Capital Regional District directors who hinder progress on the upcoming secondary sewage treatment project could face steep fines B次元官网网址� even jail time B次元官网网址� under new federal regulations.
CRD staff presented a report on new Fisheries Act regulations that warns directors if they intentionally do not meet the 2020 deadline for the project, they could be fined up to $500,000 or face two years in prison.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 for every individual incident, and each day the violation occurs is a separate incident,B次元官网网址� said Denise Blackwell, chair of the CRDB次元官网网址檚 liquid waste management committee.
The federal wastewater regulations, brought into effect last month, identify nearly 400 communities across Canada that are considered high risk for their lack of secondary sewage treatment.
B次元官网网址淭he federal government believes weB次元官网网址檙e their number one target for not meeting these regulations, and thatB次元官网网址檚 why theyB次元官网网址檙e giving us $280 million,B次元官网网址� Blackwell said.
The federal and provincial governments have agreed to fund two-thirds of the Capital RegionB次元官网网址檚 $782-million project, while the CRD will foot the remainder.
The CRD commitment to the project was never in doubt. But critics have been lobbying the regional district to request an exemption under the regulations and avoid the huge public expenditure.
The Association for Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Sewage Treatment (ARESST) purports the current system of pumping screened sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca is environmentally sound.
But CRD staff wrote in their report that B次元官网网址渢here are no opportunities to get an exemption from the new regulations, unless the facility is located in the north,B次元官网网址� specifying only Nunavut, Northwest Territories and parts of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador as eligible areas.
Former federal environment minister David Anderson told the B次元官网网址 that the regulations should be adjusted to allow regions like Greater Victoria the chance to utilize its unique geographical advantages for sewage treatment.
B次元官网网址淚f the federal government decided to have the same snow-removal requirements for Victoria as in Quebec, we would call that ridiculous,B次元官网网址� Anderson said.
When the CRD passes a bylaw later this month, a process will begin to appoint a panel of seven experts who will run the project. While no CRD directors will sit on the panel, the bylaw will contain explicit language to ensure financial accountability, Blackwell said.
B次元官网网址淎ny changes to the budget in any way, shape or form have to come back to (the CRD).B次元官网网址�
The panel should be in place by November. Its first task will be to solicit requests for qualifications from interested companies for the McLoughlin Plant design and construction.
