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Letter to Minister of the Environmentdownload a pdf of this document October 29, 2012 Ministry of Environment Attention: The Honourable Terry Lake, Minister Dear Minister: Re: Contaminated Soil in the Cowichan Valley The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) would like to thank you for taking the time to come to the Cowichan Valley to obtain a first-hand view of the situation we find ourselves in with soil that is being trucked from the Capital Region to various sites within our Region. We appreciate the effort that you and your staff are devoting to find a resolution to our concerns. In that regard, the Regional District is disappointed that the Ministry approved the recent CSRA to allow contaminated soil to be relocated from CFB Esquimalt to the Evans Redi-Mix property just south of Duncan. As you saw during our site tour, the proximity of that property to the Koksilah River and Kelvin Creek, cannot help but raise questions as to the suitability of that site for such purposes. The possibility of contaminating the water source for 30,000 residents in the Duncan/North Cowichan area, is simply too great a risk to take. As per Regional Board resolution 12-458, passed October 10, 2012, I have been directed to inform you that if the Ministry continues to permit movement of contaminated soils into community watersheds by way of approving CSRA's, such as the one noted above, you and your staff are putting the collaborative arrangement that we presently have in jeopardy. The CVRD is willing to work with the Ministry on alternative sites, but we remain adamantly opposed to the continued contamination of community watersheds. Thank you again for your interest and consideration of our request.
Robert Hutchins TRA/jnl October 29, 2012 Ministry of Environment Land Remediation Environmental Management Attention: W. David Lockhart, Senior Contaminated Sites Officer Dear W. David Lockhart: Re: Contaminated Soil Relocation Agreement Further to the above Contaminated Soil Relocation Agreement being approved by the Ministry of "That a letter be forwarded to the Ministry of Environment in response to Contaminated Soil Relocation Application referral (Scansa Construction Ltd.), advising of CVRD Board Resolution #12-379 dated August 1, 2012, and noting appreciation for their collaborative approach but reiterating the Board's stance that it is strongly opposed to the deliberate permitting of the use of contaminated soil for land or mine reclamation or other purposes within the public domestic water supply watersheds of the region; and further, that a similar letter be forwarded to the Minister of Environment including a statement that if the Ministry continues to permit movement of contaminated soils into community watersheds in the Regional District they are putting their collaborative arrangement with the CVRD in jeopardy and that the CVRD is willing to work with them on alternative sites but are adamantly opposed to the continued contamination of community watersheds." Our position on this matter is consistent with our previous Resolution passed on August 1, 2012, which is attached for your information.
Rob Hutchins Attachment pc: The Honourable Terry Lake, Minister of Environment Alan McCammon, Manager, Brownfields & Remediation Assurance, Ministry of Environment Eivin Hoy, Assistant Manager, Operations Canadian Forces Base Esquima!t Erin Magee, Quantum Murray LP CVRD Soil Relocation Sub Committee Members Download CVRD Board Minutes August 1, 2012
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Bruce Fraser 250.733.0771 (Office) 250.888.0160 (Cell)
CVRD Regional Director-Shawnigan Lake
Director’s Meeting
Monday, November 5, 2012
7pm, Shawnigan Lake Community Centre
Agenda
Introductions
Guest Artist: Cheryl Bakke-Martin, glass blowing demonstration
Rumour Check
Road Issues in Shawnigan: A conversation with Rachelle Ray, Area Manager, Road Operations
Bass Research Project for Shawnigan Lake
CVRD work on Contaminated Soils: a report from Rob Hutchins, CVRD Chair
New Watershed Initiatives: The Shawnigan Basin Society; Community Policing Lake watch with Shelagh Bell-Irving
Elsie Miles Property Update
Reports from Civic Groups: SRA, SLBA, Inspire, Village, CT Group and others
Other items as needed.
In recent editions of the Shawnigan Times, Rick Restell has contributed to our community’s conversation on the merits and pitfalls of incorporation. He is to be congratulated for taking on this most complex of subjects, because there is much to consider. This posting is intended as a contribution to the conversation.
Shawnigan, with a population of 8100 and growing, is the largest unincorporated social jurisdiction in British Columbia. It is an electoral area within the Cowichan Valley Regional District, represented by a single elected official. Many decisions affecting the area are made collectively by the 15 Directors of the Regional District Board, fourteen of whom are non-resident. Provision of basic infrastructure and services is divided between the Regional District and the Province. Water is provided individually by wells or drawn from the lake, by the Regional District through a variety of area-specific water districts and by private water purveyors. Sewage treatment is provided primarily through individual septic systems governed by the Vancouver Island Health Authority, with community level systems limited to a few subdivisions, mainly run by the Regional District. Roads are built and maintained by the Province. Police and ambulance services are provided directly by the province while fire services are provided by separately governed Improvement Districts. Health Services are provided by the Province and the Regional District and by private clinics. The Province governs subdivision developments while the Regional District administers official community plans, zoning regulations and building by-laws, parks and recreation services and economic development. Industrial activity in the watershed is governed directly by provincial ministries with limited influence from the Regional District. Regional Districts do not have a business licensing function and have limited ability to level development cost charges to support local infrastructure.
The Province, the Regional District and the Improvement District have separate taxing authority to support their responsibilities. As an electoral area, Shawnigan is governed by numerous political and agency authorities in a complex web of relationships that are challenging to integrate in practice. Informal community organization is spread among resident, business, education, arts and cultural groups that form the civic base for future governance. Both the Malahat First Nation and the Cowichan Tribes have interests in Shawnigan and will be partners in whatever form of governance emerges.
The main advantages of being incorporated as a municipality include more extensive political representation, greater local control over the scope, cost and integration of public infrastructure and services, and increased opportunity to shape the social, environmental and economic future of the community. Local control also comes at greater local cost. Two main drivers of increased cost are roads and policing, both of which become a municipal responsibility upon incorporation.
Other costs are more difficult to determine, such as governance, water and sewer infrastructure maintenance and by-law enforcement. An incorporated Shawnigan would still be part of the CVRD, like Duncan, North Cowichan, Lake Cowichan and Ladysmith and would be expected to continue to share in the cost of the hospital, along with regional transit, parks and recreation facilities.
The political, cost and infrastructure control implications will vary substantially among incorporation options. Shawnigan, Mill Bay and Cobble Hill could seek to become a single municipality or in any combination. Standing alone or combining with other communities is a question of cost sharing, political representation in decision-making, boundary definition, service areas assumed from the Regional District and social cohesion. It will be very difficult to address these issues without the thorough assessment that is normally provided by the province, one that they are currently reluctant to provide. The three southern Area Directors have told the province that they should provide the proper studies to enable our constituents to make an informed choice. Only one thing is for certain, the issue is extremely complex.
