By Tyler Marr

Buckland residents near proposed lagoon speak out as vote nears

Jul 22, 2018 | 10:05 AM

As the vote nears for a proposed lagoon in the Rural Municipality of Buckland, residents who live next to the possible site are vocalizing their discontent with the situation.

The new structure is needed to replace the failing system for roughly 65 dwellings at North Bay Trailer Park. A vote to approve or deny the application for a new lagoon on a 160-acre parcel of land approximately two miles west of Highway 2, near Red Wing Road, was tabled earlier in July. R.M. lawmakers were hesitant to vote and sought clarity on changes to a planning document relating to setback distances for lagoons, or liquid waste management facilities, to wells, that has yet to undergo adoption by the ministry in Regina. 

This is expected to be complete in the coming weeks, meaning the next time council meets in August, lawmakers will gather under the new planning document. Jason Kaptein, the director of planning and development with the Prince Albert District Planning Committee who works with the R.M., previously told paNOW a special meeting could be called to deal with the lagoon application.

Lynelle Fremont and Rachel Kobelsky live next to the proposed site and said a recent meeting with councillors went over well, but still held plenty of trepidation over the project on many levels.

“Our biggest concern is having an individual [like park owner James] Wankel in our neighbourhood. He, right off the bat, has threatened to sue the R.M. and us being the ones who are going to pay it,” Fremont said. “We feel like he is pushing the R.M. and trying to bully them into making this decision.”

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Likewise hesitant, Kobelsky worried if “bringing him in, is that in our best interest of our R.M.?”

Topping the list of concerns for both residents are unknowns around the future usage of the lagoon. Each worried it could eventually be used by sewage trucks to start hauling additional waste to the site, which could add stress to a road already not in the best of shape. Fremont said the road was shuttered for nearly six weeks last year.

Fremont also raised red flags over maintenance, worried it could be difficult to contact Wankel, who is based in British Columbia, should a pipe break and need quick repairs. She went on to accuse him of not having “the community’s best interest in mind.”

“He is a businessman and it comes down to money,” Fremont said.

Both commended their council representatives, Preston Hanson and Orset Romanchuk, saying “they have been supportive and they hear us.”

“I think it is important for them to take this back [to the other councillors] and try to impress upon them how serious this is for us,” Fremont said, making note of a petition submitted with 67 signatures of those staunchly opposed to the project.

Kobelsky added how it “is scary not knowing if they are going to vote yes” and leave the residents to deal with it.

“When you have that many people concerned and there are only [seven] councillors voting, it is hard to swallow,” she said. “Our little community is not backing down and we are prepared to fight, whatever that takes. We are going to work our way up the ladder.”

If a plan for a new lagoon cannot be settled before Sept. 1, authorities from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency have said work will begin to decommission the old lagoon, meaning all 200-odd residents of the park could be forced to move.  

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr