Houseboat

Houseboat / motor boat accident debriefing was held in the Scotch Creek Fire-hall, bringing in about 16 people that were involved in the accident. The North Shuswap First Responders, BC Ambulance Service(BCAS), Anglemont VFD, Chase Rescue, Scotch Creek VFD, RCMP and Shuswap Emergency Planners; were all involved.  The discussion was broken into; What Went Right, What Went Wrong, Recommendations and other problems. It was a good meeting and it was quickly recognized that for the most part working between all parties went well. There was appreciation for the efficiency and professionalism of the First Responders being one of the parties first on site. The other, not often recognized help was the residents in the area who were also instrumental in making the accident less impactful. It was the combination of BCAS, NS First Responders, Anglemont VFD, RCMP and Chase Rescue, that made life saving successful.  The debriefing was late but it is timely to remind people that the summer (apparently) season is again upon us. 

On that fateful night; the call out went out around 11:30pm and by 4:00 am most people had finished and left the scene. There were many things that could of gone wrong, the most obvious was the ability for everyone to work together made a terrible situation a successful rescue operation. Though there were tragic out comes from the accident, there were some positives. The issue of disregarded for safety on the lake was brought to light.  The RCMP has received a boat to do better policing on the lake and there is a general  awareness of the seriousness of the problems on the lake.      

More Buoys & Docks discusion

A meeting with staff from the CSRD and  the Fishery & Oceans Canada (F&OC)  Habitat Management Biologist and representatives from the Shuswap Waterfront Owners Association and of the North Shuswap Chamber of Commerce, it lasted about 3 hours. 

As background information, the Area F APC asked that representatives to discuss the Lakes Zoning Bylaw and in particular; specific points in the bylaw that are of concerns from some community members, with CSRD staff.  The one concern; was about the requirement that docks maintain a depth of 1.5 m of water depth at all times. This proposed requirement stems from F&OC guidelines and the F&OC’s rationale is;

(1) reduced growth of aquatic vegetation due to shading;

(2) altered local water currents and related patterns of sediment transport and

deposit;

(3) interference with rearing fish and fish food items such as insects, plankton

and algae; and

(4) damage to the lakebed, suspension of lakebed sediments and reduced

water quality from propeller wash.

 Some of the potential suggested solutions that came out were: rewording the 1.5m water depth rule to, only apply to the end of the dock furthest away from shore (as opposed to having to have 1.5m depth under all parts of the dock), and/or having the 1.5 m rule apply only between  the dates of Sept 15^th and May 15^th, which are key fish spawning months.  If this was changed, then it would mean that during the busy summer months, people would not have to meet the 1.5m rule (it needs to be pointed out that, this rule only applies to new docks, not existing ones).  There are few if any people that have their docks out from Sept 15 to May 15^th.

Another point of concern  in the bylaw that has some residents concerned is the 24 sq. m  rule for dock sizes. The 24 sq. m was chosen as the maximum size in the zoning bylaw because it is the threshold used by DFO and ILMB; not a CSRD requirement but a law insisted to the CSRD from the feds and province.   However, through development permits, staff can vary the maximum size of the dock to to accommodate local needs and lakebed conditions. The cost is $100 to do this and you only have to pay that once. That is only the CSRD internal costs to the taxpayers for processing and registering the DP on title are, but there are some other issues and costs that will have to be dealt with as well;

1. ILMB application fee of $280
2. Section 9 required – MOE fee of $130
3. ILMB permitting takes on average about 6 months if no issues and Best management Practices are followed.  
4. Cost to hire a biologist if needed.
5. Biologist would need the following supporting work
1. Lake bathymetry - $1000
2. Drawings – cross section showing clearance at typical May 15 to Sept 15 water levels, plan showing horizontal location of proposed dock - $1500

In the mind of the representatives from SWOA and NSCC felt that their inquiries were not listened to but rather they were told were  lectured from the F&OC rather than listening to their concerns or discussing alternatives or compromises. F&OC was given a copy of specific concerns that was intended as an agenda for the discussion, any attempt to refer to specific items was ignored. The scientific studies presented were either dismissed as being based on “sloppy sampling” or ignored. They felt that F&OC does not feel that the Chamber members, SWOA members, or the members of the APC have any legitimate role in providing input on the proposed bylaw. The most illuminating part of the meeting, to them, was how little ownership the CSRD has with respect to this bylaw and that the F &OC and MOE are using the CSRD to advance their agenda and are abusing the local government process.

There are some points the CSRD is going to follow up on to find solutions are:

1. they are going to pursue whether the 1.5 m depth rule this could be amended tor require 1.5 m at the lake end of the dock with the understanding that owners would dock stern out.

2. they are going to consider the same rules for non settlement areas as for settlement areas. This was opposed by Bruce as they want people in non settlement areas to have elevated pier

heads to maintain the 1.5 m depth.

3. they are going to attempt to have F&OC and ILMB reconsider:

a. Raising the maximum dock size threshold to something larger than 24 m2.

b. Eliminating the ramp area from the maximum surface area calculations. Oddly

enough, this seemed to have some support from the F&OC.

The most troubling part was seeing how a local government process is being hijacked by other organizations.

The one positive point that was made by the F&OC is that boat launches in the North Shuswap and other areas of the lake are not off the table. With a proper planning, design and compensatory shoreline rehabilitation, it may be possible to provide better access to the lake for all.

            As you can see there are some serious differences; F&OC seems to hold the cards in their hands. However if their science is wrong; then much of what we do at the CSRD level has to changed. The F&OC is challenged like all government agencies that they are too lenient and they seem to have little funding for research to address conflicting scientific opinion.   In allowing works on the lakes they let the Qualified Environmental Professional have the last say and they tend to be quiet on these developments. From what I hear there is a growing group of local government representatives and the public that are uncomfortable with allowing the person who is being paid by the applicant to decide if aquatic habitat is being impacted or not. Just as a note, QEP’s under RAR for works above the HWM follow a regimented process that while often illogical, leaves no room for discretion or professional judgment.  QEP’s under RAR are only qualified to work within 30 m above the HWM.  Works below the HWM (docks) go through a thorough review by ILMB, MOE, and F & OC.  In these cases the QEP is an R.P.Bio and negotiates with the agencies so there is lots of oversight.  Should this method be changed also? We have the situation here where the science has apparently 2 different opinions on development on the lake affects life in and around the water. I think we all want to do the right thing for the lake but what is the right thing?  

Problems loggng on Agenda Meeting May 2011

I have had logging on as well my internet connection has been erratic and have not had a chance to always connect.

                Revelstoke were our Board meeting was held for the CSRD. Revelstoke is very beautiful with a heritage of over 110 years.  The highway was put through 1950s, and then the Mica and Revelstoke dams were built. Later the twinning of the tunnels through the Rogers Pass all the while; the railway, forestry and mining brought in a steady economic boom to the area.  In the 1980s forestry slowed, the railroad started to farm work off in other areas that was done in Revelstoke and the economic advantages of the area started to dissipate. Eventually the City started to work on tourism to help bring in economic health. The starting came from heli- skiing which was very small but over time built up and other tourism businesses spun off of the ski business to what Revelstoke enjoys today.  The change to a, resort community, has created some challenges issues not with the resort but the secondary, spin offs such as transit nature of the populations and the speculation on properties increasing values to beyond the reach of young families. These issues have changed and still young families are moving in, the prediction from a local store owner was; apparently 40 new babies but it turned out to be 80! She did not speculate if that was the long winter or the natural turn of events. There are comparisons to the North Shuswap in many ways such as going from a working community to more of tourism based community and yet in other was very different such as having heli skiing spur on growth in so many other areas.

Included was a trip to the Revelstoke dam and the railroad museum both very interesting and informative. One old duffer ran these steam engine and was incredibly knowledgeable on how steam trains worked.

CSRD has a new  Information Technologist (IT ) by the name of Brain Paine who has moved down from the Cariboo. It is the person who manages technology and spans wide variety of areas that include but are not limited to things such as processes, computer software, information systems, computer hardware, programming languages, and data constructs .

Revelstoke Board meeting

Sub-Regional VFDs for the North Shuswap

A over view about the merging of the VFDs  with a common  and tax rates in specific areas. A new sub-regional reserve and one common fire suppression committee per area is being offered to EADs as well as a consolidation of some of the  operations and capital for the area within area “C” was proposed for Area “C”.  In the past there was a three year study, going over the process and discussing with Fire Chiefs  and Fire Suppression Committees about combining them under one umbrella. In this discussion it was found that there could be; cost savings,  in staff time for the  participates. In North Shuswap – with all 3 Fire Departments they could also be brought together.  There could be savings for the North Shuswap VFDs working together and other opportunities. I hope to discuss this further with VFDs on the North Shuswap.  

SILGA

The Southern Interior Local Governments Association (SILGA) had their annual convention in Merritt with h about 200 delegates attending.  SILGA give an opportunity for the smaller communities in the area south of Blue River, east of Lillooet, to Golden and the USA border.  There were a variety of discussions and talks the one that I received the most from was on “small water systems”.  There are 2 types of systems recognized one is Micro Systems (MS) they are for residential

/domestic use from between 2-25 connections and cannot be a commercial enterprise that offers water to the public. The other system is a “Small Water System” that serves up to 500 individuals in a 24 hour period.  Cost is the problem with small water systems. Often, 80% of the problem can be fixed it 1/5^th of the cost it takes to solve the remaining 20 % of the problem. It is this that frustrates communities; they wonder why we have to improve the water to that degree.  Often the problem can be control at the point of entry in a home with an ultraviolet light or reverse osmosis filtering. One delegate said it cost $300.00 a month to haul water in his area. People question these new systems that $150.00 a month is too costly and yet many people will pay well over that to watch TV or have internet/ cell service. Is it worth your health not to pay the extra for your health? There have been 25 outbreaks in the last 20 years from water borne diseases. Municipalities such as Barrier, Penticton, Revelstoke and Kelowna have all experienced outbreaks. The cost to the economy is high.