The provincial government has stepped in and taken control of Victoria’s ongoing sewage saga, sidelining Capital Region politicians in the process.
B.C. announced Wednesday afternoon it is stepping in and stripping decision-making abilities away from CRD politicans after years of back-and-forth about where a mandated sewage treatment plant or plants for the South Island should go.
The province will appoint a new board that will work toward finding a location ahead of a September deadline to apply for provincial and federal funding.
The decision follows an in-camera meeting between the CRD’s sewage committee and B.C. Minister for Community, Sport and Cultural Development Peter Fassbender.
“I think the key here is to restore the confidence of the people in the region and to move the project ahead,” Fassbender said hours before the announcement. “My hope is that they will make the decisions that’ll make that happen.”
The province called the project’s governance model “complex” and said “it is difficult to determine how specific roles and responsibilities lie between different committees.”
The CRD must approve the new sewage board, which will have at least one representative from the district as a member, but no politicians.
Esquimalt Mayor and CRD Board Chair Barb Desjardins called the province’s intervention “a major step forward,” and thanked Fassbender for stepping in.
“All of the valuable technical and community engagement work that has been completed up until now will help guide the terms of reference for the Project Board and the overall vision and direction of the project,” she said in a release.
The announcement doesn’t change the timeline for making a decision about the site.
A final location or locations must be chosen by the end of September or the region risks losing half a billion dollars of federal and provincial funding.
The province needs the board’s consent to form the new board.
The new terms of reference will be brought to the CRD for approval within the next few weeks.
