In the first half of 2013, the Capital Regional District will hire an independent commission of experts who will oversee the region’s $783-million secondary sewage treatment project.
The external team includes professionals in the areas of wastewater engineering, business and finance, environmental science, archaeology, community planning and First Nations consultation.
CRD directors have been vying for at least one spot on the commission, but the provincial government is unlikely to budge on this funding stipulation.
The project will go through a planning phase in the next year. Partnerships B.C. will provide advice and expertise as the CRD prepares to accept construction bids for various components, beginning with the wastewater treatment facility at McLoughlin Point. Ground-breaking won’t take place at the site until 2014.
Expect pushback to continue from the Association for Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Sewage Treatment (ARESST), as well as dissenting CRD directors like Saanich Coun. Vic Derman and Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins.
