More local politicians have written Washington state legislators, trying to distance their communities from Greater Victoria’s sewage situation by pointing out they already have sewage treatment.
In the letter, Sooke Acting Mayor Rick Kasper and Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor ask that Washington state not impose travel restrictions to their communities. Their letter follows on the heels of an earlier one sent by Sidney Mayor Steve Price.
Last month, the Washington House of Representatives voted 50-47 in favour of restricting government travel to Victoria because of what it perceives as foot-dragging over the implementation of sewage treatment.
While the measure has since been withdrawn, several Washington state legislators are threatening the call for a general tourism boycott, if the Capital Regional District’s sewage treatment plan doesn’t meet a March 31 deadline for funding help from the province and federal government. That funding would be dealt through PPP Canada.
“We didn’t want to be tarred and feathered with the same brush with what’s going on in Victoria,” Price said.
Kasper and Windsor say they understand the Americans’ concerns regarding the lack of sewage treatment in Victoria, but note that Sooke, Central Saanich, Sidney, North Saanich and the Tsawout First Nation have been treating their sewage for years.
Windsor said the situation regarding sewage treatment is more nuanced than many Washington State officials realize.
His letter noted that while Butchart Gardens is seen by many as being synonymous with Victoria, it actually is located in Central Saanich.
“I’d hate for knee-jerk travel bans to negatively impact on major attractions within the boundary of my district,” Windsor said.
“We’re really using that March 31 deadline 3P Canada has set for getting the federal funding as the milestone,” said Washington state Rep. Jeff Morris, the self-described instigator of the initial Washington travel restrictions. “If they miss that date and don’t get the federal funding, we might call for a wider tourism boycott.”
Morris had not yet seen the letter from Kasper and Windsor, but said he had replied to Price and understood the concerns.
He said he’s well aware that parts of the region treat their sewage and tried to make that distinction in external communications by referring to the “capital” region and not other parts of the region.
It’s not surprising that the smaller treatment plants get lost in the mix as the debate continues. The communities without sewage treatment pumping raw, screened effluent into the Juan de Fuca Strait — Saanich, Victoria, Oak Bay, Esquimalt View Royal, Colwood and Langford — have an estimated combined population of about 260,700 compared with the estimated 54,679 in those communities with treatment.
Kasper said the idea behind the letter is simply to send a positive message.
He said he and his wife recently spent a weekend in Port Angeles and had the opportunity to meet with Mayor Patrick Downie.
“We talked about what we’re doing in Sooke and that we have sewage treatment. … His reaction was he didn’t know,” Kasper said. “He knew there were 13 municipalities in the capital region but he didn’t know that four of the communities were serviced by sewage-treatment plants.”
