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Lack of haste makes for waste in CRD sewage project: report

Regional politicians need to hammer out a sewage deal with Esquimalt on Wednesday or the only option left will be to call on the provincial government for help and begin incurring extra fees, says a new report.
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CRD politicians meet to discuss sewage project in August.

Regional politicians need to hammer out a sewage deal with Esquimalt on Wednesday or the only option left will be to call on the provincial government for help and begin incurring extra fees, says a new report.

Capital Regional District staff say if politicians on the sewage committee can’t finalize a rezoning deal with Esquimalt to allow a sewage treatment plant at McLoughlin Point, then “an impasse will have been reached” and the “assistance of the province should be sought in resolving the outstanding issues.”

That would mean several months of delays for arbitration, with each month costing approximately $900,000, according to the staff report to politicians.

“The resulting delay will have serious implications for the Seaterra program schedule,” the report said.

The delay price is made up of the cost of running the project office and the cost of inflation on the project’s $783-million budget, according to the civilian Seaterra commission overseeing the project.

The B.C. government does have the power to force a deal for McLoughlin, but has so far refused to take such action.

A tentative rezoning deal between the CRD and Esquimalt fell apart at a meeting last month.

Esquimalt wanted construction materials barged to McLoughlin Point to avoid traffic on local roads near homes and a school. But most CRD politicians refused to support barging because the cost was unknown.

CRD staff say barging would cost around $2.3 million, or less than one per cent of the $230-million capital budget for a treatment plant at McLoughlin Point.

The entire sewage project, including a sludge facility at Hartland landfill, is supposed to be complete by 2018.

The CRD sewage committee will have to decide on the rezoning issue Wednesday using basically the same tentative deal that many politicians criticized last month.

Staff at the CRD and Esquimalt are still proposing annual payments of $55,000 for five years, possible ownership of a district energy system, a $950,000 bike and path upgrade along Lyall Street and a $100,000 ocean walkway, as well as public art and meeting space.

The two sides are also quibbling about how far the treatment buildings can be set back from the ocean and property line. The companies shortlisted to bid on the project can’t meet Esquimalt’s limits, the CRD argues. Esquimalt has said the setbacks are necessary to preserve ocean access and prevent tsunami damage.

Acting Esquimalt Mayor Linda Hundleby said she’s not optimistic a deal can be struck Wednesday. The township’s staff is still operating under the direction and terms given by Esquimalt council, and aren’t authorized to make major concessions in negotiations, she said. “They’ve negotiated what we’ve asked for.”

Hundleby also blasted the CRD’s “bogus” claims of monthly delay fees. “That’s a veiled threat,” she said.

CRD staff say any delays will also undermine confidence in the project on the part of the three short-listed bidders, whose financial and technical proposals will have to be delayed.

rshaw@timescolonist.com