Thursday, June 5, 2014

Good News

Good news on the sewer system.Blake Medlar will be assisting the District of Tofino with the Liquid Waste Management Plan.
Mr. Medlar spent many years with the BC Ministry of Environment as

Section Head, Environment Management, Government and Compliance Section

BC Ministry of Environment, Environmental Protection Division

Directs, coordinates and plans regulatory activities regarding the authorization and monitoring of waste discharges throughout Vancouver Island and North Coast;
Delegated statutory authority of ‘Director” under British Columbia's Environmental Management Act;
Granting rights for waste discharges to the air, land and water by exercising Director’s authority;
Participant in the development of business plans and regional strategies;
Accountable for regulating waste management in the region through all sectors including agricultural, aquaculture, organic matter recycling, municipal solid and liquid waste
Responsible for building positive relationships with First Nations, Federal, Provincial, local governments, public as well as the commercial/industrial sector;
Accountable for engineering, technical reports and ministerial briefings prepared by staff;
Accountable for a sections annual budget;
Regional representative on many committees, recently a member for the Municipal Wastewater Regulation which governs municipal wastewater discharges.
Glad to see the District taking a more serious approach to wastewater management.......

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's my understanding that there are two different opinions regarding the effect of sewage discharge into the ocean, both arguments supported by many different groups of "experts". One side believes that this discharge is quite harmful to the environment, while the opposing side feels that the harm is minimal.
The issue remains unresolved, studies continue, and no one really knows what the final result of all this research is going to be.
To treat, or not to treat, this is the question....... it seems to be a question of economics vs environment. How much environmental benefit is there to be gained from the huge capital outlay that will be required to provide treatment facilities? Is this where the most bang for the environmental buck is to be found?
So, since large cities, big governments, other towns and municipalities across North America are already conducting extensive research on this matter..... what is to be gained by little Tofino conducting yet another "consultant" research project? How much is this gonna cost? Is this gentleman working for free? After his input is received, will council pay any attention to what he has to contribute? Or will it simply be back to the same old "political expediency" that we're used to?
Why is this being done? Why spend the money? Is there anything to be gained from this? Why not just wait, and let the thousands of other "experts" already studying this matter do the work, and then take advantage of their findings, instead?
Seems like an unnecessasary waste of time and money to me, just to put up a false image of "We're working on it!"

Anonymous said...

I could not agree more!!!!