[LookOutSugarLake] MOE and Silver Star/Vance Creek

[handr at telus.net]

Hello all,

I had a phone conversation on Friday with one of the senior managers  
at the Environment Protection Division of the Ministry of Environment  
(MOE) that once again, made me very glad to have en enlightened  
Regional District and such vigilant people in SLAMSS! I have  
summarized the main points of this conversation at the end of this  
email for those of you interested in reading it. The gist of it is  
that it looks like MOE will set conditions on the Kokanee Lodge  
effluent discharge that would not have been set had we not insisted  
as much as we did. So, good on us all for this small victory!

However, seeing we want NO discharge to water at all, it is in our  
best interest to strongly support our NORD reps through all this (so  
that permits are not issued) and to remain vigilant with what is  
happening in our areas, particularly regarding any request for zoning  
changes. As well we should all closely read our OCP and propose  
changes to it that will prevent any such problems from happening in  
the future. Development permits will be occurring more and more as  
land becomes more difficult to obtain .. Just look at what is  
happening at Silver Star...

Apparently Silver Star is dumping their effluents into Vance Creek  
(which goes into Bessette Creek, then the Shuswap River, then Mabel  
Lake). As well Silver Star is building a dam on Vance Creek (or a  
tributary) that will be used for snowmaking and to service a large  
residential development. This will remove a lot of water from  
Bessette, therefore removing a lot of dilution from Lumby's effluents  
as they all go into Bessette.  This is the same Bessette where the  
Pacific chinook and endangered coho come to spawn. How can this be  
happening when 50 million $ are being spent on the Pacific Salmon  
this year alone? I will find out what DFO has done and is doing and  
get back to you as this is clearly something they must oppose.

Please let me know if you have more info on this Silver Star issue -   
I know many people on Trinity Valley are upset and have written  
letters to NORD and to MOE but as we now know, only MOE can act on  
effluent discharges, as NORD has no legislation regarding effluent  
discharges and once the development exists, there is very little one  
can do. Even when untreated effluents end up in the water, the only  
thing that happens is a boil water advisory (doesn't work for the  
fish and duck though).

As to the dam, again MOE is the one that must provide NORD with full  
regulatory approval (from the Dam Safety Branch and the Licencing  
Branch of the Water Stewardship Division) - As well this project is  
happening on Crown Land on which NORD has no jurisdiction.

It is anticipated that the licencing process will ensure that the  
appropriate environmental downstream impact will be undertaken - the  
nature, extent and satisfactory completion of these studies are  
determined by MOE - The licence applications are supposed to be  
published, which will give downstream licence holders the option to  
voice concerns - of course SLAMSS and anyone who cares for the health  
and preservation of Vance Creek, Bessette, the Shuswap, and all  
wildlife that live in it including the Pacific salmon, should also  
voice their concerns. Stay tuned.... more on this as we receive more  
information,

Huguette

Summary of Friday's conversation with MOE:

MOE: Discharging effluents to water is being done all over the world  
and is definitely an OK thing to do.
Me: Says who?

MOE: All the biologists that are hired to test the results.
Me: Would they be the same biologists who are trained to recommend  
discharges to water? They are not likely to find a problem testing  
for the stuff they were trained to make sure is removed, but they  
don't test for pharmaceuticals and poisons that remain even after  
full treatment is done. New studies are now showing that those  
compounds are present even in drinking water that has been treated!  
We now also know that the mixture of all these substances is creating  
new compounds, whose effects are not yet known. We do know these  
substances are causing fish to change genders, are causing mussels to  
release their eggs too early for survival and are causing gross  
malformations in many aquatic animals. Don't you think this can also  
cause cancers, hormonal problems, and all sorts of other behavioral  
problems in humans too?

MOE: No. I am a person who eats only organic food and exercise every  
day and I have no problem drinking the water coming out of those  
systems.
Me: Would you also drink water that comes out of your own toilet as  
long as it went through a treatment system before it comes out of  
your tap?

MOE: We are counting on dilution and Sugar Lake is a big lake that  
can take a lot of effluent before anything would be felt.
Me: It is not a big lake and certainly not when it's at low water. As  
we know even big lakes are eventually affected so doing something  
that eventually results in pollution is Not a solution! Would you  
also drink the effluents that come out during the commissioning  
period? (that's the 3 months grace Kokanee lodge had applied for,  
from June 1st till August 31st, a time when the effluents would be  
incompletely treated or not treated at all...)

MOE: Seeing you were so adamant about that, we are now asking the  
developer to have a working system from day 1.
Me: (Nice to see we had an effect, although we're always told we are  
worried for nothing.) What about all the other concerns expressed  
from Interior Health and SLAMSS and Ministry of Transport? And who  
will test these effluents to make sure they meet the stated norms?

MOE: The developer will have to have someone test daily and we hear  
you also will be doing your own tests. We are doing the best we can -  
you are really barking up the wrong tree, we cannot do anything, the  
developer doesn't need a permit, all he has to do is register with us  
and he's done that.
Me: How will WE test? Has the developer agreed to pay for our tester?  
We are doing all this work without pay and certainly cannot afford to  
hire but think the developer or the ministry should do it - You can  
stop him if he doesn't meet conditions you set - so you can set  
conditions....

MOE: The developer will only pay for his own tests - you should pay  
for yours. We are setting conditions. But if you want to change  
things you have to change the MSR and you have to change your own  
Regional District OCP and .....
Me: Yes and we are working on all this but we'd also like to have you  
understand our concerns or somehow convince us they are not  
substantiated but so far, the more research we do, the more fearful  
we become as we are finding much more cause for alarm. How can you  
say there is nothing to worry about when you know of Shuswap Lake?

MOE: We only put a moratorium to allow them to do a liquid waste  
management plan. That is needed when there is too much  
development ......
Me: Now why would too much development be a problem when you say  
there is no problem at all with discharging to water ???

and it went on like this
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