Category: CVRD

Posted in CVRD, Government, Union Bay Ship Breaking

Union Bay Ship Breaking

Posted on by allthingsunionbay

Lots of people upset about the ship wrecking/breaking going on at the old log sort. It’s getting interesting now, so I want to keep track of what’s going on. Have gathered some information here.

The CVRD isn’t going to shut this business down. That’s not what they do. Their mantra is to work with the applicant and encourage them to take steps to remedy the problem. They want to remain impartial and not take sides, worried about litigation after the 3L lawsuit. In my opinion. 🙂

Screenshot from the CCOBS Facebook page.
Reason for decision RE: Union Bay Industries Ltd., Deepwater Recovery (Lease) from the Provincial Gov’t dated Oct. 15, 2021.
Jan. 25, 2022. Letter to the Editor Comox Valley Record

https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/opinion/concerned-citizens-of-baynes-sound-strongly-oppose-shipbreaking/

The Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound (CCOBS) are strongly opposed to shipbreaking in Baynes Sound at the Union Bay Industries Ltd site. The K’ómoks First Nation and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform based in Brussels, Belgium are also strongly opposed to shipbreaking in Baynes Sound.

The B.C. Government and the Comox Valley Regional District have been studying this shipbreaking issue; however, they need public encouragement to ensure all of our voices are heard. The environment cannot speak for itself! There is no safe way to conduct shipbreaking in Baynes Sound.

Politicians need encouragement from the public to do the right thing, and immediately stop work and permanently shut down shipbreaking activities in Baynes Sound.

Politicians need encouragement from the public to do the right thing, and immediately stop work and permanently shut down shipbreaking activities in Baynes Sound.

For further information, we invite the public to contact CCOBS at shipbreakingub@gmail.com, or visit http://www.facebook.com/ConcernedCitizensofBaynesSound/

The public is also encouraged to contact local area politicians, with the following:

“I oppose shipbreaking in Baynes Sound, and as our MLA and Municipal Director, what specific steps are you taking to support your constituents’ legitimate and overwhelming calls to immediately stop shipbreaking in Baynes Sound?”

Josie Osbourne – Minister of Municipal Affairs – MLA Mid Island-Pacific Rim Josie. Osborne.MLA@leg.bc.ca

Daniel Arbour – CVRD director Area A. reachme@danielarbour.ca

Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound

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Previous articles:

Jan. 13, 2022 https://shipbreakingplatform.org/shipbreaking-british-columbia/

NOTE: this is just a snip of the article.

Press Release – NGOs join local residents and First Nations in fight against toxic shipbreaking in British Columbia

Published in January 13th, 2022

Eighteen months have passed since local residents and K’ómoks First Nation (KFN) first raised concerns regarding scrapping operations at Union Bay, traditional unceded territory of First Nations within Baynes Sound, British Columbia, Canada. Now, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform joins them in calling on federal, provincial and regional authorities to make sure that the activities carried out by the operator, Deep Water Recovery Ltd (DWR), cease to cause harm to both local communities and the surrounding environment.

In December 2020, DWR converted a former log-sort location in an improvised shipbreaking yard to pull apart barges. The shipbreaking activities are in violation of district zoning bylaws, and, to date, the Comox Valley Regional District is still allowing for hazardous operations to take place only a few meters away from several residential houses and within an Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA). 

As highlighted in a recent report by WWF Canada, Baynes Sound is the highest ranked cumulative and spawning area for herring in the Strait of Georgia and is a critical feeding and overwintering area for water birds. It also supports the highest density of intertidal shellfish aquaculture in British Columbia, producing over half of all the shellfish cultured in the province. Locating a hazardous industry in such an ecologically sensitive zone is simply unacceptable.

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Jan. 13, 2022 https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/global-coalition-calls-for-halt-to-shipbreaking-in-union-bay/

Jan. 10, 2022 https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/concerned-citizens-of-baynes-sound-want-answers-about-shipbreaking/

Electoral Areas Services Committee January 10, 2022

Dec. 15, 2021 https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/kmoks-first-nation-responds-to-ship-breaking-activity-in-unceded-territory/

Nov. 29, 2021 https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/ship-breaking-generates-complaints-from-union-bay/

Videos

Posted in CVRD, Royston Union Bay Sewage plan 2020, south sewer project

Electoral Areas Services Committee Jan. 10, 2022 – Delegation Opposing Ship Breaking and Update on Extension of the Sewer Services South

Posted on by allthingsunionbay

The first part of the video is a presentation by landowners opposed to the ship breaking operation.

This is set to start at 38:12 which is when they start discussing the extension of the sewer services south.

Posted in CVRD, Government, Kensington Coastal Pointe, Kensington Island Properties aka KIP Costanza, 34083 Yukon Inc., Kensington Union Bay Properties Gp Ltd, Kensington Union Bay Properties Ltd., The Union Bay Community, Union Bay Estates, Union Bay Resorts

Kensington Island Properties aka Union Bay Estates Never Wanted Bylaw 264 – KIP’s Flunkies Claimed the MMCD Standards “…could prove financially onerous to developers…” Check out the “strata” subdivision.

Posted on by allthingsunionbay

Previous posts about Bylaw 264 and the dirty tricks pulled to ensure it never would never be implemented. The Ministry worried about what KIP objected to; the withholding of the legal opinion for months by the UBID admin and trustees and only advising Trustee Kaljur the day they voted to kill the bylaw in Oct. https://allthingsunionbay.com/?s=Bylaw+264

Strata timeshare – excerpt from FOI MOE-2020-00764

This email is a continuation of this post: https://allthingsunionbay.com/2021/07/14/more-proof-of-bullshit-spewed-by-kensington-island-properties-aka-union-bay-estates/

So does the infrastructure being installed that is not subject to CVRD approval meet the MMCD Standards? What’s the difference between the requirements/approval from CVRD to provincial?

This is a strata subdivision and most infrastructure will be privately owned and not subject to CVRD approval (rather, the provincial subdivision approving officer will just need to be satisfied that water and sewer are provided)

Then the individual sent this email:

This is the body of the email below with the size of the font increased so you can read it:

The CVRD continues to work closely with Union Bay Estates and their advisors to ensure that the infrastructure installed meets the requirements of the master development agreement. Regarding the water system the following has been provided/reviewed/ and/or is under design:

CDA 2 – approx. 40 lot subdivision north of Hart Creek.

·         This is a strata subdivision and most infrastructure will be privately owned and not subject to CVRD approval (rather, the provincial subdivision approving officer will just need to be satisfied that water and sewer are provided)

·         As a courtesy only, CVRD has reviewed the proposed strata water system and provided comments to Union Bay Estates’ engineering team relative to the requirements of the master development agreement

·         The CDA 2 strata water system has been installed – prior to issuing any building permits within that strata we will need to see confirmation from the Ministry of Health that the water system meets the Ministry’s requirements

·         The only public portion of the CDA 2 water system is that portion which will connect the strata system to the CVRD’s Union Bay water system. This is essentially two highway crossings along with valves and meters. Drawings for this portion of the system are being finalized by UBE and will be submitted to CVRD for review and approval. Installation of this portion of the system will occur only after CVRD approval.

·         All fire hydrants within CDA 2 will utilize potable water (this is a provincial requirement)

·         There is no reclaimed (purple pipe) water system within CDA 2

·         The MDA does not require a reclaimed water system

CDA 3 – discovery centre

·         The subdivision of CDA 3 for the discovery centre (which is proposed to include a sales centre) is also a strata subdivision and infrastructure will be privately owned and therefore not subject to CVRD approval

·         No infrastructure has been installed in this area

·         The CVRD understands that UBE plans to utilize reclaimed water within a purple pipe system to irrigate boulevards within this part of the strata development – those pipes will be owned by the strata

Regarding your specific questions below:

1.      As the CDA 2 strata water system will be privately owned. CVRD approval is not required. The CVRD will approve the connection of the strata system to the CVRDs Union Bay water system prior to the installation of that infrastructure.

2.      The fire distribution system will use potable water. The CVRD understands that some of the irrigation system (boulevards) may use reclaimed water. The MDA does not require the use of reclaimed water.  

Can they make the font any smaller and paler?

Posted in Area A Director, CVRD

Mosaic commits to logging plans near Langley Lake

Posted on by allthingsunionbay

EDIT July 5,2021: received the following from Area A Director Daniel Arbour yesterday when I asked what were the next steps he would take now that Mosaic is proceeding.

https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/mosaic-commits-to-logging-plans-near-langley-lake/

Regional district members wanted to defer harvesting to discuss watershed

Mosaic Forest Management plans to go ahead with logging plans near Langley Lake sometime over the summer.

Union Bay and Comox Valley Regional District representatives had called for logging to be put on hold for work on a watershed plan, but company representatives have told the CVRD board it is confident of its plans to protect the watershed while logging.

“We will attempt the complete harvest in the dry season,” Molly Hudson, Mosaic’s director of sustainability, told the CVRD board at a meeting on June 29.

RELATED STORY: Comox Valley board wants to halt Union Bay-area logging plans

Hudson outlined on a map the plans for two roughly nine-hectare, second-growth blocks. The closest the work will come to the lake, which provides drinking water for Union Bay, is about 600 metres, with other parts extending to a kilometre or more away.

“There’s no water in these blocks today,” she said. “There are ephemeral, non-fish streams.”

She stressed the creek beds are currently dry, so conducting harvesting during the summer should reduce the chance of any effects on the lake. They will also haul away the timber in the opposite direction from the lake.

The company reiterated the point that it wanted to hold off any harvesting plans until the Union Bay community’s new water treatment plant was operational. Mosaic representatives said they operate in 34 community watersheds on the island and are prevented by provincial legislation from negatively affecting water quality.

“We can’t control the water source, but we can manage that risk,” said David Beleznay, Mosaic’s manager for hydrology and terrain.

Area A director Daniel Arbour credited the company foresters and staff but reiterated concerns he has had with logging near the lake. He has called for logging plans to be deferred so local government and company can come up up with a more detailed watershed plan.

Arbour also said he could foresee some opportunities such as working toward some kind of carbon credit program with the company.

“I believe a project could be supported through local governments,” he said.

Other members of the CVRD board had issues with suggestions the logging practices represented the “best science” available in terms of methods. Chair Jesse Ketler said this description seems to fit within the practices of clear-cut logging, and she suggested other means such as selective logging or heli-logging might be better.

Hudson responded the company uses many different methods to harvest timber, adding that certain methods are designed to promote the reforestation of seedlings.

“We harvest in a whole bunch of different ways across the landscape,” she said. “These decisions are not made solely from a cost perspective.”

As part of the presentation, the Mosaic representatives outlined the company’s stewardship work to protect forests and watersheds, which includes working with different organizations for environment enhancement and certification.

“It’s a big step for us on our path toward carbon neutrality,” Hudson said.

She talked about other efforts such as reforestation and reducing the burning of residual debris.

“We’ve been working in recent years to reduce our pile burning,” she said.

Area C director Edwin Grieve asked whether the company had been approached by any businesses about using its residual material, especially in light of its goals over burning.

Beleznay said the company is open to looking at more ways to reduce burning.

“The door’s wide open,” he said.

Posted in CVRD, Government

Let’s Hope There Will Finally be a Long Term Solution to Logging in the Watershed

Posted on by allthingsunionbay

https://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/comox-valley-board-wants-to-halt-union-bay-area-logging-plans/

Langley Lake supplies the drinking water for Union Bay. File photo by Bob Ell

Comox Valley board wants to halt Union Bay-area logging plans

Regional district inviting forest company to work on watershed plan

The Comox Valley Regional District board wants logging proposed for the Langley Lake area to be put on hold while the regional district and the forest licensee can work out a watershed conservation plan.

The lake provides drinking water for nearby Union Bay, and Mosaic has planned for harvesting on its private land there.

“This came as a very late surprise in the last couple of weeks,” Area A director Daniel Arbour said.

At the June 17 board meeting, directors considered resolutions to request Mosaic Forest Management to suspend harvesting activities planned for the Langley Lake watershed until 2023 and to work with the CVRD on a watershed conservation plan for the watershed, as well as have Vancouver Island communities and the province discuss how best to manage public drinking watersheds.

Arbour was responding to comments from the company in the newspaper about how the regional district, as well as the Union Bay Improvement District, had expressed no concerns about logging in the watershed. The CVRD will be taking over services such as water that UBID provides in Union Bay as of July 1.

“I would like to set the record straight,” he said. “The Union Bay Improvement District has a decades-long standing opposition to any logging in the watershed…. There has been protests in the past.”

He explained past harvesting has led to high turbidity in the drinking water. The company said it agreed not to log before the Union Bay community began operating its new water treatment system, which started a year ago.

RELATED STORY: Mosaic plans logging at Langley Lake near Union Bay

Arbour said he had yet to meet anyone in the Union Bay area not opposed to logging in the small watershed. He also cited First Nations’ opposition in 2017.

He wanted the board to send a letter to Mosaic and engage the province around a review of private forest lands. The board passed the motions unanimously. As well, Mosaic will also be asked to make a presentation to the board at an upcoming meeting.

“We need to do more, I think, to push this issue,” CVRD chair Jesse Ketler said, referring particularly to the province’s responsibilities over watersheds. “I think the province has kind of pitted local governments against forestry companies.”

Beyond the Langley Lake area, Arbour said he and other directors want to stress this is a broader issue for the provincial government. He cites submissions local governments on Vancouver Island made to the province two years ago with recommendations to protect drinking watersheds and other ecosystem values.

“The province has to show much greater leadership on regulating the management of large-scale private forest lands on Vancouver Island. Local governments on the east side of Vancouver Island have made many specific recommendations to protect drinking watersheds and local ecosystems, and I hope the government doesn’t succumb to the private sector lobby to keep the status quo,” Arbour said in a later statement.

Posted in Area A Director, CVRD, Government, Kensington Coastal Pointe, Kensington Island Properties aka KIP Costanza, 34083 Yukon Inc., Kensington Union Bay Properties Gp Ltd, Kensington Union Bay Properties Ltd., Kipshit Creek, Royston Union Bay Sewage plan 2020, The Union Bay Community, Union Bay Estates, Union Bay Resorts

Answers from CVRD Regarding Sewage Grant Application, Union Bay Estates aka Kensington Island Properties Sewage Application and Gravel/sand Pit Application

Posted on by allthingsunionbay

I think we are screwed.

What criteria is used to approve the developer to use a specific area of the over 700 acres of land as a gravel pit?

Does the CVRD have a say in the location of the Gravel/Sand pit?

Update on the Sewage Grant application for Union Bay and Royston.

Does Kensington Island Properties sewage application to dump treated sewage into Hart/Washer Creek meet the conditions in the MDA?

Is the CVRD willing to own a system that dumps treated sewage into Hart/Washer Creek as set out in the MDA?