Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors, and staff, faced tough questions from the public after confirming the results of an Alternative Approval Process (AAP) on borrowing up to $5-million, over a 30-year term, for the Chapman Lake expansion project.
The results were presented at the July 28 SCRD board meeting. The threshold to reject the AAP was 1,888 eligible electors. Only 969 valid forms were received by the deadline of 4:30 p.m. July 26. SCRD officials said 88 forms were ruled invalid, mainly because they were filed by voters outside the areas eligible to participate.
The board went on to adopt a bylaw that gives the SCRD a five-year window to borrow the money without having to go back to voters for authorization.
Work to create a deeper outlet from the lake to allow an extra five metres of draw down if the area is hit by a drought still needs provincial approval, which hinges on an environmental impact study.
During the public question period at the end of the board meeting, a handful of audience members asked directors to justify the project – and its potential environmental effects – and defend the public engagement process during the AAP.
Roberts Creek resident Lynn Chapman was one of those with questions for the directors. “If we don’t preserve the ecological integrity of that system, if we run the risk of destroying that system, that’s our watershed, that’s our water, that’s it – gone,” she said. “I don’t understand how you got to this, and I’m really upset with my director and I’m really upset with all of you as individuals for not explaining it clearly enough.”
Pender Harbour director Frank Mauro, the SCRD vice chair, explained that the AAP was on the specific question of how to pay for the project, not the project itself, which he said the public had lots of opportunity to comment on leading up to the adoption of the Comprehensive Regional Water Plan.
“All of this was presented to people up and down the Coast [when the water plan was debated],” added chair, and Halfmoon Bay director, Garry Nohr. “There were all kinds of public meetings … so I think it’s been handled, and the environmental study that’s going to be done this fall will clear up a lot of the myths. If [the project is] a danger, I’m sure it will show in that study, and I’m one who is going to be concerned about that.”
Mark Lebbell, director for Roberts Creek, also said the SCRD has been doing a lot to inform the public about the water plan in general, and the Chapman Lake expansion project in particular.
“The SCRD shares the community’s concerns for the environmental impact that such a project could have on the Tetrahedron Provincial Park,” said SCRD general manager of infrastructure services Bryan Shoji, in a release announcing the AAP result. “The project does require an environmental assessment and is subject to regulatory approvals. It is important to note that the SCRD is committed to these processes. The field studies and work will be conducted throughout the summer of 2016.”
Repaying the loan will add an extra $23 in parcel tax to the levy for ratepayers who get SCRD water, as well as those on SCRD water in the District of Sechelt.
