Dara Quast On March 21, 2016, a Supreme Court ruling confirmed the Cowichan Valley’s Regional District’s authority regarding permitted land use. Contaminated soil will cease to be dumped into the community watershed that provides Read more…
Continue readingTag: South Island Aggregates (SIA)
Cowichan Conversations: Polak–Shawnigan Dirty Dirt Permit Can’t Be Pulled Without Evidence Of Ecological Harm
Here is another Peter Rusland article originally published in the South Cowichan Echo. Apparently the Environment Minister rejects the long standing guidline contained in the ‘Precautionary Principle’ approach Peter Rusland A legal, …
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Stephen Hume: Drinking-Water Warning Brushed Aside By Province
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The three and a half year controversy surrounding South Island Aggregates (SIA) being permitted, by the BC Liberal government, to deposit contaminated soils and other toxic substances in the sensitive Shawnigan Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Injunction Sought: SIA Attempt to Muzzle Shawnigan Folk Hero ‘Shemama’ Shelagh Bell Irving
SIA and ‘Shemama’ Shelagh Bell-Irving-A Study In Contrasts The South Island Aggregates (SIA) outfit is a classic example of greed driven capitalists without conscience. They have little if any concern for their Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Steelhead LNG-Malahat Nation Plans Proceed While The Chief Michael Harry And Council Have Resigned!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger We may be in the throes of a Federal Election and trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer but the Steelhead LNG-Malahat Nation proposal to establish a floating LNG Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Malahat Nation and Steelhead LNG to Announce an LNG project.
Cowichan Conversations broke the story of an impending LNG Project announcement August 9th. Today the announcement has been scheduled for Thursday, August 20th 2015 at 10AM. On Thursday, August 20th, 10 am, the Malahat Nation Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: CVRD CAO Brian Carruthers Reveals The Details Of Court Action To Stop SIA Cold.
Richard Hughes The CVRD has spent over 3 years and well in excess of 600,000 dollars of our money flip flopping about over the South Island Aggregates (SIA) plan to import 5 million tonnes Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: The CVRD Has Amended Their Petition Over Bylaws To Halt SIA’s Contaminated Site Facility
Here is the CVRD’s late Friday release. In communications circles late Fridays are the time to deliver unpleasant news, firings, and the like. I spoke with CAO Brian Carruthers and he confirmed that the change Read more…
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Screw the Law! — BC Liberal Government Rides Roughshod Over Cowichan Communities
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The BC Liberal government’s Mines ministry has fully embraced a new political tactic. Screw the law, it is all about rewarding businesses to plunder at will. South Cowichan residents face two significant challenges that has the BC Liberal government riding roughshod over local government land use jurisdiction
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Shawnigan Lake Residents — Idle No More
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Shawnigan is located at the south end of the Cowichan Valley Regional District and for a number of reasons seemed somewhat detached from the local government headquarters in Duncan. A great many of the residents are Victoria commuters, others were mainly summer time residents and so the
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Toxic Algae Bloom Leaves 500,000 Without Drinking Water in Ohio
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Water shortages are a serious concern in the Cowichan Valley with record low levels in the Cowichan River threatening salmon survival. Water use regulations restricting use have been kicked into place throughout the valley as we pray for rain. Yes, it is a challenge and one that
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: South Island Aggregates Shuts Down Pit. Is This The End Or Just A Ploy?
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger SIA has apparently shut down their operations and may be out of business. At first look this is encouraging news to residents justifiably worried about SIA’s government approved plans to bring in 5 million tonnes of contaminated soil to their Stebbings Road operation into the Shawnigan Watershed.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: CVRD Heads Off To Environmental Appeal Board In Hopes of Stopping Contaminated Soil Being Dumped In The Shawnigan Watershed
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger It has been a year and a half since Shawnigan residents learned of an application to dump 5 million tonnes of contaminated soil in their watershed. Until recently the CVRD Directors followed Shawnigan Director Fraser’s lead. They studied, stalled and collaborated with the BC Environment Ministry and then Minister Terry Lake in one
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Have the CVRD Politicans Finally Woken Up?
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes-Political Blogger I suspect that many of you are getting as tired of hearing about yet another CVRD screw up and outright failure to responsibly represent the taxpaying residents in the Cowichan Valley as I am blogging about it. Should we just ignore their incompetence and failure to even
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: CVRD Director Bruce Fraser and his Colleagues Have a Great Deal To Answer For!
The CVRD has finally discovered that the land use bylaw that they insisted was of no use in blocking the proposed South Island Aggregate’s proposed contaminated site does in fact give them that authority to act, or at least did before the Ministry of Environment staff issued the permit to SIA.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Cowichan Citizen Poll on Contaminated Site Approval Falls Short!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Dear Editor, I was taken aback seeing the simplistic and cavalier manner in which your structured your latest poll. The issue is far more complex than the cost or advisability of a potential lawsuit. Shawnigan residents face the threat of 5 million tonnes of toxic and contaminated soils
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: BC Liberals Give Green Light To Dump Contaminants in Shawnigan Watershed.
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger The BC Liberal Government announced today that the South Island Aggregates (SIA) have been granted a permit to dump 5 million tonnes of contaminated and toxic soils in the Shawnigan Watershed. The CVRD politicians refused to ‘get political’ with their Liberal friends when faced with threats to the
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Hey CVRD! Draw Up a Bylaw to Protect the Shawnigan Watershed!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger OK so the Provincial Election returned the BC Liberals. They changed Environment Ministers slotting Mary Polak in as our new Environment chief. Those concerned with the Shawnigan Watershed becoming home for 5 million tonnes of Victoria’s contaminated and toxic soils are probably wondering what the CVRD is
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Shawnigan Director Bruce Fraser Reports: SIA Permit For Contaminated Soils Will Be Approved!
Breaking News on SIA Permit Shawnigan CVRD Director Bruce Fraser At a meeting this morning (June 19th) between the MOE, Ministry of Mines and the CVRD it was confirmed that a final permit will be recommended for issue for the SIA Contaminated Soil Facility “within the next few weeks”. MOE
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Guerilla Radio Covered Shawnigan Contaminated Sites Protest!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Saturday turned out to be a spectacular warm spring day. It was perfect weather for about 250 residents and politicians gathered in Shawnigan Village to rally and speak out against the BC Government decision to issue a Draft Permit to South Island Aggregates, SIA. The Christy Clark BC
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