Protect BC's Groundwater! - says Auditor General

"Urgent Action needed to protect B.C.'s groundwater: report"
by Kim Pemberton, Vancouver Sun, December 2, 2010

The provincial government needs to take "urgent action" to protect its groundwater resource since one-quarter of B.C.'s population relies on it for their daily use, provincial Auditor-General John Doyle concluded in his latest report.

"This precious resource must be protected so it won't be depleted or contaminated," said Doyle in an interview. "One million British Columbians rely on groundwater for daily use and the demand is increasing. It's a large group of people and this is lnot including industry or agricultural use."

Doyle's report said the cost of trucking on water to communities would be "astronomical" if groundwater was depleted in their area or contaminated. His report gave the hypothetical example of the cost to fix the aquifer for Chilliwack - at least $30 million.

"Anyone can drill a hole and access groundwater. You don't need a permit. Effectively, there are no constraints on what you can use," he said, adding there have been past examples of groundwater being contaminated. On Dogwood Road, in Williams Lake, for example, he said sewage got into the water supply of a residential area, and in Ontario contamination of groundwater was so serious in one community deaths resulted.

One of Doyle's recommendations was for the provincial government to modernize the 100 year old legislation that currently governs groundwater in this province. He said the provincial government has promised him they will enact new legislation by the Spring of 2012, and Doyle plans to follow up with an "action taken" report around the same period.

Another recommendation by Doyle is for the provincial government to do a complete map of all underground water. "Right now it doesn't exist everywhere and there are gaps. The danger is decisions can be made on other activities that would have an adverse effect on it (groundwater)," he said.

The Watershed Watch Salmon Society has long been calling on the provincial government to identify the province's groundwater reserves, said executive director Craig Orr. "We've done several publications on the threat to groundwater. it's important for providing habitat for salmon. Groundwater is also important for recharging streams and keeping them cool (for salmon)," said Orr. "We have no adequate legislation to ensure salmon have access to sources of clean and cold water."

Orr said a recent poll in B.C. found 98 percent of British Columbians said water was our most precious resource. "The poll shows British Columbians value water and interestingly they said priority is a tome of shortage should be given to ecosystems - salmon and streams even if it means slowing down economic growth," he said.

Orr agrees with Doyle's recommendations for new legislation, and one that has "robust regulations" to protect groundwater. "The province needs a standard of groundwater protection for all of B.C. Also, they don't have enough data - to identify what groundwater reserves we have."

New Democrat environment critic Rob Fleming issue a press release Wednesday saying B.C. is the only p[province that lacks a general licensing or permitting system for groundwater withdrawals. He said he was concerned the Water Act modernization will get sidelined in a recent ministry reorganization. "The B.C. Liberals hasty ministry reorganization split the responsibility for groundwater management between the Ministry of Environment and the new Ministry of Natural Resource Operations, making it even less likely that we will see strong, timely action on this urgent issue," said Fleming. "While this government is in disarray communities like Prince George, Abbotsford and Langley, which rely on groundwater, are being left to wonder when this precious resource will gain the protection it needs."

(Article link)

BC Timber Sales & Waugh Lake...

Now that the summer is over, it is time to get back to blogging about this important issue. There is a lot of catching up to do but that will have be done gradually. At the moment, we face a new assault on the Waugh Lake Watershed. We've know for some time that BC Timber Sales had earmarked two blocks in the watershed for bidding. That bidding is over and on Aug 15, 2008 the contract for logging those two blocks was awarded to a Sunshine Coast logging company. Those two blocks are in the heart of the watershed and they can be viewed by scrolling down this page. Go to the second map under 'Tsain-Ko Logging - Part 3. The two BCTS blocks are the ones outlined in black.

These BC Timber Sales blocks made the news in the September 19 issue of the Coast Reporter in a story by Greg Amos. Unfortunately, I cannot link to the story so I will have to type it in. Here goes...

Logging Looms at Waugh Lake

A new tenure call from B.C. Timber Slaes for an 11.848 cubic metre logging block within the Waugh Lake watershed near Egmont is causing the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) board to strategize new approaches to dealing with the province.

"[B.C. Timber Sales] continue to have tender calls in important watershed areas," said Area A (Pender Harbour) director John Rees. "It's extremely disappointing."

The tender notice appeared in August, after a July request from the SCRD general manager of community services Paul Fenwick towards B.C. Timber Sales, asking them to stop advertising the sale of timber licences locatd within the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. So far, one bid has been received from Pender Harbour's Sladey Timber.

At a Sept. 11 planning and development committee meeting, the committee received word from the province's timber organization that advertising will go ahead as planned. B.C. Timber Sales aslo declined the SCRD's invitation for a representative to attend a meeting with the board.

"B.C. Timber Sales has done and will do a very thorough job of planning and monitoring of any operations considering the risks involved." wrote timber sales manager Bruce McKerricher in response. He also pointed out B.C. Timber Sales has "spent several hundred thousands of dollars rebuilding the public road along Waugh Lake."

Rees said the assurances miss the point, particularly when new water infrastructure is shcneduled to begin operation in the fall. "I'm always disappointed with B.C. Timber Sales and disappointed with the regional district's reaction to these issues," added a clearly frustrated Rees, who likened the Waugh Lake issues to a "mini-version of the Chapman problem. "The policy of not having logging in watersheds should be pursued equally at every opportunity."

So far, there's been no study looking a the impacts of logging on water quality at Waugh Lake. Area F (West Howe Sound) director Lee Turnbull noted the regional district remains responsible for providing clean drinking water. "We're totally under attack, the provincial government does not agree with us on logging in the watershed," she said. "I'm getting quite frustrated from us pushing against the provincial government, and B.C. Timber Sales says they're getting pushed from above."

Rees suggested the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) "should be picking up this quest of ours. It seems to me this is an opportunity for us to kind of work together." Local governments across B.C. will converge in Pentiction next week for the annual UBCM conference.

The Waugh Lake ares is not unfamiliar territory to logging contractors. The Sechelt Indian Band's Tsain-Ko Forest Products won a bid for five blocks in the watershed in February. At that time, shortly after last summer's controversy regarding loggin in the Chapman Creek watershed, Rees noted B.C. Timber Sales were getting very little interest in tenures they offered withing drinking watershed areas on the coast.

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Here are the two letters alluded to in the above Coast Reporter news story.

July 31, 2008

Bruce McKerricher
Timber Sales Manager
Strait of Georgia Timber Sales Office
370 S Dogwood
Campbell River, BC. V9W 6Y7

Dear Mr. McKerricher:

Re: Notice of Timber Sale Licence 58201, Waugh Lake, Egmont by Strait of Georgia Timber Sales Office

The Sunshine Coast Regional District is aware that the Strait of Georgia Timber Sales office has advertised the sale of TSL 58201. This TSL includes two blocks, both of which lie within the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. Block 2 appears to require new road construction to cross fish bearing streams. New road construction is worrisome as it may encourage more activity in the watershed.

The Regional District is on record with the Ministry of Forests and Range as being strongly opposed to logging within all Community Watersheds along the Sunshine Coast for purposes of protection the community watersheds, water quality and community water distribution systems (Board Resolution #027/00).

The Waugh Lake Community Watershed is the source of water for the nearby community of Egmont. Recently, the Regional District has been successful in securing funds to upgrade the existing substandard system. Constructing a water filtration system, upgrading the flows for
fire protection and fortifying the waterlines are part of the proposed upgrades. The Regional District received a petition signed by 90% of the community supporting these necessary upgrades.

The Regional District is investing to secure a safe water source for the community around Waugh Lake and we are disappointed to learn that part of the watershed is considered for harvesting. Based on discussion with the SCRD Directors, we ask that you rescind the notice for Timber Sale Licence 58201 immediately.

Due to the importance of this matter, we would like to invite you to address our Planning and Development Committee meting on September 11.2008. Please contact [...] to confirm your attendance.

Yours truly,

Paul Fenwick
General Manager Community Services

Cc: Brian Hawrys, Sunshine Coast Forest District manager, 7077 Duncan St., Powell River, BC, V8A 1W1

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BC Timber Sales responds...

Paul Fenwick
General Manager Community Services
Sunshine Coast Regional District
1975 Field Road
Sechelt, British Columbia
V0N 2A1

Dear Paul Fenwick:

I am in receipt of your July 21, 2008 letter asking us to rescind the advertisement of Timber Sale Licence A58201 which is located within the boundaries of the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. The letter raises the concerns that the harvesting, including road construction, within community watersheds is worrisome to the SCRD.

Provincial legislation, regulations and policy are clear in that harvesting is not precluded from occurring within watersheds such as the Waugh Lake Community Watershed. I want to emphasize that any harvesting related activities in community watersheds are held to higher standards than on non-watershed lands and BC Timber Sales has done and will do a very thorough job of planning and monitoring of any operations considering the risks involved. Preserving water quality is a cornerstone of our forest management endeavours and risks that involve water will be kept to an absolute minimum.

After our "Operations Plan" for the Sunshine Coast was referred to the SCRD in mid 2007, three of my staff met with the SCRD on December 13, 2007 and discussed many aspects of BC Timber Sales mandate and plans in the area. The Operating Plan did show our planned Waugh Lake timber sale licence and the notes we took from the meeting were later forwarded to your office. Please find attached copies of a portion of the minutes from that meeting and the speaking notes that one of my staffers, Bill Hughes, had prepared before he enterred the meeting and gave to Judy Skogstad upon leaving the session. You will note that Waugh Lake was referenced by us in our notes but was not specifically mentioned in the SCRD minutes.

I do recognize that the SCRD has stated their position on harvesting in designated community watershed in several forums but I need to reiterate that Forest Act tenure holders are not precluded from opertating within most community watersheds as long as the stringent requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and other applicable legislation and regulations are observed.

BC Timber Sales has been planning to harvest the two blocks withing the Waugh Lake watershed for several years and it has been discussed at local and regional levels over those years. Many members of the public have had several chances to comment on our plans and many have taken that opportunity. BC Timber Sales has incurred considerble expenses developing this harvesting opportunity and this includes having spent several hundred thousand dollars rebuilding the public road along Waugh Lake (which is used by a significant number of local residents) resulting in much better road and water management within the watershed.

Though I recognize this in not what you wish to hear, it is for the above reasons that I do intend to proceed with the advertisement of Timber Sale Licence A58201 and regretfully decline your invitation to attend the September 11, 2008 Planning and Development Committee meeting. If you have any further questions on the matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours truly,

Bruce McKeerricher
Timber Sales Manager
Strait of Georgia Business Area

Attachment(s): (minutes of the SCRD Dec 17 meeting and BCTS speaking notes prepared prior to that meeting

pc: Brian Hawrys, Sunshine Coast Forest District district manager

(FOE note: The road that Mr. McKerricher alludes to is the second last paragraph is not at Waugh Lake but at North Lake. You must use the North Lake forest road to access the inner Waugh Lake Watershed. Those repairs entailed laying a black cloth over a portion of the road closest to Egmont Road and then placing about six inches of road gravel on top. Within about six months all the pot holes were back in their usual spots. As for the road portion in front of most of homes, the regular practice of grading the road was employed with the usual results.)

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Here is the bid result from the BC Timber Sale wesite:

Timber Sale Status for A58201

Auction Date Friday, August 15, 2008

Sec/Cat:... A
Location:... Waugh Lake
Volume:... 11,848 /m3
Upset Rate:... $19.84 /m3

Auction results have been approved

Status:... AWARDED
Client Name: SLADEY TIMBER LTD.
Bonus Bid:... $2.36 /m3

(FOE note: Rumour has it that there were only two bidders for this BC Timber Sale Licence. If this is so, then the 'Upset Rate' would play a role in the auction. Here is what is meant by the term 'Upset Rate'...

"An important element of timber auctions is the upset—the minimum acceptable price, often called the reserve price in other auction environments. The upset has three main purposes: (1) to guarantee substantial revenue in auctions where competition is weak but the upset is met, (2) to limit the incentive for—and the impact of—collusive bidding, and (3) to provide useful information to bidders."

(quoted from 'Setting the Upset Price in British Columbia Timber Auctions' by Susan Athey, Peter Cramton, and Allan Ingraham, Market Design Inc. and Criterion Auctions, 12 September 2002)

Therefore the stumpage price (upset rate + bonus bid) for the Waugh Lake Watershed logs will be $22.20 /merchantable m3.)

Hike into the Waugh Lake Watershed -Part 4

As we moved east along the southern side of the ponds, we left the large 20-odd year old regrowth of the 1990's clearcut and moved into the mature second growth forest. Wildlife biologist, Dave Stiles believed some of the trees in this area could be from 200 to 600 years old. He felt this forest had re-established itself and we definitely found it easier to hike in this area without the debris left behind from recent clear-cutting. After resting for a while, we decided to head up the valley side and look for Tsain Ko's road location tapes in this older section of the forest. It didn't take too long to find them.As you can see, the ferns are well established on this very old logging road bed. We had actually entered IR 27 by this point and as we travelled back towards our starting point we passed through more old growth.Once we were back under a full forest canopy, it wasn't long before we came to some very large and obviously old cedars.
Dave says there are many more of this large cedars around the far side of the ponds. It would be very interesting to check the trees in the proposed cutblock EG273 which butts against the old growth management area along the park's southern edge. I noticed many of large cedars were quite close if not almost on the proposed road location and therefore will be removed if the road goes ahead. After alsmost three hours, we soon found ourselves back where we started.
After this hike, I have a greater appreciation of some of our long term residents grave concern over the proposed road activation and building in this part of the watershed. Above all, the fact that it is being proposed that this should be a permanent road through the watershed boggles the mind. As mentioned earlier, once the road skirts North Lake it enters and travels through the very heart of the Waugh Lake Watershed. I would like to repost the last two points of pathologist Dr. Lee Hutton's comment to this blog.

"2) logging roads increase human access which is a well known risk to watersheds used for human consumption. This is why Seattle, Vancouver, and Portland legally prohibit public trespass into their watersheds.

3) logging causes compaction of the soils and so that the forest floor no longer absorbs and filters water as it does in an undisturbed area. Roads where compaction is worst, are used for travel by animals and people which often leave their wastes which now wash off the road unfiltered, into a culvert and directly into drinking water sources. "

Hike into the Waugh Lake Watershed -Part 3

Once we made it down the mountain side into the three ponds valley, we were rewarded with quite a beautiful sight...The area surrounding the ponds is marshy but as you can see that didn't stop a logging company from venturing into the area. We next headed east following the ponds which took us towards the old second growth area. Once back into the woods, it wasn't long before Dave's experienced eyes caught sight of one of his field subjects...In Dave's gloved hand, is the red-legged frog (he was being very gentle with this rare creature, believe me!). In Canada, the red-legged frog is located only in British Columbia and it is now considered at 'species at risk.' The Environment Canada website has a good write up and an excellent map here on this shy amphibian. It is worth noting that this frog is protected under the 'Species at Risk Act' (SARA). In BC, the frog is on the Ministry of Environment's 'Blue List.' Now, it is interesting to note that on the MOE website, it says that the red-legged frog is protected under the 'Wildlife Act.' It goes on to say "Under the Identified Wildlife Management Strategy of the Forest Practices Code, Wildlife Habitat Areas can be established for important breeding habitats."

The site also encourages us to be ambassadors for the frogs in Council meetings and other planning meetings. Therefore, dear members of the 'Egmont and Area Advisory Committee on Logging', we hereby appoint you as Ambassadors for the endangered Red-legged Frog in your talks with Chaskin, the management arm of Tsain Ko Forest Development Corporation. Your first priority should be to establish the extent of the wildlife habit that will be set aside for the frog. Of course, this will entail extensive field studies to establish the overall range of the frog's breeding area. This could take some time given the number of creeks feeding the area. No doubt, though, you will have the full support of the Ministry of the Environment and the Sechelt Band Council in this endeavor.

(Dave Stiles says he was quite surprised to find the frogs so well represented up at this end of the Sunshine Coast. He strongly suggests their range should be established as soon as possible in and around the Waugh Lake Watershed Reserve and particularly in the ponds area).

Hike into the Waugh Lake Watershed -Part 2

The North Lake logging road was deactivated following the clear-cutting in the watershed in the 1990's. Basically, what the logging company did was remove all the culverts and let the road grow over naturally. We met up with Dave Stiles at North Lake Road and then drove in as far as we could and then suited up for the hike. It poured rain in the early morning so we were resolved to the fact we would be getting wet one way or another. It wasn't long before we met with the major creek that feeds the ponds which I mentioned at the end of the post below. Once past this creek, we were on the old decommissioned road and had a great view of the three ponds valley.The hiking was easy following this old road. Logging companies use lots of different coloured plastic tape each with its own special meaning. Red tape which you see hanging in the tree below means "road location." This is the route Tsain Ko wants to take, too.
We walked along this old road until we reached its end and then it was time to head down through the bush to the three ponds areas. This hike down into the valley was a bit of a slog despite the fact we were following a route used by Dave on a regular basis. He is conducting field studies of amphibians, bats and other forest critters that we tend not to see or tend to ignore. Dave's research will be use to update and build upon the the work of Kye Goodwin, John Field and John Dafoe who mapped out the sensitive ecosystems on the Sunshine Coast. That earlier research was put to good use in the SCRD's habitatAltlas. Dave's research will go to updating this Atlas; in addition, it will be used at the Iris Griffith Interpretive Centre located south of Ruby Lake.

Hike into the Waugh Lake Watershed -Part 1

This morning myself and three other area residents joined Sunshine Coast wildlife biologist, Dave Stiles, on a hike into a very special area of the Waugh Lake watershed: the three ponds. I had heard about the ponds area from other residents and because of its proximity to Tsain Ko Forest Development Corporation's proposed logging road reactivation and extension and its planned cutblock EG273, I felt the opportunity to see this area through the eyes of a biologist shouldn't be missed. The area we would be visiting can be seen on this map.The large mossy green area at the top of the map is the Skookumchuck Provincial Park. Each year, thousands of visitors to the Sunshine Coast follow the trail through the park to the famous Skookumchuck Rapids, the largest saltwater rapids in North America. You can see the three ponds area to the south of the park. The green areas represent old growth management areas which should protect them from logging. The large pink area to the right of the ponds is the forested Indian Reserve 27. IR 27 belongs to the Sechelt (Shishalh) Nation. The purple dotted line represents the reactivated and extended logging road proposed by Tsain Ko. That logging road would give Tsain Ko access to the band's land which it plans to log for the band and access to cutblock EG273. The green dotted line is the Waugh Lake Watershed boundary and the logging road, a portion of IR27 and half of EG273 are within the watershed. In fact, the logging road runs right through the heart of the watershed and not only does Tsain Ko want to reactivate it but they propose it become a permanent route to IR 27.

To give you another perspective, I have prepared a Google Map of the same area.
At the top of the this shot is Brown Lake which is in the provincial park. Below this can be seen the pond area with its old growth management area in dark green and around that is the old 1990's cutblock that took out a huge swath of the watershed right to Waugh Lake at the upper left of the image. Waugh Lake is where the village of Egmont gets its drinking water. Following this clear-cutting, many residents vowed to fight future logging in the watershed. Here is a close up view of the ponds, again, using Google Maps.
At the bottom of this image, you can make out the deactivated logging road from that 1990's clear-cutting. Where the road takes a dip down is located a major creek that feeds the ponds. Today, we hiked that old road, crossed the creek and headed through the old cutblock down to the ponds. We then moved into the old second growth to the right and then back up to where Tsain-Ko plans to build the road extension. The next postings will show you pictures from our trek.

Advisory Committee on Logging

Tick, tock, tick, tock. Well, we have our Advisory Committee that will sit down and "work" with Chaskin the management arm of Tsain Ko Forest Development Corportation. Tick, tock, tick, tock. One local resident was heard to say on Monday, "Well, I guess I am on it because it says so in the newspaper." (Coast Reporter, Friday, Aug 3, 2007). When asked if she had any idea when the Committee would first meet, she said no. Tick, tock, tick, tock. So let's see, it is Wednesday, August 8th and the road building and logging is to get underway in early September. This looks really promising, doesn't it? Tick, tock, tick, tock. Our Area Director, who is setting up this Committee under the auspices of the SCRD is now tied up for three days in those local Board of Health meetings mentioned below. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Well, someone on the Committee better assume temporary leadership and call a meeting and begin planning a strategy. It is this writer's opinion that the first priority should be to meet with the Sechelt Band Council and ask if they will respect this community's logging concerns otherwise these meetings with Chaskin are nothing but a complete waste of time. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

According to the newspaper article, the following residents will make up the Advisory Committee: George Connell, Ron Fearn, Kim Foster, Doug Imbeau, Norma Martin, Catherine McEachern, Martin Mees, Maureen Parrott.

Egmont Logging Update...

We now have some idea of a time line for when our "logging events" will get underway. Road building into the Ruby Lake Watershed cutblock will start at the beginning of September. The Ruby Lake cut will go first.

At the same time, Tsain Ko plans to work on the reactivation of the North Lake logging road that traverses the heart of the Waugh Lake Watershed and extend that road into SIB land that butts the south end of the Skookumchuck Provincial Park. Maybe while they are there, they will tackle the cutblock next to the park in addition to logging the band's holding?