Sewage dumping at sea being discussed
Ladysmith council is being asked to weigh in on the issue of boats dumping sewage in the harbour.
During the Dec. 15 meeting, councillors received a copy of a letter from the Islands Trust Council (ITC) to Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt opposing proposed amendments to the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations governing the discharge of sewage by pleasure craft vessels and also calling for additional actions to reduce raw sewage dumping in the Salish Sea. Council was asked to consider whether it wished to write Raitt in support of the ITC position.
The letter, signed by ITC vice-chair Peter Luckham, states that the ITC is opposed to proposed amendments that would allow pleasure craft vessels to discharge sewage one nautical mile from shore.
“Since 2009, the Islands Trust Council has been concerned that the current Regulations allow raw sewage dumping in waters that are six nautical miles shore-to-shore,” wrote Luckham. “The geography of the Salish Sea, characterized by small islands and islets with narrow channels between islands, results in legal raw sewage dumping in sensitive marine habitats near shellfish beds and swimming beaches.”
On behalf of the ITC, Luckham requested that Transport Canada abandon plans to allow pleasure craft to dump raw sewage closer to shores and shellfish beds. As well, he asked that Transport Canada create three-nautical-mile no-discharge zones around pump-outs and also work with partners to develop an infrastructure funding program for vessel sewage pump-out facilities that would support sufficient pump-out stations to create contiguous large no-discharge zones in the Islands Trust Area.
“The ecological sensitivity of this region, combined with the hundreds of thousands of recreational boaters in our region, creates a strong justification for priority pump-out infrastructure investment in the Salish Sea,” he wrote.
George Creek, a member and past commodore of Ladysmith Yacht Club, spoke to council in response to the letter. The Ladysmith Yacht Club is a member of the Council of BC Yacht Clubs, and Creek has represented the club at the Council for 15 years.
Creek told council that the Council of BC Yacht Clubs endorses and supports the proposed amendments to the regulations and recommended that council receive Luckham’s letter as information only and take no action.
“We believe education of the regulation as amended would be a more effective way of ensuring boaters are adhering to the proper method of discharging sewage in permitted areas,” he said.
Creek told council that in the five years of discussion on the current regulations, several scientists stated that “highly-polluted fecal materials discharged at high-tidal or current areas at a boat speed of four knots is the most effective and efficient method of waste removal from recreational vessels and did not contribute any detrimental impacts on the ocean water because of the insignificant volume of diluted discharge relative to the vast volume of water.”
“There is no science or facts to back up the claim that raw sewage is being discharged near shore or more sensitive shellfish beds,” he said. “If such was the case, one would expect piles of fecal matter washing ashore at every inlet and bay along the coast. In fact, the current regulations as currently stated prohibit such activity. It would seem the current regulations are felt to be a bit over the top, and Transport Canada sees fit to propose changes to be concurrent with actual facts. The three-mile zone proposed by Islands Trust would be onerous to boaters.”
After hearing from Creek, council voted to refer consideration of Luckham’s letter to an upcoming council meeting and also to refer Luckham’s letter to the Stz’uminus First Nation for their comments and also forward Creek’s comments to Luckham and ask for his response.
