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City of Powell River establishing liquid waste plan monitoring committee

Group will monitor implementation of management plan
waste committee
NEW APPOINTMENTS: City of Powell River councillors voted for the establishment of a monitoring committee for the city’s liquid waste management plan at the October 15 city council meeting. Paul Galinski photo

City of Powell River will be establishing a liquid waste management plan monitoring committee to advise on matters pertaining to implementation of its liquid waste management plan.

At the October 15 city council meeting, councillor Jim Palm said it was important to point out that terms of reference for the committee will be posted on the city’s website.

“The liquid waste management plan monitoring committee will be provided with updates and progress reports while the treatment facility is being built, as it is an important and vital part of the plan,” said Palm. “As per the draft terms of reference, advice on the construction, community outreach, architecture, contract tendering, required technician expertise, and so on, is beyond the scope of the plan monitoring committee. Should such advice be sought, council will refer the matter to the committee for review and recommendations.

“It is important to note that the monitoring committee is responsible for monitoring implementation of the liquid waste management plan and not supervising infrastructure services staff or overseeing project management of the consolidated wastewater treatment facility construction.”

Councillor George Doubt asked how long it would take to get applications from the community and the appointments of committee members.

“Do you have an estimate of how long it will be before the committee will be ready?” asked Doubt.

Corporate officer Chris Jackson said there will be advertisements for the positions and if all goes well, appointments will be reviewed in early December.

Mayor Dave Formosa said he was not clear on whether the city was bound to create the committee by legislation.

“Is this part of the recommendations from the province as part of the funds that are coming forward?” asked Formosa.

Chief administrative officer Russell Brewer said formation of the committee was not a requirement of the province.

“It was not included in the approval letter that we received from the ministry of environment,” said Brewer. “However, it is included in a recommendation in their guidelines. It’s not a requirement of the funding we’ve received to build our treatment plant, however, council included it in the strategic plan to establish the committee.”

Council unanimously voted for establishment of the committee.

The committee will be comprised of councillor Jim Palm, representing the city and serving as chair, and Tla’amin Nation and qathet Regional District will be invited to appoint representatives. There will also be up to four public-at-large members on the committee and staff will be directed to advertise for people to serve on the committee.

The window for applications will close on November 12 at 4:30 pm.