York Region cries foul over delay in sewage project

Officials say they've been waiting since 2014 for approval from the environment ministry for the $715-million Upper York Sewage Solutions project that will service Aurora, Newmarket and East Gwillimbury.

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 17, 2018
By Noor Javed

Parts of York Region could soon be facing a sewage crisis after the province's approval plans for a proposed waste water plant in the municipality appear to have gone stagnant.

York Region officials say they have been waiting since 2014 for approval from the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change for the $715-million Upper York Sewage Solutions project that will service the municipalities of Aurora, Newmarket and East Gwillimbury - and still have no idea if and when they'll get the green light.

In a report to council last month, staff wrote that the "extraordinary approval delay" could lead to a public health and environmental risk if there is spillage from current infrastructure. And they want the province to pay for an emergency response plan and the clean up, if it comes to that.

"When you think you are going to have something ... and then you still don't have it and there's been no feedback as to when the review will be concluded ... we just don't know," said Mike Rabeau, York Region's director of capital planning and delivery for environmental services. He noted the region completed all of its studies and submitted an individual environmental assessment in 2014, and has spent $65-million on the project thus far.

According to the staff report, the approval delay is due to the provincial duty to consult with the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, who live on the island in Lake Simcoe, which will be most affected by the 40-million litres of treated sewage that will be released daily into the East Holland River and eventually make its way into the lake. The consultation was to begin in December 2016, and take six months.

Rabeau said they haven't been informed about what's holding it up: "That's a lack of certainty. We are not in control of it. We just don't know how they run that process."

But the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation say they too have been waiting for months for the province to seriously engage them in the consultation process, and have been told funding they had asked for to conduct independent tests on the impact of the effluent from the plant is no longer there.

In a letter to the ministry last month, they said their "faith in the process" continues to diminish after being told the file has been reassigned to the fourth minister in five months.

"We have not been involved enough in this project, and they keep downplaying the First Nations interest," said Chief Donna Big Canoe, of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation.

"Nothing's moved since last year," she said, adding two main studies they had requested funding for including a Health Impact Assessment and Traditional Ecological Knowledge study have yet to be done and have had their funding cancelled.

The environment ministry did not provide any details as to where it is in the consultation process, simply saying, "The ministry continues to engage with the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation," said spokesman Gary Wheeler.

He said due to a conflict with the new environment Minister Chris Ballard, the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry is now overseeing the file.

He said the environment ministry is still reviewing the environmental assessment for the project: "The ministry is responsible for ensuring that the environmental assessment process is completed in accordance with the act. Once the ministry is satisfied, the application will move forward for a decision."

But Rabeau said the region can't wait much longer - and believes the environment ministry's "outstanding issues with the First Nations has significantly delayed approval of the individual environmental assessment."

The Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation say it is unfair to place the blame on them. Big Canoe said they have constantly been trying to work with all the parties at the table - only to be sidelined each time.

The islanders say they require over $300,000 in funds to sufficiently review the documents that have been produced as part of the environmental assessment, and complete the Health Impact Assessment and Traditional Ecological Knowledge study.

"Upon the completion of these studies and only upon the completion of all the studies, will there be enough evidence to make a comprehensive decision," the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation wrote in a letter to the environment ministry.

The Region of York insists the technology for the sewage project is "the most advanced in the country."

Rabeau said the strict provincial guidelines around the Lake Simcoe watershed, due to high levels of phosphorus in the water, compelled the region to come up with a solution never seen before in Canada.

"There's nothing built like this in Canada," said Rabeau. "And it's well beyond anything already being done on the lake," which is also home to 14 other sewage plants that have been dumping effluent into the lake for decades.

But as the delay goes on, there is concern the technology could become outdated, said Rabeau.

In the meantime, Rabeau said concerns are growing around a single sewage forcemain, or pumping station, that runs in Newmarket. "If the current forcemain has a break in it - it's been operating for 30 years - we can't get into it to do proper inspections because it always needs to be used," he said.

"It's getting to the age that it's starting to become a concern," he said, adding there are plans to build a second forcemain beside it, as the delay continues.

The region is also concerned further delay will limit development in northern York Region, Rabeau said. There are parts of East Gwillimbury that are still connected to the septic system, given limited sewage allocation in the area, and cannot grow without adequate sewage capacity.

The Upper York Sewage Solutions project will provide sewage facilities to 153,000 residents in northern York Region. Currently, most of southern York Region's sewage is sent to Lake Ontario, via Durham, through the York Durham sewage system, known as the Big Pipe, which was built in the late 1970s and early '80s.