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Editorial: Guard the water supply

The dirt is coming, and residents of Shawnigan Lake are afraid of what it means for their community.

The dirt is coming, and residents of Shawnigan Lake are afraid of what it means for their community. Last week, the province’s Environmental Appeal Board decided to uphold a permit for South Island Aggregates to take as much as 100,000 tonnes a year of contaminated soil. The company expects that operations at its Stebbings Road site could begin with 90 days.

People who live in the area fear that contaminants could leak into the watershed that supplies their drinking water. They have waged a hard and bitter fight to stop the trucks from rolling. The appeal to the board was the latest step in that fight.

The company says the construction of the site and the precautions it is taking will keep the water safe. And the appeal board has agreed, saying: “The panel ultimately finds that, on a balance of probabilities, the geology and hydrogeology of the site and the facility design, together with the permit conditions, will provide the required protections.”

For the residents, “on a balance of probabilities” is not nearly certain enough when their health is at stake. They feel betrayed by elected and appointed officials they believe should be protecting them.

Environment officials and the appeal board have reviewed the science and concluded that it supports the permit, but the government owes it to the residents to do everything it can to ensure their nightmares don’t come true.

The site must be carefully monitored, and well-designed emergency plans put in place. The operating conditions set by the board have to be enforced.

The government’s responsibility does not end with issuing the permit. It must take clean water as seriously as the residents do.