The City of Vernon is being accused of preparing to flush effluent into
Okanagan Lake. Save Our Lakes is protesting the city's application to the Ministry of Environment to have its operational certificate altered, saying it will lead to effluent entering the lake through the controversial outfall pipe. "We don't want sewage put into the lake," said Alan Hill, president of the Save Our Lakes Society. "Pumping into the lake is foolish if there are other methods in which to dispose of it." SOL has gone as far as writing to the 
Ministry of Environment to oppose the city's application. "Our society gives notice that a Supreme Court ruling in a memorandum of understanding between your ministry, the City of Vernon and A.L. Hill exists which forbids such actions by the city unless the level of McKay reservoir reaches 1,939 feet geodesic elevation. This is not the case at this time," states the letter. "The society therefore expects the application to be denied and we await communication from you explaining the ministry reaction to the application." The memorandum of understanding stemmed from the city pumping effluent into Okanagan Lake in the late 1990s because of what it called emergency conditions at McKay reservoir, where waste water is stored. It was the only time that the outfall pipe has ever been used. Hill believes the city's current attempt to change the operational certificate could overrule his agreement. "The application, if approved, would allow them to discharge at will. Who would stop them?" he said. Hill is waiting to see how the ministry responds to the city's application, and he would not speculate on how far he is willing to go over the issue. "I have to reserve my thoughts on that," he said. City officials deny the sought amendments to the operational certificate are a way of discharging effluent into the lake. "We're just modifying the permit to 
reflect what we have now," said Leon Gous, chief administrative officer, of the city's new sewage treatment facility. "It puts us to a higher standard of discharge whether it is to McKay reservoir or the lake." Gous says regulations about using waste water stands and the agreement with SOL and the Okanagan Indian band prevents discharge into the lake. "The council policy on spray irrigation has not changed." The city has notified SOL and the band of its application to the ministry. If the province denies amendments to the operational certificate, the city will use the existing permit. "There wouldn't be an instance where we shut the plant down," said Gous. 
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