CRD Report: Liquid Waste Management Planning for Core Area - Next Steps

REPORT TO CORE AREA LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014

SUBJECT: LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLANNING FOR CORE AREA - NEXT STEPS

ISSUE

To consider next steps in moving forward on planning for sewage treatment for the Core Area.

BACKGROUND

At the Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee (CALWMC) meeting held September 10, 2014, the committee considered Terms of Reference (TOR) for an options study for Core Area Wastewater Treatment. The report was referred back to staff until the next CALWMC meeting in order to update the TOR to include suggestions from the September 3, 2014 correspondence from the Westside mayors and First Nations (Appendix A) and also guiding principles approved by the Committee (edited and included as part of Appendix B).

Since the September 10 CALWMC meeting, Capital Regional District (CRD) staff have met with both elected officials and administrators of the participating municipalities to better understand their interests.

Westside participant mayors from Colwood, Langford, View Royal and Esquimalt have indicated a desire to establish a subcommittee to evaluate options and develop a subregional wastewater treatment and resource recovery plan. The subcommittee would report to the CALWMC and be supported by CRD staff, Westside staff, consultants and a technical working group. The subcommittee and technical working group would be governed by TOR to be developed in accordance with the principles approved by the CALWMC and the CRD Board. Initial efforts would involve engagement and consultation with Westside residents and would begin immediately upon approval of the subcommittee concept by the CALWMC and Board. The TOR for the subcommittee, addressing the mandate, procedures and membership, are expected to be submitted for approval at the next meeting of the CALWMC in November.

The goal of the subcommittee will be to produce a conceptual plan for wastewater treatment and resource recovery for those participating jurisdictions that optimizes existing infrastructure, is developed in a collaborative manner with the other participants, is environmentally sound and minimizes cost while meeting the unique needs of the Westside in a proactive and timely way. Consultants engaged by the Westside participants anticipate that a conceptual plan will be brought forward by March 31, 2015. A plan proposed by Westside participants, and similar plans for Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich, together with an accommodation of First Nation requirements, would form the basis for an amendment to the Core Area Liquid Waste Management Plan (CALWMP).

The City of Victoria has authorized City staff to proceed with a three-phase business case designed to explore legally-available options for governance, explore feasible sites for a Victoria-only system, and for a system cooperating with Saanich and Oak Bay. The authorization includes initiating discussions with owners of potential sites and developing preliminary cost estimates for the various options to be explored. The authorization also includes the development of a public engagement strategy and approved funding to begin the process. An update report is scheduled to be provided to City of Victoria Council on October 23, 2014. This concept is similar to the approach envisioned by the Westside municipalities and could become part of an overall strategy under the CRD umbrella.

While CRD staff are engaged and already working to support the individual and collective efforts of Victoria and Westside participants, as recognized in the suggested guiding principles referred to staff by the Committee, it is acknowledged that any of the individual participants may be undertaking their own work or wish to engage with CRD staff at any time to explore their own options. At the present time, there has been no formal engagement between the CRD Board and participant councils to confirm their support for this new approach and staff are relying on the correspondence received at the last CALWMC meeting and committee direction to proceed as outlined in this report. It is also important that the CRD continue to engage with and work toward solutions on behalf of all participants through this process, as the CRD remains solely responsible for the implementation of the approved CALWMP and the operation and administration of the service. The CRD is also responsible to meet the requirements and necessary timelines to comply with regulations.

The role of the Independent Manager and Fairness and Transparency Advisor, as contemplated in the draft TOR for an Options Study considered by the Committee last month, may be more appropriate to re-evaluate in a few months' time when options developed by participants on a sub-regional basis are integrated into one overall plan amendment.

ALTERNATIVES

1. That the Core Area Liquid Waste Management Committee recommend to the CRD Board: a) that the principles and approaches for all participants moving forward found in Appendix B be endorsed; b) that the formation of a subcommittee for the Westside participants be approved and staff be directed to develop terms of reference for a Westside Liquid Waste subcommittee for approval; c) that immediate engagement and consultation with Westside residents, as determined by the subcommittee, be approved and that staff support resident engagement as requested by any participant within their jurisdiction; d) that an update to the Core Area Technical and Community Advisory Committee be provided; and e) that funding for community engagement and the evaluation of options for each participant be drawn from the annual capital funding requisition on a participant basis.
2. That staff be directed to complete the TOR for an options study for all participants of the service and submit at the next meeting of the CALWMC.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The principles outlined in Appendix B will govern total cost and distribution of grants and funding if approved in the agreement renegotiating process with the provincial and federal governments.

Funding for planning and development of Westside participant options will be drawn from the annual capital funding requisition and funded by the Westside participants only. The work will be managed and administered by CRD staff under the direction of the Westside subcommittee. This approach could be undertaken by other participants of the service, if desired. Initial funding in the amount of $50,000 would allow the Westside participants to immediately undertake engagement activities with a further detailed workplan and budget to be presented to the Westside subcommittee for approval.

INTERGOVERNMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

The subcommittee approach mirrors a Westside subcommittee made up of Colwood and Langford that was established in October 2009 for a similar purpose. Governance changes to support the Westside proposal could be developed to support a similar approach for the other participants to work with their neighbours or each other in any combination.

The Songhees First Nation would like representation on both the Westside subcommittee and the technical working group. This approach does not limit First Nations from also participating in other subcommittees that may be formed by the participants or individually.

The CALWMP and sewage treatment options for the Core Area remain the sole responsibility and accountability of the CRD. The proposal outlined above and adherence to the principles in Appendix B preserve this fundamental principle while maintaining the autonomy of the municipalities over land use decision making and the participants taking a lead role in consultation with the public.