Passions flare at Buckland public hearing for proposed lagoon
Debate and rebuttals took periodic turns into heated exchanges, applause and the occasional gavel pound to calm the crowd during a public hearing for a newly proposed lagoon in the Rural Municipality of Buckland.
The new structure is needed to replace the failing system for roughly 65 dwellings at North Bay Trailer Park. If a plan for a new lagoon cannot be decided before September 1, authorities from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) said work will begin to decommission the old lagoon, meaning all residents of the park will be forced to move.
An audience of over 40 turned out Monday, spilling into the office foyer, to discuss an application the R.M. received to construct the new sewage lagoon approximately two miles west of Highway 2, near Red Wing Road.
Those in attendance skewed heavily in opposition to the motion for a multitude of reasons. The greatest concern pertained to uncertainty around the project’s future. Many worried if, down the road, sewage trucks will start hauling additional waste to the site, which could add stress to a road already not in the best of shape, according to residents. The road was shut down for nearly six weeks last year, they said, and prevented buses and ambulances from getting through.