental review on biosolid sludge.
The CRD barred the use of sludge as fertilizer in regional parks and on local farmland in 2011, amid concerns that leftover metals and pharmaceuticals could leach into the soil and water.
Some farmers were also concerned about the so-called yuck factor of human waste on agricultural land.
Instead, sludge from existing treatment plants in the Saanich Peninsula and Sooke is currently being dumped into Hartland landfill as controlled waste.
Sludge is the normal byproduct of any sewage treatment process. And with sludge output set to grow dramatically as part of the planned $783-million core sewage treatment project — from 3,500 tonnes annually to 56,000 tonnes by 2018 — politicians are struggling to figure out where to put it.
The CRD’s current plan calls for a biosolids centre at either the landfill or on recently purchased land on Viewfield Road in Esquimalt.
The CRD hopes to dry the sludge and sell is as fuel for cement kilns. But buyers are limited. No companies were interested in sludge as fuel in a 2012 CRD call for expressions of interest using Saanich Peninsula sludge — though six companies did propose using it on soil.
Lifting the CRD ban on sludge fertilizer could lead to more bids and innovative marketing ideas when the planned biosolid energy centre goes out to tender, said Larisa Hutcheson, the CRD’s general manager of parks and environmental services.
It could also free the CRD from having to dry the sludge, which is expensive and would save $50 million, said Denise Blackwell, CRD sewage committee chairwoman.
Blackwell said the CRD’s land ban for sludge was “knee-jerk” at the time and should be revisited.
Greater Victoria is not alone in trying to dispose of its sewage sludge.
The Nanaimo Regional District signed a deal with Vancouver Island University and an environmental company last week to dispose 4,000 tonnes of sewage sludge annually onto a university-controlled forest lot on nearby Mount Benson.
The sludge helps trees grow between 50 to 400 per cent better in the nutrient-deficient soil, the district said. Those trees are then sold as lumber.
“The point of it will be research and a case study for others to use as maybe an opportunity to duplicate what we’re doing,” said Sean DePol, the Nanaimo Regional District’s wastewater manager.
The CRD rejected a similar idea in 2009, which would have seen the region spray sludge onto 1,800 hectares of willow trees — 3,364 football fields — and then hack the trees into wood chips for sale or fuel.
In Nanaimo, the sludge does produce some odour, but there are few homes near the forest, DePol said.
“It’s more an ammonia-type smell,” he said. “It isn’t what you’d typically think.”
With Nanaimo’s success, the CRD should reconsider the tree-farm idea, Blackwell said. “I really do think it’s worth another look.”
CRD UPDATING SEWAGE WEBSITE - HOPES TO MAKE IT MORE USER FRIENDLY?
The CRD is in the process of updating the website, in the hopes to make it more user friendly and intuitive and also to ensure all materials are updated and relevant as you have outlined below.
All materials that will be available at the upcoming BEC siting public open house sessions will also be available on the website in the weeks ahead.
We invite you to check back regularly for these updates.
Once the new CRD website has been launched, www.wastewatermadeclear.ca will cease to exist. All historically relevant documents from this site will be available on the new CRD main site.
Heather Raines
Executive Assistant
Core Area Wastewater Treatment Program
Capital Regional District
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RAESIDE SEWAGE CARTOON
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CFAX SEWAGE SLUDGE-SPREADING POLL 6 JUNE
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LETTERS
Victoria News
June 04, 2013
Tell me friend, when did the Capital Regional District abandon reason for madness?
Thumbing its nose to scientific, economic and social expertise and its own recommendations, the CRD will try and place a bio-solids plant firmly in an 1890 heritage middle-class neighbourhood.
Liquid sewage processing is one thing but biosolids processing is a high-risk proposition when shoe-horned into a high-density residential area alongside schools, parks, grocery stores, etc. What?! There’s no buffer zone?
Safety aside, morally you don’t put a pitbull into a playground full of children because it is safer for you. It’s just not compatible. Remember which way the wind blows in Victoria.
Come on people, it’s time to wake up and rein in this CRD gone rogue. Victoria’s garden city reputation is at stake.
Peter Wills
Victoria
http://www.vicnews.com/
- SEND IN YOUR LETTERS!
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END.
