Steerer

Bowen Island
sewage decisi

expected in

AN ENVIRONMENT Appeal Board decision i is expecied in.
- early May on the appeal of a Waste Management Branch
permit recently approved for the Snug Cove Improvement
District (SCID) that allows a daily/ discharge of 20,000

‘gallons of Bowen Island septictank quality sewage. into

Queen Charlotte Channel.

The appeal was launched by a -

group of Bowen Island residents
calling itself the Bowen Island Im-

“provement. Association (BJ 1A)
and was presented to the board in
an April 12 and 13 hearing.

In its presentation, BIT A main-
tained ‘the amount of primary-
treated effluent allowed under the
permit is too much,

BI!A argues in its appeal that
the original provincial Waste
Management Branch permit issued
to SCID to. discharge 8,869 gallons
per day of septic-tank quality. ef-
fluent. conforms to provincial ob-
jectives and would clean up the ex-
isting -scwage problem. Ali

“discharge over. that amount, the |
appellants. say,: should have: sec ©

ondary treatment... 3

The sewage would be discharged
from “29 private ‘lots in the Snug -
’ Cove district, via 2

three-inch :

/
” By TIMOTHY RENSHAW
News Reporter

Island’s Greater Vancouver
Regional District representative say
the sewage discharge project is an
attempt to solve, with the funds

seurrently available, the immediate

and serious health problem facing
‘the island from Snug Cove sewage,
which is seeping into ithe harbor
from inefficient septic tanks.
Computer studies, they say,
have concluded there would be

diameter: outfall. pipe 100 metres ‘|.

off ‘shore and 50 metres deep in

Queen’ Charlotte Channel. -

- But SCID. appealed the 8,869

; gallon. permit to’ Waste: Manage-
ment director -Rob Ferguson, who

_ overturned the’ department’s. deci- :
“sion”and ‘jssued SCID the 20,000

gallons-per-day discharge permit: it
had originally. requested.”

o) ds By: comparison,‘ the average. dai. ;
ly. sewage | ‘discharge, of : primary;.”

treated sewage. from. the © sewage
plant - beneath the Lions~ Gate

Bridge is between 16 and 22: mil- -

lion gallons.
But.the BLIA appellants argue

, that; Bowen Island’s Snug Cove’
. beach “is already closed to. swimm:--
ing. and’ shellfishing because of:

pollution from island sewage, and

issuing SCID.a permit to discharge “~

‘\"20,000 .gallons..per*day. will only
exacerbate the problem. ,
John: Rich, who | launched: the

_: appeal, “said “there have still been
.. > No actual ‘current’ studies. done to.
4, détermine ifthe discharge. will ‘re-’
> main-in the’ channel and be, ade-
Ls quately: dispersed or will be washed: i
°~ back” into Snug, Cove ' and Deep i

Bay. Bats pee,

“There is no ‘evidence’ to ‘say it.
will. stay under. the water,” Rich”.

said.. ‘They hope it will and we
‘ hope i it will too, but they just don’t

AN. ERROR ‘occurred ‘in. the

front: page photo caption of.
-the Wednesday, .'.April' 27
issue. of. the’ North. Shore:
News.

The; high “school rugby

~’standings:: mentioned’ in: the’
caption were . incorrect: In
» fact, Hillside Secondary is'in

fi rst® place; . Carson Graham
isin “second , place ‘and
“Argyle i is in third d place. ,

Auto. s. .

NORTH Shore chief public health .
inspector Bill Kimmett... his
department is in favor of the pro-
; jects . coef!

‘ minimal impact to the environment
fromthe permitted outfall.

The North Shore's chier public
health inspector Bill Kimmett reit-
crated April 14 that Bowen Island’
has a sewage problem cilused by:
malfunctioning septic” tanks and”.
, that his department i is in favor ofa
Sewage project for the istand.

In its presentation’ at the BLIA
‘appeal, SCID © said” the health
department raised: concerns about.
island poliution as carly as 1982,
and a” subsequent. consultant's:
report concluded the island: has a
limited “Capacity for ‘community
waste . water, management.’ The
| marine’

, { o
SCID estimates the average daily.
“effluent flow’ ‘from | all, sources:
“would be 13,000 gallons. ‘
+ The. additional 7,000 gallon
allowance, “SCID chairman Bill

. re K ae
“Classified Ads... ..39:
Doug Collins. 2... : 2.9
Editorial Page...

fone. & gre “99 :
28

a a
ie
3B

' presentation, 4

from a computer

flows and for possible future con-
nection of five undeveloped lots
within the 29-lot area.

Estimated cost of. building the

primary treatment facility, which
would include a 20,000-gallon sep-
tic tank, is $250,000. A secondary
treatment would cost an additional
$100,000. |

SCID. has applied to the
Ministry of Municipal Affairs for
revenue sharing to cover 50 er
cent of the system's ‘constructiqn
cost. The balance will be \ split
evenly between . the JGVRD | Land
Snug Cove property owners. \

A W982 Ministry” of
sanitary survey of Snug Cove con-
cluded existing sewage treatment
systems were inadequate and posed
a considerable and existing hazard
to health.

According to

SCID's | appeal

government. report using results

PLUME) that estimated sewage

dilution from an outfall 30. metres.
' below the low tide: waier level con-
cluded the discharge would’ be
, ‘tapped and diluted so ‘the possi- :
bility. of .pathogenic contamination .
. (would be seduced) to an insignifi-

cant level and climinates™ the re-

, quirement for chlorination.””

A subsequent engineering study
done ‘by Dayton & Knight Ltd. of
West Vancouver . concluded that
the cffluent discharge would ‘have
a negligible impact on the receiv:

ing environment."’

But, Rich said sewage ditution

using SCID's figures of 2.5 miltion .-

fecal -cotiform: ‘units per 100

millilitres of water dispersed at a’
. 5, 000-to-one ratio would still result.
in coliform counts of 500 units to”

100 millilitres of water.
‘ Recreational, beaches are closed

1o swimming: if they exceed .200 -
units per 100 iniliilitres of water.
But Riddell’ said regardless of

the. numbers Rich uses, engineering
studies ‘of the outfall have. con-
cluded the coliform bacteria would

“pose no threat to the environment.

Bowen . Island; GVRD™ repre-

sentative Gail Taylor said’ it is vital) |
steps be taken ‘now to solve: the”

island's pollution problem.)

The ‘sewage outfall,, she said;
could be augmented with, second-.
ary treatment in’the future.”
“We've got to gel started,’ she |

said, ‘‘and this (the sewage outfall)
is the first step. We've been argu-
ing over this thing for 10 years. We
can’t wait another 10 years.’*:

WEATHER

Friday and. Seturday, mainly i
cloudy wth a oe Showers. |

lay

Riddell said, is to allow for peak,

Health |

- 1986 provincial -

(known as

Tridas, April 29, 198% North Shore News

Pie | ll

SOMET IMES FUND RAISING can be a messy ‘business. North Van
couver-Capilsno, MLA :Angus Ree tearned this lesson the hard way

when he volunteered to be the recipient of a'recent pie-throwing event! |...
sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion’ North Vancouver (Pacific |)

118) branch. Squeaky clean Ree (top photo) anticipates the first pie
throw. Legion branch president. Tom Donnelly takes careful aim and |}
smears a ple in the ML. A's face (centre photo). Ree (above) seems to[ .
enjoy the experience. The legion brunch: raised $2,400 for: cancer |
research. - : : a _

NORTH ‘VANCOUVER | RCMP ‘recovered « over four.
pounds of cocaine worth an estimated: street value: of

- $800,000 after arresting two. people i in the Capilano aréa of
North Vancouver Monday; i

i an \ |
The April 25 drug’ seizure represents the largest single. Tecovery lot co-
caine on the North Shore i in years. /
Michael Anthony Johnston, 28, ‘of Vancouver, and Debra Irene
Gummow, 26,:of Red Deer, Alberta,- were jointly’ charged in ‘connection
with an incident in which the Canyon’ Court Motel on Capilano Road was /.
alleged to have been burglarized and an amount of cocaine seized. a
The two appeared Tuesday in:North Vancouver provincial’ court to am
face charges of break and enter and possession of narcotics for the pur. :
pose of trafficking. . .
The pair have been scheduled 10 appear in ‘court again May,2

>

ee cr Oe re at