Published: March 12, 2009 6:00 PM Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star
A North Okanagan Regional District agency is concerned that a $29 million water quality project is being delayed. Greater Vernon Advisory Committee directors were told Thursday that actual construction of the Duteau Creek treatment plant can’t get underway because the Interior Health Authority hasn’t signed off. “We are still dealing with IHA at the 11th hour to get a final construction certificate,” said Bill Di Pasquale, project manager. “This is holding up issuance of a building permit from the regional district.” Excavating can be done and cement forms can be put in place, but no actual concrete can be poured until there is a certificate from IHA. “I cannot suggest why it’s not happening,” said Di Pasquale. In January, NORD issued a $22 million contract for construction of the treatment plant, which is supposed to be completed by the end of 2010. While there is no actual application for a certificate, Di Pasquale says that approval is always the end-result and the design process began last spring. “We keep them abreast of where it’s at,” he said. IHA insists it’s not trying to delay construction.“There have been a lot of discussions back and forth between our staff and the regional district,” said Roger Parsonage, assistant director of health protection. “With a project of this magnitude, it takes time.” Parsonage was hoping the certificate would be issued Thursday. “We won’t head into the weekend with this outstanding,” he said. GVAC wants a meeting to discuss the Duteau Creek construction, but also IHA’s demands for filtration.
“IHA is getting out of hand here. They are dictating those things but holding us up when we are trying to reach those goals,” said Wayne Lippert, Vernon mayor and GVAC chairman. NORD has been ordered by IHA to have a filtration system on the Duteau Creek source by 2015, ahead of the original schedule of 2017 or 2018. The price tag would be about $20 million. Local officials insist that the cost of filtration could be too expensive without provincial funding, and they question why IHA is pushing for filtration when other health authorities in B.C. aren’t. “We’ve got a dictator in Kelowna dictating to this area and the (health) minister doesn’t seem to care,” said Cliff Kanester, BX-Swan Lake alternate director.
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Morning Star Editorial: IHA throws up road blocks Published: March 12, 2009 6:00 PM
Once again, questions have to be raised about the Interior Health Authority. After years of planning, the North Okanagan Regional District has issued a contract to build the $29 million Duteau Creek water treatment plant. But actual work has stalled because the bureaucrats at IHA’s Kelowna office apparently haven’t issued a construction certificate yet. Without that piece of paper, a building permit can’t be obtained. IHA officials insist their approval process takes time, and obviously a facility such as a water treatment plant is complicated and some consideration is warranted. But the design component began last spring, and NORD has met all requirements and kept the authority fully informed of what’s happening. If that’s been the case, why wasn’t the certificate issued by now? But of course, IHA is the same agency that’s being completely unreasonable when it demands filtration on the Duteau Creek system and possibly other North Okanagan utilities. Not only has the timeline for installing filtration been fast-forwarded, but there is absolutely no onus on IHA to provide financial assistance for the $20 million enhancement to Duteau Creek. After years of higher water rates just to get a treatment plant built, filtration could literally break the bank for Greater Vernon residents. IHA is supposed to promote a healthy population and ensure appropriate actions are taken to meet that goal.But it increasingly appears that the organization is bureaucratic and doesn’t respond to community needs in a straightforward manner.
2 comments:
Now even the Morning Star has woken up to the fact that there is something wrong at IHA. They have not woken up to the fact that there is also something wrong with our MLA-Christensen who has done nothing for the area. Perhaps we will hear from Foster next! The iha has screwed up on everything they touch including donations received for eye equipment,farming out senior care etc etc etc
Its amusing to see Nord getting mad at IHA on a/c of delays-how soon they forget the delays that they imposed on Silver Star-Nord directors could not survive in the real world.
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