Open Letter to Lana Popham, MLA: Your Action Urgently Needed to Protect South Saanich from CRD Plans

October 28, 2020

Ms. Lana Popham, MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly

Dear Ms. Popham;

I would like to congratulate you for your recent success in the BC election, I know our community will benefit from the continuation of your leadership and support of Saanich and surrounding area. I would also like to extend my thanks to you for joining the members of the Mount Work Coalition and other stakeholders on October 15, 2020, to discuss the community’s concerns regarding the CRD plans that are affecting Mount Work area. We have come together as community volunteers to highlight the importance of protecting and stewarding the Mount Work area that includes Durrance Lake, and the provincial Gowlland-Tod Park. It is also home to over 16 species at risk, including the endangered Western Screech-Owl, that is to be protected under the Province’s agreement with the Federal Government, as well as the last remaining stand of Douglas Fir in the region.

CRD Failed to Conduct True Consultation

You made a number of key points during our discussion that offer us encouragement, that with your help and guidance, we collectively can ensure that CRD does not take action that will destroy this critical ecosystem. You mentioned the importance of consultation and that it must be true consultation. We could not agree more, and it has indeed been a key frustration that the CRD have not provided information about their intentions in a timely, accessible or forthright manner. For example, the consultation that was conducted on Phase 1 of the updated draft Solid Waste Management Plan did not indicate to community members that the CRD was proposing to blast 78 acres of Mount Work Park to expand the size of the dump and store aggregate. The CRD also failed to conduct any consultation on the plan to divert Hartland Avenue commercial and vehicle traffic to Willis Point Road and indeed the traffic studies conducted were found to be flawed and insufficient.

COVID-19 Risk: Ensure BC Government Revisits it’s Approval of Biosolid Spread

You also mentioned your willingness to ensure that BC Government revisited its approval of the spreading of biosolids on the Hartland dump area during the bi-annual closures of the lower Mainland facility. The COVID 19 virus has added an additional layer of concern. We know that the virus is detected in sewage, in fact many communities are using that source to test and monitor the spread of the virus. What we do not know, with scientific certainty, is if there remains a risk of transmission of COVID 19 via biosolids which are the end product of the sewage treatment process.

Without clear scientific evidence that there is no risk of transmission, it would be irresponsible to allow the CRD to continue with its plan to spread biosolids. I am sharing more evidence that biosolids are toxic from research conducted by Thomas Maler, Ph.D of Victoria.

Even before the pandemic resulting from COVID 19, there were sufficient concerns regarding the spread of biosolids that the CRD had banned it in 2011. George Heyman, as Director of the Sierra Club in BC at that time, was supportive of that decision. It is unclear to us why both the CRD and Mr. Heyman as BC Minister for Environment and Climate Change Strategy no longer see the same risk with the spread of biosolids. I am attaching here additional research that provides clear evidence of the ongoing risk of the spread of biosolids. While the CRD may characterize this as a temporary solution, the fact is that once the biosolids are spread upon the landfill, there is an ongoing risk that they will seep into the groundwater, be blown into surrounding farms and neighbourhoods, and become a permanent impairment to the safety of the area.

Recent Raw Sewage Spill Into Park Highlights Urgency for you to Act

The urgency and importance of your action is highlighted by recent events where we saw significant amounts of raw sewage spill out from a broken Hartland pipe and into the neighbouring park area. The clean-up has taken weeks which signals the extent of the spill and early indications are that Durrance Lake might be at risk given the proximity of the spill. Here we are, after the fact, dealing with a real environmental crisis despite assurances from the CRD that such as spill could never take place.

Your Leadership is Critical to Protect Mount Work Region

This is why your involvement and leadership are so critical to protect the Mount Work area and to not allow the CRD to turn this valuable natural ecosystem into an industrial area. Building bigger landfills and blasting away forests is not a 21st century approach to waste management.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that we protect and steward the Mount Work area.
We would be most happy to welcome a further discussion with the Mount Work Coalition members.

Sincerely,

Elaine Klimke
Chair
Mount Work Coalition

Attachment: Toxicity of Biosolids: Research by Thomas Maler, Ph.D of Victoria, B.C.