City of Powell River staff have outlined a timeline for completing the liquid waste management plan (LWMP) that includes submitting the document to the province in September and adding a referendum question on the 2014 local government election ballot.
Tor Birtig, director of infrastructure, sketched out the plan during the May 9 LWMP steering committee meeting. It involves holding a public information session in September, the last part of the city’s consultation process which calls for informing the community about the LWMP strategy. After the public meeting, Birtig said, the city would submit the LWMP to the ministry of environment for ministerial approval.
Council approved a phased consolidated treatment option as the preferred choice for liquid waste management in 2011. The option involves treating city sewage at Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Powell River division, followed by a stand-alone consolidated plant sometime in the future.
Councillor Jim Palm, who chairs the steering committee, said he prefers bringing a well-defined plan to the public, with all questions answered.
Mac Fraser, chief administrative officer, said one of the challenges is that an LWMP rarely has all the questions answered. Particularly in this proposal, the ministry has to approve an amendment to Catalyst’s effluent discharge permit for co-treatment to proceed. Fraser said it will not be possible, until the mill works through the detail of the industrial discharge permit, to be sure of everything. “The LWMP is looking for ministerial approval for us to have flows going to the mill for treatment,” he said. “Then it flips over to another part of the same ministry and the same minister saying, what are the requirements for Catalyst to amend its industrial permit.”
Other steps that need to be taken include the completion of a draft memorandum describing procedures for handling the city’s wastewater during mill shutdowns and maintenance, for review and comment by the ministry, and terms of reference for an agreement with Catalyst.
The city would then complete a draft stage three report and submit it to regional ministry staff for review and comment. The revised report would then be submitted to council for review and adoption, then submitted to the minister for approval.
Fraser said staff’s expectations are that the minister will positively consider the city’s LWMP as submitted, with conditions, which is common, for the discharge permit. “In this case, we’re not even going to hold the discharge permit, so there’s a lot to be done,” he said.
As well, Fraser added, by August, staff will have completed the major relevant components for asset management. That work will give council an indication of the scale of the funding challenge in the future, which provides a context for the treatment method. He said asset management reports will strengthen the logic for the phased approach.
Fraser also said the LWMP is a milestone, not the destination. “The final destination is the resolve of council and I hear a commitment to go to referendum to the public, so that’s the final decision,” he said.
If the city submits the LWMP in September, it could take five to six months for ministerial approval. Fraser pointed out that a referendum question for the 2014 ballot has to be approved by June. “It’s achievable,” he said. “It honours the political commitment of some of you.”
The committee also reviewed a letter from Opus DaytonKnight Consultants Ltd. that outlined preliminary cost estimates for connecting Wildwood and Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation to the city’s proposed system. The estimate is about $2 million for capital and $31,800 a year for operation and maintenance.
Connecting Wildwood involves decommissioning the lagoon treatment facility and installing a pump station on the plant influent sewer. A force main would carry the pumped wastewater to connect with the Townsite sewer system.
