Munster Hamlet is a pocket of development in the far reaches of Goulbourn noted for only two things: First, its odd name and, more important, its sewage.

City councillors, and their predecessors at the regional government, have been trying since 1996 to find an acceptable way to replace Munster's leaky sewage lagoons.

Up until this week, the short version of the story was $6.2 million spent and no solution.

In its quest, city staff has racked up consultants' bills for $1.6 million, producing a mound of reports more than a foot high. The city favoured a sewage pipeline as the solution, but that plan was taken to the Ontario Municipal Board, where the city was told to re-evaluate alternatives. The city appealed the OMB decision in court and lost.

While all this was going on, the city has been hauling sewage out of Munster at a cost of $500,000 a year, under threat of being charged by the Ministry of the Environment for problems with the defective sewage treatment system.

So after all that, it was a bit of a surprise Tuesday to see the city's environmental services committee approve a pipeline to solve the sewage problem, all without a minute of debate. All it took was an impassioned speech by Councillor Janet Stavinga, who represents Goulbourn.

The pipeline solution ought to have led to some probing discussion, because it's almost certainly the most expensive of three alternatives. Last December, an independent consultant the city was compelled to hire as a result of the OMB hearing determined the pipeline and two types of on-site treatment plants would all do the job, but the on-site plants were preferable because of the pipeline's cost.

That seemed to be the wrong answer, from the city's perspective. The same consultants were asked to look at the matter further, and come up with some new numbers.

The massaging the consultants and city staff have produced to show the merits of the pipeline solution is magical to behold. Capital costs were added to both the other alternatives, although the companies that were actually going to provide the treatment plants say their offers include all costs.

The pipeline originally was shown as costing between $6.1 million and $7.1 million, approximately twice as much as the two alternatives. Adding new capital components to two of the solutions brought the costs closer together, but there was still a gap of $1 million to $2 million. City staff closed that further by adding its opinion on expected operating costs. Over a 20-year term, the pipeline was still most expensive. Over 60 years, the three options are neck-and-neck, but over 90 years, the pipeline is the cheapest.

Over the years, the city and its consultants have offered pipeline costs ranging from $5.8 million to $14.6 million. The figure cited now is still a guess since the project hasn't been tendered. Staff thinks it can figure out how much the three systems will cost to operate over 90 years? That's a stretch.

This looks like more than yet another chapter in an old story at the city. The private sector is invited to bid on public work, but in the end, government decides to do the job itself because the table is tilted against the private companies, or the city simply refuses to accept anyone else is competent.

Seprotech, one of the companies offering on-site treatment, involves technology already in use in 400 locations. The city has agreed to a small pilot project in Manotick using the same system. The other company, Northern Watertek, was ranked first by the consultants.

In the end, staff says there is just too much risk with the private sector solutions. Even if the companies guarantee cost and results and back it up with a letter of credit, it still isn't good enough. The city already has sewage pipelines, and is more confident in that answer. The other factor is the province's environmental assessment regulations. It appears that either of the on-site treatment plants might trigger another assessment process, although one would think that could have been negotiated with the Ministry of the Environment, which is eager for a solution.

The decision-making in this matter is exceptionally complex, because it involves conflicting consultants' reports, city staff, popular opinion and political decision making. Staff says its pipeline recommendation is simply its best, disinterested professional advice. That may be true, but the fact the city has been fighting to get the pipeline, and Munster residents apparently favour it, would tend to colour the outcome. Stavinga has been pushing this matter hard, and doesn't want more delays. It's a pity even after numerous studies and reports, the city still can't make a convincing case for the pipeline. The numbers it has shown to support that choice are pretty creative. The weakness of the city's argument has encouraged the proponents of the other two technologies to seek further action, either in court or at the OMB. The meter's ticking, and this one isn't over yet.

Contact Randall Denley at 596-3756 or by e-mail, rdenley@thecitizen.canwest.com

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