Pressure From All Sides

Victoria, British Columbia’s Capital Regional District (CRD) is feeling the pressure.

After facing scrutiny for its questionable sewage practices and unsatisfactory effluent quality, the CRD decided on a plan of action in 2009. The price tag, estimated at $967 million, is being split three ways among the region, and the federal and provincial governments. But the $300-million regional commitment has some committee members waffling. In an article in last Friday’s Times Colonist, Vic Derman voiced his concerns, claiming that the plan is “seriously flawed.”

Derman is not against sewage treatment, but the Saanich councillor said he wants the best system for using sewage as an energy resource, said the article. He thinks that’s not the case with the CRD’s proposed plan, and is considering asking for a referendum on whether the public wants to borrow $300 million to pay for it. Legally, the CRD does not have to hold a referendum or get public assent on sewage borrowing.

The problem, reports the Times Colonist, is that if the public opposed a borrowing bylaw, the CRD would be caught in an awkward spot with the province ordering sewage treatment, but without the money to pay its share. Since 2006 (at least), the CRD has been under pressure to solve its wasteful wastewater practices. The CRD seems to be concerned that funding at the federal and provincial levels may be tapped by the time it’s ready to go forward with the plan.

The CRD came under fire from another angle at last Wednesday’s public consultation meeting, at which, reports the Canadian Union of Public Employees, concerned citizens spoke out against the public-private partnership (P3) model. The CRD is considering many procurement models and hybrids, but must first settle on a business plan, which must meet the requirements of Partnerships BC’s best practices to qualify for funding consideration by both the provincial and federal governments. According to the Times Colonist article, Ernst & Young has done a business plan for the CRD that was peer-reviewed by another team of experts, and the committee will decide at its March 24 meeting whether to forward the business plan to the CRD board for approval. If the board approves, the plan would go to the provincial government, hopefully by early April.