Fresh water for 12,000 people is being destroyed in Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
- by: Paul Chorney
- recipient: Catherine McKenna, The Canadian Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change
The BC Ministry of the Environment has granted a permit to South Island Aggregates (AKA Cobble Hill Holdings) in partnership with Alterra, and Active Earth Engineering, to dump 100,000 tons of toxic soil per year for 50 years, in a quarry above the watershed of beautiful Shawnigan Lake, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The lake is the drinking water source for 12,000 people and provides habitat for fish, birds and a huge host of other aquatic and wildlife. The BC Environment Minister (Mary Polak) has allowed the company to police itself and submit it's own safety and compliance data. Toxic pollutants (sulphur, heavy metals, etc.) are being washed into the lake via the watershed at an alarming rate. It will take very little time to destroy the lake forever. Additionally, the BC Minister of the Environment (Mary Polak) has ignored a petition with 15,000 signatures that was submitted to her at the BC Legislature in Victoria on May 13, 2015. No riparian or environmental assessment was ever done. The water treatment facilities on the Stebbings Road site were never properly engineered or inspected. Water is not held in their settling ponds and the heavy fall rains have been washing the toxic sediment and polllutants into the watershed and the lake. We (the Shawnigan Residents Association and the Cowichan Valley Regional District) have challenged the company and the permit in BC Supreme Court and we await a court date. The province is complicit in the pollution of this lake. The Federal Minister of The Environment and Climate Change could be convinced to investigate the absence of environmental and riparian assessment data. Beautiful Shawnigan Lake is under environmental assault from the greed motivated environmental criminals mentioned and has been given carte blanche by our our provincial government. Please help us save our lake, our water and our community.
Dec. 7, 2015
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
The Honourable Catherine McKenna 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Dear Minister McKenna:
The people of Shawnigan Lake ask your urgent and immediate help to stop the unconscionable destruction of a large source of fresh drinking water and a beautiful recreation area. I speak specifically of Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island, in the province of British Columbia. I am one of 12,000 residents in this community. The brief specifics of the situation consist of the granting of a permit to South Island Aggregates (SIA), AKA Cobble Hill Holdings, to dump 100,000 tons of toxic soil per year, for 50 years, in a high elevation quarry above the Shawnigan Lake water shed. This permit has been granted by the BC Ministry of Environment without due process and has relied on existing and flawed legislation that promotes possible conflict of interest and corruption. It allows the permit applicant to submit and validate environmental credentials and site specific data instead of independent, non-partisan and rigorous government and private assessment, which should be funded by the applicant regardless of findings, to determine safety and compliance in the protection of environmentally sensitive areas. Currently, contaminated water from the site has breached containment systems that were never properly designed or independently inspected. Toxic sediment and water is being introduced into Shawnigan Lake at a very rapid rate. The heavy rains in the past few months have exacerbated the situation and yet Mary Polak, the BC Environment Minister, remains indifferent to the destruction of that which she has sworn to protect, and has deferred the entire situation to the existing and flawed legislation. A petition with 15,000 signatures was submitted to the BC legislature during a mass rally on May 13, 2015, with no effect. The Cowichan Valley Regional District and the residents of Shawnigan Lake are involved in a very costly BC Supreme Court challenge to rescind the permit. The eventual and irreversible destruction of our lake is inevitable. Unbelievably, the BC Environmental Appeals Board has previously denied the peoples application to rescind the permit. The BC Environment Minister has refused to act and has chosen to continue to allow dumping of this toxic material. Minister McKennna, millions of Canadians have very high hopes for you as our Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Your efforts at the Paris climate talks and with so many other issues are vital to the integrity of our international and domestic reputation and prosperity. But how can anyone have hope, faith and support in a government or system that compromises drinking water for thousands of people? The BC Environment Minister has failed to protect our environment and ignored her mandate. She has the power to over-turn this permit immediately. We citizens gave her that power and she has denied us representation and ignored the pleas of the people to our right for safe drinking water, while a corporate entity rakes in the profit and destroys our community. I end with one last thought. It is not enough to talk about environmental protection. Talk is cheap. Further, it is the mere appearance of impropriety which can cause political and public unrest. Firm and decisive action is essential to protect the environment before it is ever compromised and it should be backed up by strong legislation with severe penalties for contravention. Only this way can we ensure the survival of our children and our planet. This should be our mantra as proud Canadians. Unfortunately, to this end, Canada has very little to be proud of yet, especially here in supposedly “Beautiful British Columbia”. Mary Polak has seen to that. I urgently petition you Minister McKenna, to investigate the non compliance of the company, the negligence of permit process, and the aggressive pollution activities being carried out at Shawnigan Lake, and force SIA to cease operations and stop the irreversible destruction of Shawnigan Lake. We respectfully await your response.
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