One councillor even came up with a new site for the sewage treatment plant -- the Esso oil tank farm on Victoria View Road. cc Geoff Young Lisa Helps Barb Desjardins Susan Low Beth Burton-Krahn ________ Esquimalt, CRD spar over sewage Kim Westad Times Colonist Tuesday, June 19, 2007 Esquimalt council said loud and clear last night that it should be part of any talks between the Capital Regional District, the federal government and First Nations groups about a sewage plant at Macaulay Point. And one councillor even came up with a new site for the sewage treatment plant -- the Esso oil tank farm on Victoria View Road. Im really concerned because Esquimalt hasnt been invited to take part in any of those communications. You need to bring us on board as soon as possible, Coun. Barb Desjardins said of the discussions about Macaulay Point. I hear you, said Dwayne Kalynchuk, the CRDs environmental services general manager. Kalynchuk is outlining plans for sewage treatment plants to all councils over the next few weeks, with Esquimalt the first. The CRD is talking with the Department of National Defence and First Nations about acquiring waterfront federal land at Esquimalts Macaulay Point to use as one of five new regional sewage-treatment plants. Kalynchuk emphasized that the process is still in the preliminary stage. Plans could change, and Macaulay Point, identified in an earlier sewage plan as a treatment site, may not even become one. But Esquimalt council sensed a fait accompli. In a perfect world, itd be great if there was no sewage treatment at Macaulay Point, but were not blind to the fact that the CRD, regardless of what Esquimalt wants, will probably impose their will on us, said Mayor Chris Clement. Given that, Clement said, council will make sure that the best interests of the community are looked after. A key concern is sludge being trucked away from Macaulay Point to another site for treatment. Earlier, the CRD estimated as many as eight trucks a day would be needed for the sludge, a byproduct of treatment. Esquimalt is establishing a bylaw to govern the movement of trucks in the community. Kalynchuk told council that the CRD wants input from the community. Coun. Don Linge was having little of that. To be quite blunt, this is lip service to the municipality, Linge said. Coun. Basil Boulton said the Esso oil tank location on the harbour would be a much better site than Macaulay Point. It has so many advantages and it would be so easy to barge the sludge to an industrial site with no problem for anybody, Boulton said. The CRD has identified six general areas to build plants: Macaulay Point, Clover Point in Victoria; one near the University of Victoria; another near Royal Roads University and another near the Westhills housing development in Langford. A sludge treatment facility is suggested for the Hartland landfill. The project is budgeted at $1.2 billion. Consultants are studying where to put the plant. Negotiations with the Department of National Defence for the Macaulay Point land are expected to take two to five years, Kalynchuk said. If Macaulay Point is a site, the facility wouldnt be complete until 2015 or 2016. © Times Colonist (Victoria) 2007
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 05:15:38 +0000
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