Dear Editor:
The stories on Page 3 of your July 25 edition prompted a crazy idea for funding an upgrade to the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Texas oil giant Kinder Morgan wants to expand its 60-year-old pipeline and bring a 500 per cent increase in tanker traffic to Burrard Inlet (West Van Adds Voice to Pipeline Protest, North Shore News). That story was juxtaposed against a report that the tragically outdated Lions Gate plant is dumping millions of tonnes of largely untreated sewage, including no doubt uncounted tonnes of oil, into the very same water body (Still No Funds for $400M Plant Fix).
Would it be so crazy to compensate the region for the increased risk of an oil spill by helping to clean up the inlet?
The cost of bringing the treatment plant up to modern standards is reported to be $400 million. The straight-shooting Texans probably won't see a 10 per cent increase in the capital cost of their project as prohibitive if it means the majority of inlet dwellers approve of it. Anyone who walks near the Ambleside outfall sees the effects of a terrible industrial spill which takes place every day. When it comes to transporting the oil we all use, I would rather see the southern route, rather than the Northern Gateway through pristine waters. Let's make this a win-win situation.
Michael Bratty North Vancouver
