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Friday, August 23, 2013
Soil dump approved, foes armed to appeal Shawnigan: skeptic aghast as province determines watershed treatment safe
Don Bodger
News Leader Pictorial
S
outh Island Aggregate has received the green light from the Ministry of Environment to establish a soil remediation facility within the Shawnigan Lake watershed. But the Shawnigan Residents Association and the Cowichan Valley Regional District both vow to put a stop to it yet by launching appeals. A Ministry of Environment press release indicated a statutory decision-maker, kept independent from the political process, approved the permit application. “The decision-maker looked at the proposed project, including associated environmental concerns and concluded that the proposal adheres to legislation and appropriately manages health and environmental concerns,’’ the release states. SIA is naturally pleased with the decision, allowing treatment and waste soil to be put in a landfill at its Stebbings Road facility. “The issuance of this permit reflects the rigourous environmental and technical assessment that SIA has undertaken over the past two years, demonstrating that waste can be safely treated and landfilled at this location, within the constraints of an engineered, permitted facility,’’ said president Bruce Fraser: Michael Kelly in a statement. politcal correction “We appreciate the feedback and comments received during the past year or so of consultation with the public and other stakeholders, and have incorporated this feedback into our final design and monitoring program.’’ Upon hearing of the decision, the Shawnigan Residents Association quickly announced it’s not done fighting. “We are deeply troubled by this decision,’’ said SRA director Calvin Cook in a media release. “The short and long term impact on our environment and drinking water has the potential to cripple our community. Clearly the best interests of the people of Shawnigan Lake were not the top priority in this case. We will fight this decision.’’ The SRA has retained Robert Anderson and Sean Hern to oppose the permit in front of the Environmental Appeal Board. The CVRD board of directors has also directed an appeal to the board be filed requesting the decision be overturned and a stay in the granting of the permit be issued. more on page 7
Search and rescue members scoured the Cowichan River near Skutz Falls Wednesday at about 4 p.m. for the missing woman from Tuesday’s incident.
Ashley Degraaf
Man dead, woman missing in river tragedy
Near Skutz Falls: Investigators fear the worst as they probe the Cowichan for woman last seen on rubber raft Ashley Degraaf
News Leader Pictorial
S
earch crews were out in full force yesterday in their second day of scouring the Cowichan River near Skutz Falls for a missing woman involved in an incident Tuesday that left an elderly man dead. “Shortly after 7:30 p.m....RCMP were dispatched to the Cowichan River, east of Skutz Falls, where witnesses had observed a body floating in the water,” stated Sgt. Wes Olsen in a press release. “Officers attended the scene and located the body in the water, near the shoreline. An RCMP diver along with members of the Lake Cowichan Volunteer Fire Department were able to retrieve the body of a deceased
elderly man.” Olsen confirmed the deceased and missing woman are from the Cowichan Valley but indications were they had recently moved here from the Lower Mainland. RCMP weren’t releasing names pending notification of next of kin, but did disclose the deceased was 84, and the missing woman 67. The B.C. Coroners Service is investigating the death, but there are no indications of foul play. “Information from other people in the area indicates the deceased was with a woman earlier in the day. He was seen fishing from the shoreline, and she was in a small inflatable boat on the water nearby,” said Olsen. “An inflatable raft has been located, overturned in the water at the base of the fish ladder.” A 12-hour search of the shoreline and waters was conducted Wednesday. Searchers
included Cowichan Search and Rescue, the RCMP dive team, an RCMP search dog, and an RCMP helicopter. “The chopper was out for a good hour and conducted an extensive search of the area the couple was last seen,” said Olsen. “And there was also an extensive search below the falls, in the area right under the falls, and the chopper also followed the length of the river for quite a ways down.” Witnesses indicated the woman was “small in stature,” which leads the search crews to the possibility the current took her farther down the river than they’d expect. “We strongly believe her to be in the water,” Olsen said. “If someone was on foot, or on water, we’d anticipate they would have seen the helicopter overhead. more on page 4