A group of marine scientists, public health officers and a former federal environment minister are launching a formal public campaign to stop the Capital Regional DistrictB次元官网网址檚 $782-million sewage treatment project.

The Association for Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Sewage Treatment (ARESST) believes the proposed land-based sewage treatment project .

B次元官网网址淰ery simply, itB次元官网网址檚 not an environmentally motivated plan; itB次元官网网址檚 politically motivated,B次元官网网址� said ARESST chair John Bergbusch.

The organization points to scientific studies that show the current sewage treatment, which pumps filtered wastewater to deep-sea outfalls, is safe and effective.

B次元官网网址淲e hope to make this an issue in the federal (Victoria) byelection and the provincial election in the spring,B次元官网网址� Bergbusch said.

If the project goes forward, property taxes will increase by hundreds of dollars for residents in Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich, View Royal, Colwood and Langford.

ARESST members will present their concerns at St. AnnB次元官网网址檚 Academy on Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m., featuring former Liberal MP David Anderson.

The CRD is in the early planning stages of the mega-project, which includes a wastewater treatment plant at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt, a biosolids energy centre at Hartland landfill in Saanich and a 17-kilometre pipeline.

For more information and to sign a petition supporting ARESST, visit stopabadplan.ca.

dpalmer@vicnews.com