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New Capital Regional District boss will head sewage committee

New Capital Regional District boss Nils Jensen has appointed himself to chair the standing committee charged with implementing sewage treatment.
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New CRD chairman Nils Jensen has already met with some mayors and hopes to meet soon with federal and provincial officials.

New Capital Regional District boss Nils Jensen has appointed himself to chair the standing committee charged with implementing sewage treatment.

“My thinking was this is a job you wouldn’t wish on anyone, but because it’s such an important priority, I felt I should take it on,” said Jensen of chairing what has been one of the region’s most dysfunctional committees.

Jensen, who was elected CRD board chairman in a secret ballot of directors on Dec. 9, has already met with some mayors and hopes to meet soon with Premier Christy Clark, B.C. Environment Minister Mary Polak and B.C.’s senior federal minister, James Moore, to clarify issues surrounding senior government funding.

The province and the federal government have committed to sharing two-thirds of the $782.7-million megaproject’s cost, with $253.4 million coming from the feds through the Building Canada Fund, the Green Infrastructure Fund and P3 Canada, and $248 million from the province.

But that funding is tied to the wastewater treatment program known as Seaterra, which would have seen a regional treatment plant built at Esquimalt’s McLoughlin Point and in operation by 2018.

Esquimalt’s refusal to rezone the site to permit the proposed plant — and the province’s subsequent refusal to override that decision — has many worried that some or all of the senior government funding is at risk.

“That’s one of the first things I want to clarify and put beyond argument,” Jensen said. “What is the federal government’s position in terms of the grants? Can they be extended? Can they be renewed? Will they be transferable to other locations? And similarly for the province.”

With McLoughlin off the table, options for sub-regional treatment plants are being explored.

The west side communities of Esquimalt, View Royal, Colwood and Langford, along with the Songhees First Nation, have formed a select committee to consult with residents to explore their options. It’s expected a similar committee of representatives of the east-side municipalities of Saanich, Oak Bay and Victoria will soon be formed. Victoria has instructed staff to report back on potential sites for a local or sub-regional plant.

Jensen will be chairing a sewage committee that has several familiar faces. He’s reappointed all of the returning members: Victoria councillors Geoff Young, Ben Isitt and Marianne Alto; Saanich councillors Vic Derman, Judy Brownoff and Susan Brice; Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins; Langford councillors Denise Blackwell and Lanny Seaton; and Colwood Mayor Carol Hamilton. Newly elected directors include Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, View Royal Mayor David Screech, Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell and Saanich Coun. Colin Plant.

Jensen admitted that moving the difficult sewage treatment file forward will be challenging.

“But I think there’s renewed hope and interest in working together. I’ve had meetings with director Atwell and director Helps, and what we’ve talked about is a collaborative effort moving forward.”

bcleverley@timescolonist.com