Contaminated sites created by Victoria's sewage

VICTORIA B.C - Sierra Legal Defence Fund, on behalf of the Georgia Strait Alliance and T Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation, made an urgent request today that the Province of British Columbia formally designate the underwater areas surrounding Victoria's sewage outfalls as contaminated sites. The groups provided new scientific and legal analysis of the Capital Regional District's own monitoring data, conclusively demonstrating that the areas in the immediate vicinity of the outfalls have levels of toxic chemicals higher than the levels prescribed under both provincial legislation and national guidelines for contaminated sites.

"Contrary to its repeated claims, the CRD's own data has clearly documented that the dumping of raw sewage into the Strait of Juan de Fuca is creating contaminated sites," said Sierra Legal lawyer Margot Venton. "We are simply asking the province to designate those areas as contaminated sites and ensure that the CRD quickly and effectively deals with the associated environmental and health risks."

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