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Environment Canada is “considering enforcement action” after recent tests showed raw sewage being dumped into the Petitcodiac River from a subdivision in Lower Coverdale is harmful to fish.
Officials tested effluent samples from the Greensboro subdivision, just outside of Riverview, N.B., after the Petitcodiac Riverkeeper requested an investigation into whether the untreated discharges violate the federal Fisheries Act.
“Environment Canada has analyzed these samples and has found the effluent to be deleterious to fish,” spokeswoman Sujata Raisinghani confirmed in an email.
“We are currently considering enforcement action.”
It’s unclear who might be facing enforcement, or what that might involve.
The tests indicate the effluent is “acutely lethal” to fish and therefore in violation of the Fisheries Act, Riverkeeper Tim Van Hinte stated in a press release.
“I have sent a letter to both [New Brunswick] Minister of Environment Rick Miles and Environment Canada advising them that untreated sewage discharges at Greensboro are unacceptable, must be fixed and that a feasible solution to the situation be implemented without delay,” he said.
Ongoing problem
The province has known for years that raw sewage from the subdivison has been flowing into the river, said Van Hinte, citing a feasibility study the government commissioned in 2005 to evaluate sewage treatment options. He also filed a complaint with the then-provincial environment minister Roland Haché in July 2008, he said.
The province has been aware of the problem for years, said Miles. But who will pay for a fix is not known.
“You’re looking at between $500,000 and $1 million to put infrastructure in there for the sewage,” Miles said. “You know, where’s the money come from? Should it be taxpayers who pick up the bill for this subdivision? And not only that, you know, who’s going to maintain this particular property?”
There were no regulations in place in 1974, when the subdivision was built, he said.
While the province is in discussions with the other levels of government about the issue, there’s no solution yet, said Miles.
After more than 10 years of talking, it’s time to do something, said Charles Prince, who lives in the subdivision and heads up a residents committee.
The subdivision owns its sewerage system, but the 48 families who live there can’t afford to fix it, he said.
“And infrastructure, in my opinion, should not be the responsibility of residents of a subdivision. It should be controlled and managed by the government,” said Prince.
He believes the province should pay to connect his subdivision to the Greater Moncton sewerage system.