The Friends of the Jock River

A non-profit, charitable environmental organization
managed and supported by volunteers in the Jock River watershed
www.geocities.com/jockriver

P.O. Box 764,
 Richmond, ON
 K0A 2Z0

June 22, 2003

 Mrs. Janet Stavinga

Vice-Chair - RVCA
Councillor - Ward 6
City of Ottawa
110 Laurier St.,
Ottawa, ON
K1P 1J1

Dear Mrs. Stavinga:

Re: City of Ottawa and Conservation Authorities environmental agreement

On June 10, 2003, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority issued a press release announcing the signing of an environmental agreement between the City of Ottawa and the three Conservation Authorities serving the territory of the new city.

As signatory as Vice-Chair of the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, you were quoted as saying “This agreement represents a big step towards ensuring we achieve our municipal environmental protection goals.  Using our partners, building on the Transition Board recommendations, improving service to our citizens, reducing the cost of municipal service and protecting our city environment more effectively are all real benefits we can be proud of.” 

The RVCA press release goes on to say “The new partnership provides several advantages to taxpayers, the city and the environment.  Each planning application will now get a consistent, independent and “ecosystem-based” review based on the watershed principle.  Conservation Authority professionals are in an ideal situation to provide the comprehensive review required to recognize the cumulative effects associated with development from the larger watershed perspective.  City staff and decision-makers now have the mechanism to build this valuable safety feature into their planning decisions through a proven cost-effective partnership with watershed professionals.  By bridging urban and rural environmental issues and having ready access to an existing staff of septic specialists, hydrogeologists, biologists and environmental databanks, the Conservation Partners will bring consistency, quick turn around and high quality customer service to city applicants.”

The day after the press release, you orchestrated the passage of a motion by City Council that would provide for the installation of a forcemain pipeline to transport Munster’s sewage to Richmond, a trip of 11.3 km through 1.7 km of the Richmond Fen Wetland (a provincially significant wetland) and past approximately 140 homes that depend on shallow wells for their water.  In this meeting, you publicly dismissed the environmental and health concerns raised by local environmental organizations, and by many residents of Richmond, Munster, and your ward.  Worse still, your dismissal provides no evidence to refute these concerns, and it flies in the face of historical data on pipeline ruptures and information from the City’s own Director of Infrastructure that sewage forcemains do indeed rupture.  In dismissing these concerns, you also disregarded your own previously-made statements that acknowledge the pipe option does carry risks.

Considering that viable, high technology, on-site treatment options exist and that none carry the environmental or health concerns mentioned above, your support of the pipe option is outlandish and incomprehensible.  Your zealous support for the pipeline option places you in direct conflict with sound environmental principles, your environmentally-based statements in the RVCA press release and your responsibilities as Vice Chair of the RVCA.  Consequently, I am asking for your resignation as Vice Chair and Director of the RVCA.

Sincerely,

Brian Finch
President
Friends of the Jock River

CC.
Mr. John H. Miller, (Chair, Board of Directors, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority)

Mr. Bill Royds (Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital)
Mr. Ken McRae
Mr. Stan Rosenbaum (Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club)
Mr. Frank Pope (Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club)
Mr. Rob Marler (Ottawa Field Naturalists' Club)
Mr. David Taylor (Friends of the Tay River Watershed)
Mr. Paul Koch (Ottawa Environmental Advisory Committee)
Ms. Susan Springthorpe (Ottawa Environmental Advisory Committee)
Ms. Andrea Peart (Sierra Club of Canada)
Ms. Maureen Reilly (Sierra Club of Canada)
Mr. Ted Brown (Richmond Village Association)
Mr. Harvey Snyder (Richmond Village Association)
Mr. Dell Hallett (General Manager, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority)
Mr. Jim Poushinsky (Ottawa Citizens Against Pollution by Sewage)


Attch: 9 June 2003 letter to City of Ottawa council