Mayor's Report - May 2007

It was in 1995 that Belcarra Council started to pursue regulations restricting the discharge of raw sewage into the waters of Bedwell Bay and Indian Arm. Now 12 years later, the Federal Government has finally enacted new regulations that align Canadian practices with international standards regarding the dumping of untreated sewage from all boats and ships along Canada’s coastal waters.

Over the intervening years there have been several follow-up requests to the Federal Government regarding the request for designation of Indian Arm, but change was not forth-coming. During the past four years myself and Councillor Drake have had discussions with our MP James Moore on this issue, and I am pleased to say that James “went to bat” for Belcarra and pursued this file on our behalf.

On May 8^th, James Moore joined the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment, to announce the next step in his long-fought efforts to keep Canada’s coastal waters clean from the dumping of sewage, garbage and other pollutants. “I have been fighting for these changes for years, I promised my constituents that if I was elected into Government we would take action to keep our local waters clean, and we are delivering results,” said Moore.

It was on June 17^th, 2006, that the federal government published notice of the new regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I, and initiated the requisite 90-day consultation period. The proposed regulations covered a wide variety of issues intended to reduce or eliminate pollution by oil, chemicals, sewage, garbage, anti-fouling paints, and air emissions from ships. Among the regulations is a complete ban on the dumping of untreated sewage from all boats and ships along Canada’s coastal waters. During the consultation period Transport Canada and Environment Canada received numerous comments from stakeholders which were taken into account in the finalization of the new regulations. The final notice of the new regulations was published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, on May 16^th, 2007. Key features of the new regulations include:

In July 1999 I reported that the region’s Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) would be enhanced to include policies for the protection of our region’s waterways, including Indian Arm. The GVRD’s interest in pleasure craft sewage management stems from policy and commitment statements in its LWMP which contains three commitments and one policy statement that relate to pleasure craft sewage management.

For many years Belcarra residents have wanted to see regulations implemented to protect the unique deep-water fjord of Indian Arm, and Council is very pleased that the Federal Government is finally pursuing these progressive measures to protect the marine environment.

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