Owen Sound is the last city on Georgian Bay to only treat it’s waste water at the primary level… but getting funding for an upgrade remains a problem.
The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Gord Miller tells Bayshore Broadcasting news both the Federal and Ontario governments have been ignoring problems on the great lakes for years.
Miller says has been highly critical of the Ministry of Environment for their lack of attention to sewage treatment generally, and up until recently allowed several primary sewage plants to operate on the Great Lakes.
The Environmental commissioner overseas the MOE… but says he cannot go to bat for Owen Sound to get federal and provincial funding for a new sewage treatment plant.
An upgrade will cost 43 million dollars and Owen Sound Mayor Ruth Lovell says the city cannot pay for it alone.
The current sewage treatment plant is 36 years old and at times, raw sewage gets into Georgian Bay when the system is swamped during heavy runoff.
Bruce Grey MP Larry Miller says the city would qualify for money under the Building Canada fund, but that agreement has yet to be signed by Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.
Until that deal is signed, no money is available to Owen Sound.
