Take your dirty dirt and dump it elsewhere was the message sent Saturday by Shawnigan Lake demonstrators to the provincial government and South Island Aggregates/Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd.
Opposition is mounting to a proposal by the gravel company to dump and treat up to 100,000 tonnes of contaminated soil a year in a gravel pit on Stebbings Road.
About 150 people, worried about contamination of drinking water, demonstrated in Shawnigan Lake on Saturday.
The soil, containing chemicals ranging from hydrocarbons to chloride, would come from Greater Victoria.
Protesters included all four candidates in the May 14 provincial election and community leaders, said Bruce Fraser, Shawnigan’s representative at the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
“No one in any leadership position in the community wants this to go forward,” he said.
The Environment Ministry has issued a draft permit for the project, including conditions related to acceptable material for treatment. It also stipulates air, soil, surface and groundwater monitoring requirements as well as discharge quantity and quality requirements.
The ministry is allowing three weeks for public comment. After April 9, it will decide whether to issue a waste discharge permit.
A growing concern is what will happen if the permit is issued and then the election writ is dropped, Fraser said. “If they were to drop the permit bomb and then disappear, it would be unconscionable.”
It would also leave a difficult situation for the next government, he said. “They need to put this on the back burner and do a proper public inquiry,” he said.
Environment Minister Terry Lake has said the ministry has a legal obligation to review the application and that the decision will be based on the technical judgment of staff.
Shawnigan Lake Road resident Denise Williams is upset that residents must spend thousands of dollars on environmental studies before minor developments are allowed, while permits are issued for a company wanting to dump thousands of tonnes of poisonous soil.
Williams, who lives adjacent to the South Island Aggregates quarry, is subdividing her 4.2-hectare property and has had to hire a biologist, at a cost of $2,000, to ensure riparian zones are protected.
“I’m OK with that, but I am not OK with having to go to such expense and following all the rules to protect the environment, only to have contaminated waste dumped behind me,” she said.
CVRD chairman Rob Hutchins has written to provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall asking him to prevent a “threat to the drinking water of more than 7,000 people living in Shawnigan Lake.”
“What appears obvious is that the science with respect to the application is not clear. With people’s drinking water at stake, we cannot risk uncertainty,” Hutchins wrote.
“We implore you to … stop the South Island Aggregate Waste Discharge Permit from being issued until the protection of Shawnigan Lake drinking water can be guaranteed.”
Kendall replied that he has talked to drinking water protection officer Dr. Paul Hasselback, who is reviewing the issue.
“Once I have had the opportunity to review the studies, Dr. Hasselback’s assessments and recommendation and the response of the Ministry of Environment, I will determine what action may be most appropriate,” he said.
