Is the decision to move ahead with the regional sewage-treatment plan about science or politics? It can be argued either way, and it’s probably a mixture of both. But what is clear is that politicians should get out of the way and let the professionals apply their science.
The Capital Regional District board voted Wednesday, with only Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell opposed, to accept the recommendation that a single sewage plant be built at McLoughlin Point.
It’s a slightly altered version of the plan that was derailed after Esquimalt council voted to reject an application for a zoning variance. It had taken years of studies, public consultation and calculations to settle on McLoughlin Point, and Esquimalt had zoned the site for sewage treatment.
The rejection of the zoning application had little to do with the plant’s footprint — it was an opportunity for opponents of the sewage-treatment plan to block the project, and it worked, at least for a while.
The CRD said it was abandoning the McLoughlin Point site for the plant and would begin the search for another site. The Seaterra Commission, the entity charged with overseeing the development of the project, was disbanded, and Albert Sweetnam, the head of the commission, was given a $500,000 severance package.
Despite appeals from the CRD for the province to step in, B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak refused, saying the province should leave it to local governments to resolve the dispute.
“It is a very serious thing for a provincial government to try to undo what local governments, through their zoning, are legally allowed to do,” she said.
“At the end of the day, it is quite proper for the local governments, who are elected by their taxpaying public … to resolve these issues themselves.”
That was timid and wrong-headed of the provincial government. Municipal politicians are elected to look after local issues, first and foremost, and regional issues tend to take a back seat. It would have been proper — and desirable — for the province to exercise its authority at that point and get the project moving ahead.
Instead, for more than two years, the CRD and municipalities wrestled and wrangled over the issue and came no closer to a solution. With funding deadlines approaching, provincial Community Minister Peter Fassbender told the CRD this spring to appoint an expert panel to take over.
Operating at arm’s length from the political process, the panel studied the issue, considered alternatives and concluded what previous experts had concluded — the best plan is to build a single plant at McLoughlin Point. Heeding public input, they made some adjustments, such as reducing the footprint, adding tertiary treatment and trimming the costs.
Many opposed to secondary sewage treatment say the science shows it’s not necessary, but that ship has sailed — the federal and provincial governments, citing their own scientists, have ordered sewage treatment, and it is clear they will not be persuaded otherwise.
Too much time has been wasted — the project should move ahead unhindered by political micromanaging. Those trained and experienced in the science and technology should be allowed to do their jobs.
Transparency is still important — this is the costliest infrastructure the region has ever built, and it should be done with all the proper safeguards. Public projects have a way of going past deadlines and over budget — think the Johnson Street Bridge. But with the right oversight, they can come in on time and on budget — think the Craigflower Bridge.
Much hard work remains, and problems will inevitably arise in such a complex undertaking.
All the more reason to get moving.
