The B.C. government is wading into a smelly, decades-old debate in Greater Victoria.
The province will help the Capital Regional District find a sewage treatment solution for the South Island as local mayors continue to argue over options and the project’s price tag.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps met with environment minister Mary Polak and minister of community Peter Fassbender Wednesday morning to discuss options and said the province has volunteered to help resolve the impasse.
"The ministers would be willing to facilitate this process moving forward by providing advice," Helps said in an media release. "Minister Fassbender stressed that this was our project, they are not here to impose a solution, but rather to facilitate a way forward and provide expertise and guidance as needed."
Fassbender's ministry is currently helping resolve a similar impasse between the City of Kelowna and the water district.
He reiterated in a statement that the government is only providing advice and expertise on the matter.
"We are interested for the sake of taxpayers to find a cost-effective, timely way forward. The province respents local government jurisdiction, and would not take lightly any decision to impinge upon that," he said.
Fassbender also noted a "renewed sense of purpose" among CRD officials to finding a sewage solution.
Estimated costs of building a treatment plant or plants have now topped $1-billion, with the latest recommendations going before the sewage committee including plants at Clover Point and McLoughlin Point.
A deadline of the end of March is looming to choose a site for a sewage treatment facility, or the Capital Regional District risks losing up to $83-million in federal government funding.
