On Wednesday. March 11, 2009, Esquimalt will host a public information session, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, presenting the financial and environmental benefits of Integrated Resource Management compared to traditional sewage treatment. Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins invites the media and residents of the Capital Region to attend this important discussion which will be held in Council Chambers at the Esquimalt Municipal Hall, 1229 Esquimalt Road. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer period to a panel.
“We need to consider the best possible way of doing sewage treatment,“ says Mayor Barb Desjardins. “It’s time to look beyond traditional and outdated solutions and realize the opportunities that can be created for our communities in building a treatment system from the ground up. Esquimalt wants a sewage treatment system that not only exceeds environmental standards but also generates revenue for the community – Integrated Resource Management offers us this opportunity.”
Integrated Resource Management is an integrated approach to recovering energy and resources from waste. This approach is based on a business case designed to maximize resource revenue. It uses some of the oldest and most proven technologies. What is different is the viewing of waste as a resource from which revenue can be generated based on highest and best use. The collection and treatment of solid and liquid waste can generate electricity, heat and gas while recovering clean, usable water. These revenues will reduce costs to taxpayers. By taking this integrated approach, a community’s greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced by 25%.
The Capital Regional District (CRD) is the only major community in British Columbia with no liquid waste treatment facilities. In 2006, the Minister of Environment for British Columbia directed the CRD to amend its liquid waste management plan to include a fixed schedule for the provision of sewage treatment. The CRD is currently planning for the provision of sewage treatment by the end of 2016. Throughout the process, the Province has asked that alternate scenarios for distributed wastewater management, including biosolids/resource management and cost estimates, be investigated by the CRD.
For more information on Integrated Resource Management, click on the articles below:
Presentation from Public Meeting on 11 March 2009: Integrated Resource Management
Fidelis Resource Group
Overview: New Approaches to Waste - Integrated Resource Management
Fidelis Resource Group
Fact Sheet: Integrated Resource Management
Fidelis Resource Group
Resources From Waste: A Guide to Integrated Resource Recovery
Ministry of Community Development
For more information please contact:
Mayor Barb Desjardins, Township of Esquimalt
Tel: 250-414-7101