Shawnigan Creek Coho- CVRD Supreme Court Ruling to Hault Soil Dumping Overturned in Appeals Court

SpringVelocity

Crew Member
Beyond frustrated today. In March the supreme court ruled that the zoning for the operation of the facility is breaking the municipal bylaw under the CVRD. An injunction was placed to halt any further soil dumping.

Today was beyond frustrating. An appeal to the injunction was launched by operators of facility , and won for existing contracts.

Dumping of contaminated soil will start up again in the Shawnigan watershed as soon as possible even though it was stated its was breaking bylaw in supreme court. There are still rulings on this and the CVRD had counter appealed to remove soil from the site. The lack of involvement and enforcement from DFO, the federal and provincial governments are outrageous. We can only hope that our fish are not impacted further. All try to keep people posted, but I am getting fed up honestly.


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...l-dump-to-resume-operations-1.3538253?cmp=rss
 
you know, I was hoping that would be the last of it but something inside made me feel it wasn't going to end with the last ruling. their just seems to be so much corruption in our governing powers these days and money and greed seems to control just about everything with our leaders and their decisions. things that should make sense just don't seem to any more. or things that don't make sense to you and I seems to make sense to them. and our children and our environment lose out in the long run. it's such a sad example we seem to live by and show our children with the decisions being made on our behalf with those in positions of power. especially when well financially backed special interest lobbyists or big corporate monies become involved.
I was hoping maybe one would go our way but looks like it may not.
 
Sorry to hear, SV.

Besides the legal battle in the courts - I would suggest that getting the community involved in groundwater/surface water testing would be the next unfortunate step. If you can prove that there has been a release of a deleterious substance from leachate from the contaminated soil - one can lay a private prosecution at the feet of the Crown Attorney - and if you do a good enough job generating the evidence - charges might roll ahead...
 
It seems we're seeing this more and more. I was raised in a time when no meant no. Not throw a little more cash at it and drag it through the courts until you get the result you want. Sad.
 
Well will keep going on. I thank the members of sfab and sviac we have been working on our behalf raising this issue.

It is frustrating that majority of material will be coming from greater victoria. People seem to want new developments which comes at a price for communities like ours. Funny thing these people that hate us and want this are first ones up here to enjoy our lake in summer. In fall I hear so many residents go on about goldstream and don't connect the success of goldstream and the importance to stock fish in that stream. The goldstream has been struggling for years. Shawnigan creek bails then out regularly.

Then there is the trucking community.
You wont believe what we have seen. Believe or not some guides and also people I fish with just moving soil and going on about salmon enhacement. I have seen some big conpany supporters to psf just dumping soil like we don't exist. Give me a break. Sorry for rant just a little pissed with situation.

I just hope what happened here doesn't happen to campbell river because they are next. That development is just as scary.
 
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I feel for you, and I wish you the best of luck in stopping this permanently. Keep fighting the good fight. I know how frustrating it must be, but someone needs to protect the environment.
 
It makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth thinking about how many facks the corporations don't give about the environment. It makes me even more sick knowing how many facks the govt don't give about it. How can a Supreme Court ruling just get appealed and overturned like that?
 
It makes me throw up a little bit in my mouth thinking about how many facks the corporations don't give about the environment. It makes me even more sick knowing how many facks the govt don't give about it. How can a Supreme Court ruling just get appealed and overturned like that?
I couldn't agree more strongly with your sentiments, BS. I have to deal with people like this all the time. In my experience - I believe that they are afraid of showing their hearts - and don't have to live with the mess they create. Often they think the reason they are here on this planet is to make money and/or to consolidate their need to control others - rather than to experience, celebrate and protect life. They are predictable however - often wanting to believe anything the PR firms pump-out to support that lie. That's the battle - changing that narrative. Not accepting lies anymore. Hang on for the ride - all of you in this battle for Shawnigan Creek will learn quickly how to become effective and work together. You will find the allies you need. Other people with big hearts will step-in and step-up. Keep it up guys! :)
 
Sorry to hear, SV.

Besides the legal battle in the courts - I would suggest that getting the community involved in groundwater/surface water testing would be the next unfortunate step. If you can prove that there has been a release of a deleterious substance from leachate from the contaminated soil - one can lay a private prosecution at the feet of the Crown Attorney - and if you do a good enough job generating the evidence - charges might roll ahead...

Good idea but it would not hold up as the people who would be doing the testing would not be certified or qualified to do as such. It would be a lot of wasted time and money.
 
Doesn't have to be that way Jackel. It's not brain surgery. The lab does the hard work. I am sure that there are technically-competent people that would help-out. An injunction is also not that hard..
 
Just to clarify there is data and it has been submitted to environment canada by qualified proffessionals. The creek itself also has no riparian assessments and that has also been submitted to enforcement officers.

There has also been data submitted by a lot of very qualified individuals on the site itself. Environment canada insists they do not have jurisdiction to proceed with anything. The province is the ultimate authority at this point and there is no protection for our coho in the stream. This right was stripped away when Harper changed the Fisheries Act. I know the construction and truck driving community think any data is not from proffessionals but that is not so. That tends to be a very weak argument to grab news headlines.

Your dreaming if you think any stream or river is protected from this activity because it isn't as the law stands. I also think Trudeau has not fulfilled his word on the election to repeal bill 38. That should worry a lot if you involved in salmon enhancement activities.

Mark my words what happened here will happen over and over again unless the Fisheries Act is repealed. Sure we do need these sites but not on drinking water and not next to a vital salmon enhancement project.
 
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Thanks for the update, SV. I guess sections 35&36 in the Fisheries Act - re: release of a deleterious substance - are reactive and have nothing to do tenure permitting - which is under the Lands Act and Provincial Legislation. Once there is a release of a deleterious substrance - or evidence of that - THEN EC can act - if the evidence is strong enough. Guess that is why it is important to keep the monitoring up.
 
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Why does it always seem to go down like this? Status quo until a leak has happened, and then action will be taken? And at that point next to nothing can be done about it except a half arsed sorry cleanup attempt and some people get some slaps on the wrists, if that. No common sense, no morals, no preventative measures. I can't shake my head any harder right now, I think it will actually break my neck...
 
CVRD wants decision allowing some dumping at Shawnigan site set aside

Lindsay Kines / Times Colonist
April 29, 2016 06:00 AM

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Dump trucks carry contaminated soil to the Stebbings Road quarry near Shawnigan Lake. Photograph By DARREN STONE, Times Colonist


A see-saw battle over the dumping of contaminated soil in a quarry near Shawnigan Lake heads back to the B.C. Court of Appeal next month.

The Cowichan Valley Regional District is seeking to set aside an April 15 decision that eased a ban on dumping and allowed the site’s operators to continue receiving soil.

In a new application, the district argues that, by allowing dumping to continue, the Court of Appeal failed to protect the CVRD’s victory in B.C. Supreme Court on March 21.

In the lower court decision, Justice Brian MacKenzie concluded that the Stebbings Road quarry is being operated as a landfill, which is not a permitted use for the property under the district’s zoning bylaws. The decision included a pair of injunctions preventing operators from accepting additional soil.

Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd. and South Island Aggregates Ltd., which own the property, and South Island Resource Management Ltd., which operates the site, appealed that ruling and, in the interim, sought to stay the injunctions against dumping.

Court of Appeal Justice Pamela Kirkpatrick sided with the companies, ruling that a partial stay of the injunctions was preferable to “forestall the potential closure, bankruptcy, or foreclosure” of the companies.

“In my view, such a stay is also in the public interest in that it protects against the spectre of an orphan site and illegal dumping of contaminated soils,” she said.

The decision allowed the companies to fulfil six existing contracts to receive and store up to 106,000 tonnes at the quarry. The contracts are worth about $5.6 million.

The regional district, however, believes the judge erred by placing the companies’ financial interests ahead of the public’s interest in having the zoning bylaw obeyed, said Brian Carruthers, the district’s chief administrative officer.

“We feel that she didn’t adequately consider the public interest,” he said.

Victoria lawyer John Alexander, who acts for Cobble Hill Holdings and South Island Aggregates, said the companies will have no comment until the district’s application is argued and decided.

South Island Resource Management said in a statement that it was still reviewing the CVRD’s application and plans to file a response in court next week.

The partial stay of the dumping ban was to remain in place until the full appeal of the B.C. Supreme Court decision can be heard in August.

But the regional district’s application will be heard by a panel of three judges on May 9, Carruthers said.

“Our concern is that we don’t want more material brought on site,” he said. “We have concerns about the appellants’ capacity to remove the soil that’s there now, if they’re not successful, let alone in the future.

“So it’s really about, let’s not compound the problem.”

If the Court of Appeal declines to set aside Kirkpatrick’s decision, the companies should be required to post $12 million as security to cover the cost of removing any soil dumped at the property as a result of the partial stay, the district argues.

The Ministry of Environment issued Cobble Hill Holdings a permit in 2013 to receive and store up to 100,000 tonnes of contaminated soil a year at its quarry.

The permit was upheld by the Environmental Appeal Board in 2015, but has been subject to court challenges by residents who fear contaminants will eventually leach from the site and pollute the lake and their drinking water.

lkines@timescolonist.com

- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/l...site-set-aside-1.2242886#sthash.s46Z44hC.dpuf
 
Victoria chapter calls on defence minister to help protect Shawnigan Lake drinking water



The Council of Canadians Victoria chapter was at a protest at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt yesterday calling on the federal defence minister to help them defend the right to water.

CHEK News reports, "Shawnigan Lake Residents are hoping the Department of National Defence [DND] will stop dumping contaminated soil above Shawnigan Lake. In March, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the controversial Stebbings Road site can’t be used as a landfill. But six contracts — responsible for 106,000 tonnes of waste — can be fulfilled and the vast majority of the tainted soil is coming from DND." Shawnigan Lake area director Sonia Furstenau says, “We’re asking the defence minister to help us defend our watershed."

The article adds, "Defence minister Harjit Sajjan says he was recently made aware of the situation and will look into it."

A federal government media release from March 2013 says, "The Esquimalt Graving Dock has been used for the repair and maintenance of military and civilian vessels since 1927. Decades of work at the dock have contributed to sediment contamination in the seabed around the facility."

It's that contaminated soil that is being dumped in the Shawnigan Lake watershed area. The dump site itself is located on top of an aquifer, beside a creek leading to the community's drinking water.

CBC explains the current situation following the B.C. Supreme Court ruling on March 21 that found that dumping the contaminated soil was not a permitted use for the property under the regional district's zoning bylaws. It notes, "South Island Resource Management [the company that operates the dump site] appealed and asked for a stay of the ruling until that appeal is heard. A decision released [on April 15] granted a partial stay that allows South Island Resource Management to resume operations so it can complete existing contracts to accept contaminated dirt."

Cowichan Valley Regional District will be in court in May seeking to have that partial stay lifted. If they can't get the stay lifted, they are asking that South Island Aggregates be required to put up a $12 million bond to cover clean-up costs. The appeal to the March 21 B.C. Supreme Court ruling will be heard in August.

The Council of Canadians Victoria and Mid-Island chapters have been actively opposing the dump site.

In March 2014, the Victoria chapter protested outside an Environmental Appeal Board hearing to demand that the BC Ministry of the Environment reverse its decision to grant South Island Aggregates a permit to dump toxic soil near Shawnigan Lake. In May 2015, the chapter joined with 1,000 people at a rally at the BC Legislature in Victoria to protest the dump site. In June 2015, the chapter participated in a blockade of the entrance to the dump site. In Jan. 2016, the Victoria and Mid-Island chapters were at a protest at Shawnigan Lake just prior to the beginning of the BC Supreme Court hearings. And in Feb. 2016, the Mid-Island chapter attended a Sacred Land & Sacred Waters ceremony aimed at stopping the dump.


Full write up:

http://canadians.org/blog/victoria-...er-help-protect-shawnigan-lake-drinking-water
 
Shawnigan protesters want DND to stop dumping tainted soil

But it’s what’s IN the ground that drew a couple dozen protesters to the base.

“We’re asking the defence minister to help us defend our watershed,” says Shawnigan Lake area director Sonia Furstenau.

Shawnigan Lake Residents are hoping the Department of National Defence will stop dumping contaminated soil above Shawnigan Lake.

In March, the B.C. Supreme Court ruled the controversial Stebbings Road site can’t be used as a landfill.

But six contracts — responsible for 106,000 tonnes of waste — can be fulfilled and the vast majority of the tainted soil is coming from DND.

“We want the federal government to respect the Cowichan Valley’s land use laws and not send any contaminated soil to our community,” Furstenau says.

Defence minister Harjit Sajjan says he was recently made aware of the situation and will look into it.

“It’s our job to make sure it lives up to environmental standards and I’ll be going back to look at this file a little more in depth to make sure everything has been done well,” Sajjan says. “Our government has been committed to supporting the environment.”

The case is back in court next month as the Cowichan Valley Regional District tries to have the partial stay lifted but if dumping continues, they’re asking court to order the site’s owners to put up a $12 million bond to cover clean-up costs.

http://www.cheknews.ca/shawnigan-pr...-as-hmcs-edmonton-saskatoon-come-home-170044/
 
Dockyard waterfront set to transform
By Lookout on Mar 23, 2015 with Comments 0

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Plans are well advanced to transform the Dockyard waterfront at CFB Esquimalt into a modern site for ship berthing.

Two projects are now beginning to move through the government’s project approval process: replacing “A” and “B” jetties in Constance Cove, and removing contaminated sediment from the harbour seabed.

When the design work and the necessary regulatory reviews are finalized, and once project approval is in hand, the A/B Jetty Recapitalization Project and the Esquimalt Harbour Remediation Project (EHRP) will hire the necessary contractors to start the work.

Clive Orford, Project Director for Naval Infrastructure in Ottawa, explains the projects are part of the broader master plan for renewal of infrastructure at the base that’s been unfolding over the past two decades.

“The A/B Jetty Project is a massive redevelopment of dockyard that has been anticipated for a generation, and is finally about to come to fruition once the final project approvals are in place in Ottawa,” he says.

As part of their good neighbour philosophy, DND is holding a Public Information Session for neighbours and those wanting to learn more about the projects on March 25, from 7 to 9 p.m., at the Songhees Wellness Centre, 1100 Admirals Road.

Questions may be posed to representatives of the project team from both Ottawa and Esquimalt.

Also available for viewing at the session will be the artist rendering, and information panels on the two projects. “A” and “B” jetties, originally built during the Second World War, are over 70 years old, which is well beyond their service life, and have many operational limitations.

Both structures are made of creosote-treated timber piles and beams, which, due to their age, have structural condition issues.

The A/B Jetty Recapitalization Project, which was announced by then Defence Minister Peter MacKay in February 2013, will provide structurally sound and technically appropriate berthing facilities for Canada’s current and future Pacific Naval Fleet.

Once complete, the new jetties will improve naval response preparedness, and increase operational efficiency for berthed vessels.

“The new jetties are being designed such that they should be able to withstand the forces of an earthquake or a tsunami,” says Orford.

The jetty recapitalization project involves the demolition of the existing jetties, and removal of the jetty cranes, utility services, and certain small buildings in the vicinity.

As the structures are removed, the seabed will be dredged and bedrock blasted within the construction zone to achieve sufficient water depth for ship berthing.

“B” Jetty will be replaced first, then “A” Jetty, Once the steel-encased concrete pile substructure, retaining walls and concrete service access tunnels have been built, the new concrete jetty decks will be added.

The future “A” Jetty will be 305 metres long, with a 22 metre wide deck, and it will be connected at its eastern end to “B” Jetty by an expansion joint.

The future “B” Jetty, slightly shorter in length at 274 metres long, will have a 26 metre wide deck.

In addition to the jetties, electrical substation buildings, a jetty services building, and two rail-mounted cranes will be delivered.

As the jetties are being re-built, the Esquimalt Harbour Remediation Project will be working in close coordination with the jetty construction project towards long-term health improvements of the marine environment in Esquimalt Harbour.

Contaminated seabed sediments at various locations will be dredged and near-shore contaminated sediments and soils capped.

All material removed will be transported for disposal at a facility authorized to accept it.

“Our still very active industrial harbour has been the location of naval operations for over 150 years, meaning that past practices have contributed to current contamination,” says Orford.

“Past practices of bygone days are not what they are at present and DND is very conscious today of being a first line environmental steward of the harbour.”

In support of the Esquimalt Harbour Remediation Project and jetty recapitalization project, CFB Esquimalt constructed a series of underwater reefs in 2012, compensating for any temporary disturbances to the marine habitat that may occur during the remediation and construction work.

“The EHRP is an example of DND’s ongoing management of the environmental health of the seabed and surrounding waters,” says Mike Bodman of the Formation Environment office, who is the Deputy Project Manager for the EHRP.

“Once implemented, the EHRP will reduce the exposure of marine life to contaminated sediment, and the re-built jetty structures will create a new habitat for diverse marine communities.”

While the construction and dredging work is under way, qualified environmental monitors will be present on site to help minimize sedimentation effects, as well as checking for fish and mammal presence.

The use of silt curtains during jetty removal, dredging, and blasting will assist in limiting sediment movement, while bubble curtains and fish exclusion methods will protect wildlife during blasting of the bedrock.

In-work water activities will be highly monitored, and will occur only when fishery conditions are deemed acceptable for the work.

Duane Freeman, the Formation Environment Officer, hopes that the upcoming public information session will allay the typical concerns that neighbours might have about the projects.

“We believe the impact on the general public will be limited, as the construction and dredging work itself will take place far from areas utilized by the public. We will be adhering to local noise bylaws and no negative health impacts are expected. As well, it will remain safe to swim, boat, or sail in Esquimalt Harbour outside of the marked safety zone,” he observed.

For updates on the jetty recapitalization project or EHRP, visit www.esquimaltharbour.ca.
 
Big win for DND esquimalt cleanup and Victoria and trucks should be rolling again despite cvrd ruling that site is not zoned for land use. Shawnigan will take Greater Victoria's contaminated soil again until official appeal in August.

What an unreal system of politics we live in. I just shake my head but I also have to admit we can't do much more as far as fish go. We are not defeated but it's hard to fight battles with both governments federal and provincial.

It seems like big business and the community with province and federal government around Victoria are more concerned with development. I guess having good fish habitat in esquimalt than us is most important . Thanks to all that helped our with the cause. There are more rulings etc. to come and remain optimistic things could change.

This will be my last post on this issue on this forum.


Court upholds limited use of Shawnigan Lake soil dump

www.timescolonist.com

A quarry near Shawnigan Lake can continue to receive and store contaminated soil for at least a few more months, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled Friday.

The court upheld an earlier decision that allows limited dumping at the site until a full appeal is heard in August.

Victoria lawyer John Alexander, who acts for site owners Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd. and South Island Aggregates Ltd., welcomed the decision.

“It allows the quarry to be responsibly operated and managed until we get into the Court of Appeal,” he said.

“If you get shut down, it’s pretty tough to do all of the things you should be doing about maintaining and monitoring and sampling and all of that.

“So to that extent, I think my clients are relieved that they can continue to make sure the obligations are looked after.”

The owners and operators of the site have appealed a March 21 decision by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Brian MacKenzie, who concluded that the quarry is being operated as a landfill, which is not a permitted use for the property under local zoning bylaws.

MacKenzie’s decision included a pair of injunctions preventing operators from accepting and storing additional soil at the site.

Court of Appeal Justice Pamela Kirkpatrick ordered a partial stay of the injunctions on April 15, ruling that the owners and operators should be allowed to fulfil existing contracts.

The Cowichan Valley Regional District application to set aside Kirkpatrick’s decision was rejected on Friday.

Sonia Furstenau, an area director with the regional district, said Shawnigan residents are taking the defeat in stride. “The community was very disappointed to hear the news [Friday] morning,” she said. “But they remain steadfast in their determination to protect their watershed.”

The Ministry of Environment issued Cobble Hill Holdings a permit in 2013 to receive and store up to 100,000 tonnes of contaminated soil a year at its quarry.

The permit was upheld by the Environmental Appeal Board in 2015, but has been subject to court challenges by the regional district and local residents who fear contaminants will eventually leach from the site and pollute their drinking water.

lkines@timescolonist.com


© Copyright Times Colonist

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