Re: “Esquimalt sewage-plant deal stalls as politicians fret over barging cost,” Nov. 14.
The refusal to endorse Esquimalt’s mitigation requests by the Capital Regional District’s sewage committee is another example of how poorly run this project is. I was disappointed, but not surprised, by this decision.
I was disappointed because the mitigations were negotiated in good faith between the Township of Esquimalt and CRD staff. Rarely do we hear of negotiations going so well. Then to have “almost everyone” on the sewage committee cite the unknown costs of barging as “raising alarm bells” for them and leading to their refusal shows that they didn’t know what the CRD staff were doing.
The CRD offered barging as a means to mitigate public-safety concerns. You would think that the committee would have requested the costs for barging before this meeting.
This is where I’m not surprised. This project has not followed any kind of logical order. One thing is clear: The CRD’s lack of planning has caused the cost of this project to hemorrhage, not Esquimalt’s negotiated requests.
Heidi Hackman
Esquimalt
