News release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ESQUIMALT, B.C.—Township council has approved early budget funding for the next phase in studying the potential for an integrated resource management facility in Esquimalt.
A public engagement campaign held in late 2020 presented the idea of integrated resource management (IRM) to township residents and businesses while requesting feedback to see if there was an interest in pursuing the project. After considering public feedback and reviewing reports, council voted to move forward with the next phase of the study.
In November 2020, council initially approved to have the study’s funding sourced as a late budget request. At the February 1, 2021 council meeting, staff reported that a budget of $100,000 was needed to complete the work. Council voted to grant early budget approval to undertake the study.
The next step in the process of determining if IRM is for the township is to ensure that this type of project is possible from a regulatory standpoint. This involves working with both the Capital Regional District(CRD) and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (MOE). The municipality would require the assistance of a qualified consultant to produce the information needed for both the CRD and MOE.
The township is a member of the CRD Solid Waste Master Plan, which is in the process of being updated by the district. Part of this next phase in the IRM process would be to examine an amendment to the CRD Solid Waste Master Plan. The amendment would include IRM as part of waste management as the plant in Esquimalt would manage municipal solid waste, kitchen scraps and yard/garden waste streams for the community.
The study would also look at how to best present a business case to MOE as part of the process to obtain an Operating Certificate for a waste to energy treatment processing.
- More information about the integrated resource management project at Esquimalt.ca/irm
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Contact
Tara Zajac
Manager of Communications
250-414-7122