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By Claire Brownell
Chelsea residents who live near the proposed site of a sewage treatment plant on the Gatineau River supported the next step toward its construction in a vote Sunday.
Mélanie Rousseau, a spokeswoman for the Municipality of Chelsea, said 50 residents gave the green light to an engineering study to determine whether the site, which is on land owned by Hydro-Québec near Mill Road, can support the plant. Only 13 people voted against the study, bringing the voter turnout to 63 out of 94 eligible residents.
Once the study is complete, the results will be presented to residents at city council. At that point, residents will be able to request a referendum on the plant’s construction, which would be open to the same 94 people.
If the feasibility study finds the site can support the plant, the municipality will also conduct another study to assess its potential effect on the environment. Members of Citizens for the Protection of Gatineau, Friends of the Gatineau River and Ottawa Riverkeeper have denounced the proposal, saying the river won’t be able to handle the effluent.
Sewage from about 50,000 residents in the area used to go to Gatineau’s treatment plant, but the city stopped accepting it last year. It is now being trucked to Chénéville, 130 kilometres east of La Pêche.