Cedar Island Road residents are raising a stink about the city’s plan to build a new sewage pumping station within a stone’s throw of a creek that flows into nearby Lake Couchiching.
“It boggles the mind,” Elgin Bay condo resident Tom Griffiths said of the city plan. “People in the condo and neighbours are universally opposed to the idea.”
The new sewage pumping station, to be constructed east of Cedar Island Road adjacent to the parking lot of the condo near the Lightfoot Trail, is part of a larger plan by the city to realign Centennial Drive and improve the city’s infrastructure in the area.
Currently, the city relies on a sewage pumping station on Elgin Street for this area of town; it is part of a network of 20 such stations across the city. However, the facility is aged and is unable to accommodate the future development.
“The problem with the current site (on Elgin Street) is the footprint we own is too small (and) we wouldn’t be able to construct a pump station that we would need without acquiring more land,” said Wesley Cyr, the city’s manager of engineering and transportation. “This preferred alternative did not require any land acquisition.”
That is the primary reason the city chose the proposed site, said Griffiths, noting that makes it easier “operationally” for the city. However, the site is problematic for many reasons, he said.
Griffiths, a retired environmental consultant, noted the new facility will be built on a floodplain on “reclaimed land” formerly home to sawmills. “A lot of the (land) is just sawdust and that just makes it more incredible.”
On top of that, he said, the pumping station sits beside a creek that flows into Lake Couchiching. “What if they had a major spill?” asked Griffiths. “It’s going to go in the lake.” He is also concerned about the prospect of storing sewage on the site, below the water table, and is also worried about potential spillage from the backup diesel generator. “What if the backup fails?”
Cyr said he understood the residents’ concerns; he and other staff and city councillors have met with the residents. But he stressed there are safeguards built in to ensure safety.
“These are all legitimate concerns for people that may have to be in the immediate area of a sewage pump station,” Cyr conceded. “But the environmental regulations are put in place to protect certain things like environmental land and water contamination as well as air contamination … so things are put in place to make sure the impact is managed and minimized.”
For example, he said, the city “built in reserve capacity in this station so if there was a pump failure, including the redundant pump, then we’d have three to four hours to get trucks on site to be able to pump those out before it spilled out on to the road. There is a spill contingency process that’s in place.”
The new pumping station and other potential changes have been the subject of a lengthy environmental study process, said Cyr. He noted there have been two “public information centres” related to the project as well.
Within a matter of weeks, it’s expected the environmental study report will be published on the city’s website. There is then a 30-day comment period during which residents can weigh in with concerns, said Cyr.
Griffiths said he plans to appeal the plan during that time.
“Within this process is a means for individuals to take this to a higher level to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change directly,” said Griffiths, who plans to court the support of newly elected Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop. “If the city goes ahead with this crazy idea, I’ve already told them I will appeal.”
Such an appeal, he said, would, potentially, trigger a more extensive risk assessment. “What they’ve done (to date) is a municipal class assessment which is sort of a broad-brush approach that is not very rigorous. This would force an environmental assessment based on the concerns raised.”
Cyr said it’s not uncommon for residents to take advantage of this mechanism.
“What a resident can do, once this report is registered and within those 30 days, is ask the ministry for what’s called a Part 2 order or a ‘bump up’ process,” said Cyr. “They would have to do additional studies and additional work related to those concerns. Sewage pump stations are fairly contentious when in residential areas (so this) does happen throughout Ontario.”
Once the plan is approved, the new station will be subject to a detailed design process, said Cyr. He said the facility could be built in a bungalow style to fit into the neighbourhood or much of it could be built below-ground so it doesn’t impact the aesthetic look of the area.
