Scott Stanfield
scott.stanfield@comoxvalleyrecord.com
In a series of articles, Record reporter Scott Stanfield delves into the contentious sewage issue.
A multi-million dollar pump station is slated for construction in the Croteau Beach neighbourhood in Area B of the Comox Valley Regional District, just east of Comox.
Residents believe the CVRD has made the decision without properly consulting neighbours, some of whom moved to the area because of the quiet.
“They don’t want to use us. They don’t want our input, they don’t want our views, and I think that’s a real problem,” said Paul Horgen, a retired microbiologist/university professor who lives on Stafford Street near the proposed site. He feels there is sufficient expertise in his neighbourhood to match that of the CVRD.
Isabel Road resident Lorraine Aitken — who has been attending open houses about the Comox No. 2 Pump Station and sewage commission meetings for two years — shares his frustrations. She says, for instance, that the Sewage Master Plan contains holes and relies on old information.
“There’s not a political will to keep up to date,” Aitken said. “I think it all goes back to a fundamental problem with the sewage commission. Comox loves to say, ‘It’s the regional district sewage commission.’ It’s not. It’s the Courtenay-Comox regional district sewage commission.”
The commission comprises Comox directors Barbara Price (chair), Ken Grant and Maureen Swift, Courtenay directors Erik Eriksson, Manno Theos and Bob Wells, and Major Marc Fugulin representing CFB Comox.
Last year, when Major Trevor Fenton was the CFB Comox director, the commission unanimously approved a motion from Grant to stop work at a station proposed at Croteau Road. But Grant’s second motion to direct energies to the Beech Street site passed by a 4-3 vote. Wells, Theos and Eriksson were opposed.
The current site is just outside Comox town boundaries, in regional district Area B.
The neighbourhood is baffled as to why the commission does not include area directors.
“If there is something happening in an electoral area, the director involved, whether or not he’s a part of that function, should be sitting at the table and have input because it affects his residents,” Area B director Rod Nichol said. “It’s imperative that that should happen, and it’s not happening.”
A sewage commission bylaw amendment would be required to have Nichol become a commission member with voting rights. Comox and Courtenay directors would vote on any bylaw amendments.
Sherry Long, who lives next door to the proposed site, said years ago rural areas had representation before the Liberal government split the regional district in two.
“Now, Comox and Courtenay have control of the regional district and the rest of us just drool,” said Long, who feels politics are neither an academic exercise, nor logical or reasonable. “Politicians think, ‘Is this going to hurt me, or is this going to help me?’ The bottom line is that the DND (Department of National Defence) cast the deciding vote. They were the ones that made the decision based on their need to get their sewer line from Goose Spit up to the Comox Valley system, so they wouldn’t be underwater. It was just based on expediency…It’s unfair and it’s not right. Bottom line.”
Last month, with the exception of Eriksson, the commission approved a $1.8 million DND contribution for a retrofit of the HMCS Quadra pump station, and to replace an aging forcemain. The district says this project is separate from Comox No. 2.
Because Nichol does not sit at the table, residents question why Comox 2 would be constructed in their neighbourhood and not in Comox.
The district says the Beech Street location was selected after “significant review including multiple years of planning.” In 2002, it was discovered that beach erosion has been damaging a forcemain along Willemar Bluffs. A 2005 study recommended construction of a new inland forcemain to bypass that section of pipe. A pump station and tie-in to the existing forcemain before Goose Spit is required to push wastewater up and over the peninsula to the Comox Valley Water Pollution Control Centre (CVWPCC). After assessing properties in and out of municipal boundaries, the Beech Street property was identified as the best choice in a selection process that included technical, social and environmental assessments.
Within the Croteau/Docliddle area, the CVRD says 20 properties were shortlisted as meeting basic site requirements in terms of size and zoning. Each short-listed location was then assessed for its ability to meet engineering/technical requirements, impact on environmental, archeological and neighbourhood factors, and potential to meet project timelines with minimized risk. Beech Street scored highest, was recommended by a consultant, and approved by the commission.
Residents also question why the public is not allowed to ask questions at the end of a commission meeting.
The district says the purpose of meetings are for board members to consider matters in order to advance CVRD business. If wishing to speak at a meeting, people are encouraged to contact the CVRD legislative services department to request to appear as a delegation. Another option is to appear as a late delegation to address the commission.
“Staff are also available for conversations and discussions with members of the public,” a statement says.
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In the next instalment: health risks associated with a neighbourhood pump station. Are there any? If so, what are they?