Call it a case of déjà poo.
Just as it looked like the Capital Region had settled on where to put a long-awaited sewage treatment plant, it turns out the project will have to go through Esquimalt’s rezoning process.
The CRD board voted in favour of building the plant at McLoughlin Point in September after more than a decade of back-and-forth between municipalities.
When the current sewage treatment project was approved, it was believed no rezoning was required for the site as the plant fit Esquimalt’s current guidelines.
The latest revelation that Esquimalt must rezone the site means the project will have to go through public consultations, and possibly, more delays.
“It’s not necessarily a done deal. We know that the minister has asked this to be done, and we are working with the project board to finalize how we could do that,” said Lynda Hundleby, Acting Mayor of Esquimalt. “We still have the discretion to vote as we need to when it comes down to the final approvals. We do have to go through a public consultation and that’s a very important part for Esquimalt residents.”
It harkens back to 2014, when Esquimalt derailed previous plans for a treatment project by unanimously rejecting a requested tweak to the site’s zoning.
A timetable has been laid out including open houses, public hearings and a final council vote scheduled for Feb. 27.
“Hopefully, we can stick to that. There’s always the issues of, well maybe we need more consultation, maybe we need more time,” said Hundleby. “Public hearings can go for a long time sometimes and so it would depend on how long that is. It depends on how many people want to weigh in.”
Victoria pumps some 130-million litres of untreated effluent into the Juan de Fuca Strait daily.
While some scientists have said the ocean acts as a “toilet” that disperses waste without much environmental impact, environmentalists as well as officials in neighbouring Washington State have criticized Victoria for pumping sewage directly into the ocean.
