POLICY REPORT
ENVIRONMENT

TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services

SUBJECT: Liquid Waste Management Plan - Stage 3

RECOMMENDATION

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

In the early 1970s, Council approved the policy of separating sanitary and storm sewers, starting in the West End and Downtown areas, in order to begin reducing and eliminating combined sewer overflows.

In 1981, the sewer separation policy was reaffirmed with the adoption of the 1% life cycle replacement policy for sewer mains as part of the Sewers Long Range Capital Plan.

Both of these policies were reaffirmed in the 1991 Policy on Vancouver's "Design and Service Level Standards for Sewer Collection Infrastructure", and have been reaffirmed as part of every Capital Plan since.

In October 1999, Council approved continued funding of the sewer main separation program, to replace approximately 1% of the sewer system annually, to target elimination of combined sewer overflows by the year 2050.

In May, 2000, Council endorsed the final Stage 2 Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP) for submission by the GVRD to the Province for approval.

Council has also previously approved a number of recommendations concerning the Liquid Waste Management Plan. Directions under the City Plan approved by Council include:

· consider environmental impacts when making decisions on land use, transportation, and City services;

· establish spending priorities for City and regional sewer, water and transportation improvements.

PURPOSE

This report summarizes the key issues in the GVRD's Stage 3 LWMP (copy enclosed) and recommends endorsement of the Plan. The Plan is to be submitted for approval to the GVRD Board in March 2001 and to the BC Government a short time later.

BACKGROUND

In accordance with the provincial Waste Management Act, the GVRD began a process to develop a LWMP to regulate liquid waste discharges in the region in 1986. The Stage 1 report was completed and forwarded to the Province in 1989. In response to the submission, the Province mandated a number of measures including the provision for secondary treatment at the Annacis and Lulu Island sewage treatment plants (STPs), fast tracking combined sewer overflow (CSO) reductions, implementing a regional source control bylaw, and implementing an environmental assessment program.

Since that time, considerable effort has been expended throughout the Region in meeting these requirements including construction of secondary treatment at the Annacis and Lulu Island STPs, improved source control bylaws and enforcement, and CSO reductions through sewer separation and operational improvements. In Vancouver, these efforts have resulted in CSO reductions of 30% overall and 40% at Clark Drive. Environmental assessments of treatment plant and storm outfalls have also been performed leading to an improved understanding of the impacts that these outfalls have on their receiving waters.

In August, 1999, a draft LWMP Stage 2 report was completed which provided policy statements and commitments for the GVRD and member municipalities. The commitments made on behalf of Vancouver involve policies which the City already has in place. Council endorsed the initial Stage 2 Policies and Commitments document on October 5, 1999 and a revised document on May 16, 2000. At the October 5th meeting, Council also approved the continued funding of the sewer main separation program, which replaces approximately 1% of the sewer system annually to target elimination of combined sewer overflows by the year 2050, in accordance with the Stage 2 Plan.

In June, 2000, the LWMP Stage 2 document was submitted to the Provincial Government and in October, 2000 it received the Minister's unconditional approval. Work commenced immediately on Stage 3, which provides the implementation schedules associated with the Plan.

DISCUSSION

The Liquid Waste Management Plan was defined during Stage 2 and documented in the Stage 2 LWMP Policies and Commitments document, dated March 2000. The Stage 3 work required the incorporation of the implementation schedules associated with specific GVRD and municipal commitments identified in the Plan. The work plan also included development of the terms of reference for two standing committees to be established under the plan - the Environmental Monitoring Committee and the Stormwater Interagency Liaison Group.

Stage 3 has included a review of the final document and implementation schedules by the Committees involved in the development of the LWMP - specifically the Regional Engineers Advisory Committee (REAC), the Public Advisory Committee, and the Agency Liaison Committee (senior provincial and federal government staff). Comments on the document and schedules were also received from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and Environment Canada. Suggestions were made by these senior ministries to clarify some of the Policies and Commitments being made in the Plan and these are reflected in the final document. The final Plan, dated February 2001, has been prepared and is being circulated to municipal councils for adoption prior to final consideration by the GVRD Board. Public comment on the final Plan is being received by the GVRD and there will be a special meeting of the GVRD's Sewerage and Drainage Committee to receive further public input on the Plan. The GVRD Board has targeted March 30, 2001 for final consideration of the Plan. It will then be submitted to the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks for final approval.

The major Vancouver commitment in the LWMP is to continue on with our 1% replacement program to target continuous combined sewer overflow reductions with their eventual elimination by the year 2050. This commitment has been previously endorsed by Council and is funded through the Capital Plan. Other commitments specific to Vancouver are fairly minor in nature and include undertaking integrated stormwater management planning in areas serviced by separated stormwater systems, continuing best management practices, such as catchbasin cleaning and street sweeping, adopting or updating stormwater policies or by-laws, and reviewing and updating our source control by-law as required. These commitments will generally be funded through existing budgets which will need to be continued in the future to meet our obligations.

Federal and Other Regulatory Legislation

Throughout Stage 2 and Stage 3, the GVRD and the municipalities have been working to demonstrate that the LWMP approach is feasible and defensible with respect to federal legislation. A series of workshops have been held involving all senior government agencies to ensure a common understanding of the benefits of the science-based approach to liquid waste management in the region. A final workshop is scheduled for March 5, 2001.

One of the desired outcomes of the process is for all parties to the BIEAP/FREMP (Burrard Inlet Environmental Action Program/Fraser River Estuary Management Program) partnership to sign an addendum to the BIEAP/FREMP memorandum of understanding. The BIEAP/FREMP partnership includes the GVRD, the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Vancouver Port Authority, the North Fraser Port Authority, and the Fraser River Port Authority. With the proposed addendum to the BIEAP/FREMP memorandum of understanding all parties would agree to:

· Support the LWMP and work towards its long term objectives;
· Participate in the LWMP updates scheduled to take place every five years;
· Review and comment upon the biennial LWMP progress reports and interim reports;
· Participate in the Environmental Monitoring Committee; and
· Identify any issues related to the LWMP that arise through these activities, or through other initiatives to the BIEAP and FREMP Management Committees.

One significant outstanding concern is the Vancouver Port Authority which has recently adopted an Outfalls Policy that includes a prescriptive end-of-pipe standards approach to authorization of discharges from municipal outfalls into Burrard Inlet. Under new Canada Marine Act regulations the Port is required to authorize all outfalls into Port waters. The current approach in the Port's Outfalls Policy is contrary to the receiving environment method developed in the LWMP and would result in a significantly different management scheme and capital works focus. A BIEAP/FREMP partnership task group has been struckto reconcile the VPA Policy with the current provincial and federal approval process for discharges, including the District's LWMP. The VPA Board has agreed to defer the implementation date of the Outfalls Policy to no later than July 1, 2001 pending progress made to complete the Stage 3 LWMP and the BIEAP/FREMP task group's work.

CONCLUSION

With the support of municipal staff, the GVRD is now seeking final adoption of the LWMP from municipal councils. Following adoption by all jurisdictions in the region the GVRD Board will consider the LWMP with the objective of submitting the LWMP final document to the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks by the end of March 2001.

This completes the LWMP development process. Once approval for the Plan is received from the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks it will take effect and become the management plan for liquid waste in the region. Comprehensive reporting on the progress of each of the commitments being made in the Plan will be required every two years. The Plan includes a review every five years to determine the progress made and continued relevance of the Policies and Commitments.

Commitments made by the GVRD on behalf of the region, such as treatment plant upgrades at Iona and Lions Gate, will impact Vancouver financially. If the LWMP is approved as submitted, the additional costs to Vancouver are believed to be reasonable. However, if the proposed VPC's new Outfalls Policy, which does not recognize the LWMP, is not modified, significantly higher costs would result.

ATTACHMENTS THAT DO NOT HAVE ELECTRONIC COPY ARE AVAILABLE ON FILE IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE

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