Dear Editor:
Re: Task force to examine ballooning costs of North Shore sewage treatment plant, Oct. 3 news story
Whenever politicians want a news story to disappear they announce a task force, one which will spend an undetermined period of time with the result being a report which, in the unlikely event it is decipherable, will avoid holding anyone involved accountable for the cock-up.
In the case of the unfolding North Shore wastewater treatment plant debacle, local taxpayers ought not to let them get away with the old dodge.
Here are some questions that require timely answers:
1) What are the current cost estimates for completion of this project? How much of an anticipated cost overrun will this likely entail? There is no excuse for withholding this information from the public.
2) Who precisely at Metro Vancouver has been responsible for overseeing this disaster, and why are they still employed?
3) Who made the decision that the plant provide tertiary treatment if the federal regulations require only secondary treatment? If this was a Metro Vancouver decision, why aren’t all regional taxpayers on the hook for the increased costs and not just those on the North Shore?
4) Who exactly on each of the three North Shore municipal councils is responsible for designing and implementing a strategy to go after both the federal and provincial governments for an increased financial commitment to the project costs, and what precisely are they doing at this time?
Inquiring minds want to know.
David Marley
West Vancouver
