New Video Clips:

1. Bruce talks about the SIA Application

2. Bruce's Analysis of the CVRD Report on EcoDepot

CVRD Letter to Ministry

August 2, 2012

Luc LaChance
Ministry of Environment
2080A Labieux Road
NANAIMO BC V9T 6J9

Dear Mr. LaChance,

RE: South Island Aggregates Waste Discharge Permit Application

I am writing to advise that at its August 1, 2012 meeting, the Board of Directors of the Cowichan
Valley Regional District (CVRD) unanimously resolved:

"that the Cowichan Valley Regional District indicate to the Provincial Government 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, including specifically the watershed of the Shawnigan Community, and

Be it further resolved that the CVRD indicate to the Ministry of Environment that it is opposed to the granting of a waste management permit to South Island Aggregates for the use of contaminated soil in the reclamation of their Stabbings Road Quarry lying within the provincially designated Shawnigan Community Watershed, and

Be it further resolved that the CVRD prepare the necessary bylaw to prohibit dumping of contaminated soil or waste in a designated community watershed that lies within the Regional District, and

Be it further resolved that the collaborative working relationship between the CVRD and the Ministry of Environment be employed to determine how the CVRD by-laws and the provincial contaminated soil regulations can be harmonized and strengthened to prevent future risks to community domestic water supplies within the Region."

The regulation or lack thereof of contaminated soils in the Cowichan Valley continues to be a very significant concern for people living in the Shawnigan Lake area and the South Island Aggregate Waste Discharge Permit Application has served to further heighten concerns. While it may be an area of concurrent authority the CVRD's Official Community Plans and Zoning Bylaws clearly express the Board and community's strong opposition to the deposition of contaminated soils within the Shawnigan Lake area. The CVRD Board simply cannot accept the risk posed to people's drinking water.

On behalf of the Board I respectfully request that the South Island Aggregates Waste Discharge Permit Application be denied.

Thank you for your attention and consideration.

Yours truly,

Rob Hutchins,
Chair

WJ/ann
pc: Honourable Terry Lake, Minister of Environment
Bill Routley, MLA, Cowichan Valley
Board of Directors

File: ADMINISTRATOR/Correspondence/Chair/2012- 2014/to L LaChance SIA Waste Discharge Permit Application August 2

NEWS RELEASE

Date: August 2, 2012

download a pdf of this document

CVRD Opposed to South Island Aggregates¶ Application

The Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD), at its regular meeting on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, unanimously endorsed the attached motion prepared by Director Bruce Fraser, Electoral Area B - Shawnigan Lake.

The motion will be forwarded to Environment Minister Terry Lake and his senior ministry officials along with a request for further meetings in order to work toward “harmonization and strengthening of provincial regulations and CVRD land use bylaws to prevent the deposition of contaminated soils on land in designated community watersheds.

The motion specifically:

Opposes the deliberate permitting of the deposition of contaminated soils in watersheds used for domestic water supply
Comes out against the South Island Aggregates’ application for the use of contaminated soils in their mine reclamation project;
Calls for the preparation of a new CVRD bylaw that prohibits the deposition of contaminated soils or waste in a designated community watershed; and
Calls for the continuing of the collaborative relationship with the provincial Ministry of Environment in order that provincial regulations and CVRD bylaws can be “harmonized and strengthened” to prevent future risks to community and domestic water supplies.

** Please note: Director Fraser’s motion is attached for background information.

Contaminated Soil in the Shawnigan Watershed

Whereas the Shawnigan Lake watershed, desiganted by government in 1995 as a Community Watershed, is the sole domestic water supply of over 4500 residents with the majority drawing their water from Shawnigan Lake, either directly or through licensed water purveyors, and

Whereas the Shawnigan Community has a growing population that is placing ever greater demands on the surface water and aquifers of the area, and

Whereas the Shawnigan Basin is predicted to face increasing watershed instability through the balance of this century due to climate change, and Whereas the CVRD is a formal water purveyor that provides lake water to a group of over 2000 Shawnigan residents to whom it is legally responsible for a safe water supply, and

Whereas the watershed area is already being extensively used for dumping of soils on private land without effective environmental monitoring or controls, and Whereas the Ministry of Environment is dealing with a current application to use contaminated soils for reclamation of a mine lying within the headwaters of the Shawnigan Community Watershed, and

Whereas it cannot be guaranteed that seismic events, major storms or human error will not lead to future contamination of water from even the best current state-of-the art engineering designs, and Whereas there are current examples of hazardous waste reaching unapproved dump sites within the Shawnigan Watershed that have not been immediately rectified, and

Whereas the Shawnigan community bears the ultimate risks to the safety of its public water supply from any incident resulting in water contamination arising from contaminated soils being dumped in the watershed, and

Whereas community comment arising from the recent public meeting held by the Regional District on July 12, 2012 clearly indicated extensive concern for the security of the Shawnigan public water supply and the lack of support for taking additional risks, and

Whereas the Minister of Environment has acknowledged the seriousness of the contaminated soil dumping issue in his commitment to working collaboratively with the CVRD to address the issue of managing the movement of contaminated soils into the Regional District to ensure the safety of community water supplies,

Be it resolved that the Cowichan Valley Regional District indicate to the Provincial Government 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, including specifically the watershed of the Shawnigan Community, and

Be it further resolved that the CVRD indicate to the Ministry of Environment that it is opposed to the granting of a waste management permit to South Island Aggregates for the use of contaminated soil in the reclamation of their Stebbings Road Quarry lying within the provincially designated Shawnigan Community Watershed, and

Be it further resolved that the CVRD prepare the necessary by-law to prohibit dumping of contaminated soil or waste in a designated community watershed that lies within the Regional District, and

Be it further resolved that the collaborative working relationship between the CVRD and the Ministry of Environment be employed to determine how the CVRD by-laws and the provincial contaminated soil regulations can be harmonized and strengthened to prevent future risks to community domestic water supplies within the Region.