The federal government has announced the first round of funding under its abandoned boats program, and the District of Sechelt is getting $70,000 to assess 14 boats in its jurisdiction.
The Pender Harbour Advisory Council will get $10,000 to assess two boats in that area.
The money is part of a $1.3-million package of funding through the abandoned boats program and a program to pay for the removal of boats abandoned in small craft harbours announced March 12 by Transportation Minister Marc Garneau.
Other grants include $150,000 for the Boating BC Association to create an education program to “increase awareness of boat owners’ responsibilities, from a boat’s purchase to disposal, to help reduce the harmful dumping of abandoned boats in B.C.”
Sechelt public works supervisor John Devison has spearheaded the effort to get senior government support to deal with problem boats in Porpoise Bay, and he said all $70,000 from this round of funding will be used to assess vessels in the bay.
The money will cover costs like boat rentals and staff time needed to get out and visit each of the boats and do a detailed survey.
“I go out to each boat, and I have a form I have to fill out for each of them; what it’s made of, hazards, length and size, and estimated cost of disposal,” said Devison, who added that he’s hoping to assess more than 14 boats if possible.
The assessments will then be used to apply for money to pay to have boats removed.
Devison estimates it could take up to $500,000 to fully clear Porpoise Bay of derelict or abandoned vessels.
“This is a good start,” he said. “We’re on the [federal government’s] radar, so hopefully next year there will be a few more boats taken care of and every year I’ll need less [funding].”
He’s also hoping that once the owners of the problem boats the district plans to target know the assessment program is underway, they’ll proactively take care of their vessels.
Sechelt qualified for funding because it’s a municipal government with authority over a water lease area; the Sunshine Coast Regional District is unable to get direct funding from the program because it doesn’t have a specified “service” to funnel spending through.
Area A director Frank Mauro, who also chairs Pender Harbour’s harbour authority, raised the issue when he and Area F director Ian Winn spoke at the Feb. 12 meeting of the parliamentary committee looking at the new federal legislation on abandoned and derelict vessels.
“We don't have jurisdiction over the water, so we can't even create a service to fund an activity. That's one of the catch-22s that we find ourselves in. Funding becomes a problem, so we’re dependent on volunteer groups to come up and provide that service,” Mauro told the MPs on the committee. “We can give them very small grants in aid – we have limitations legally in doing that – to assist with the problem, but when they’re paying 25 per cent of a $100,000 removal, it becomes a big issue. Where is that money going to come from?”
The West Howe Sound Community Association has also been looking into the possibility of applying for funds through the program.
The deadline to apply for the next round of funding is March 15, and a third call for proposals for the assessment, removal and disposal of abandoned and/or wrecked small boats will run from April 3 until March 31, 2019.
The dates for a third round of the program for small craft harbours are still to be finalized.
