Island sewage plant could miss federal treatment deadline

A new timeline approved by the Capital Regional District (CRD) directors shows Vancouver Island may blow past the project’s federal sewage treatment deadline.

Eight years ago, the government told the CRD that it had until 2020 to implement secondary wastewater treatment in the core area, as the dumping of raw sewage into the ocean was deemed unacceptable.

The new timeline states that it may take until 2023.

CRD chair Nils Jenson explained that after a plan to build the sewage facility in Esquimalt fell apart last year, two subcommittees, one east and one west, were formed to begin searching for other sites and technologies.

The west-side includes Esquimalt, View Royal, Colwood, Langford and Songhees First Nation.

The east-side group is Victoria, Saanich and Oak Bay.

The plan, said Jensen, is to make a decision on a site or sites and technology by June and then begin the tendering process within six months

"Now this means the completion might be pushed a little beyond what we would have liked," he said, adding that it is a worst case scenario.

"We are hoping to reduce the timeline by reducing the time for the tendering process and hopefully the construction process," he said.

The new schedule was also made to try and meet federal requirements to qualify for a one-year extension on an $83 million PPP Canada grant for the facility.

Without the extension, the grant agreement will expire at the end of March.

He said that he has had a number of meetings with the province indicating they will be flexible.

Jenson said that he has yet to hear the same sentiment at the federal level.

He said federal authorities still want to examine the proposed timelines before committing.

Due to a recent election, many of those now serving on committees overseeing the project are new.

While the complex project has a steep learning curve for new members, Jensen said there is an upside.

"I think first and foremost it’s a very steep learning curve for anyone coming onto the committee," he said.

"I think also there’s a new energy at the same time. Fresh eyes and fresh legs."

The much-delayed project nearly happened last year.

After extensive analysis, a preferred site at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt, B.C. was selected and the district had bids out for a facility.

But the township refused to make zoning changes, citing the environmental, economic and social feasibility of the proposed treatment plant.