MLA Popham received a briefing from
the Wastewater Treatment Project team on 6 July 2017.
Subsequent to that a flyer titled
“Project Update #3 – July 2017” was sent out to most residents in the CRD with
additional information. Copies of this flyer are available at the Constituency
Office.
One of the central issues Popham
raised was the importance of engaging the affected communities on a schedule
which would allow their input and concerns to be taken into consideration. This
is consistent with her article on this matter in the Saanich News. (Link
here) This article also raises a number of concerns with the project and
the process.
Popham was told that the Project Team
wanted to do community consultations after they had enough of the plan put
together so that they could meaningfully answer questions such as likely route
of the pipeline. However, there was agreement that the consultations should be
held early enough so that input from the community could inform the plan
itself.
At the meeting, Popham requested that no less than two
public consultations be held in Saanich South this Fall. Other public
meetings have already been held in Victoria and Esquimalt as the plan for those
areas is being implemented first and in fact is already well underway. Popham
was also told that the WTP meets regularly with Saanich.
Popham specified that at least two
public meetings in Saanich South were required because there would be general
concerns regarding the pipeline in the Strawberry Vale/Marigold area and additional
specific concerns in the Willis Point and Prospect Lake areas regarding the
biosolid storage and eventual treatment at Hartland. She suggested one meeting
be held at Spectrum School and another at the Prospect Lake Hall.
Regarding Hartland. The CRD is
currently developing a plan for what to do with the biosolids. It is our
understanding that they are planning to use anaerobic digestion in steel tanks
or “biocell reactors” Biocells are a ‘closed loop cell’. Resources, including
gas and material can be recovered. There would be an end product of Class A
biosolids and that would need to be removed from Hartland at some point and in
some form. The CRD reports that the facility must have the capacity to treat
32,000kg/day of residual solids.
At this meeting Popham raised
concerns including the proposed cost of the project, the uncertainty of how the
waste will be treated, the risks to waterways, contamination of well water, air
quality and traffic disturbances.
The WTP gave Popham an informational
binder which they committed to keep updated. It is at the Constituency Office
and available for public inspection.
We are happy to continue working with
concerned residents on any issues they have with this project. Please feel free
to contact the office at any time.
