Re: Athletes’ village ‘greenest in North America,’ Feb. 17
I note that one of the factors taken into consideration in awarding the athletes’ village an environmental green certificate was habitat restoration.
Surely this does not include marine habitat in southeast False Creek. It is common local knowledge that every heavy rainfall event results in dangerously high E. coli levels in southeast False Creek. The area becomes a cesspool as a result of sewage discharges. Many kayakers have complained about the contamination giving them rashes on their arms.
In late December we sampled the marine sediment in the shallow waters of southeast False Creek. Lab analyses revealed dangerously high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals. PCBs are banned chemical compounds that can cause skin lesions and severe liver damage. PAHs are carcinogenic, mutagenic toxins.
Should the False Creek Olympic Village community receive an environmental award when its marine habitat is contaminated with dangerous chemicals and feces?
Fraser Riverkeeper President Mark Mattson ran the Olympic torch for a leg in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay this afternoon.
Mark ran with the flame on Wednesday, February 10th in North Vancouver, at 12:38pm. He started along Mountain Highway from house 2032 and ran to 24th Street on Mountain Highway.
Mark was proud to take part in this ancient ritual and said:
“As President of the Fraser Riverkeeper, I am honoured to represent the Fraser Riverkeeper as part of the great team of Canadians who’ve participated in the torch run from all across the country and the athletes who will represent Canada during the games. The people and communities who have worked so hard to start and build the Fraser Riverkeeper organization, as well as the generations of future British Columbian’s who will also benefit from the beautiful Fraser River, will be on my mind.”
Over the past ten years, Mark has acted as counsel for environmental and public interest groups in more than 40 hearings and represented clients in both Provincial and Federal courts. He is a founding member and Board President of Fraser Riverkeeper and he is also the founder, President and full-time Waterkeeper with Lake Ontario Waterkeeper in Toronto.
The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay began on October 30th in Victoria, and the flame’s journey crosses Canada. The entire relay comprises a 106-day over 45,000km, with around 12,000 torchbearers. The torch is lit several months before each Olympics games event in Olympia, Greece — the site of the original games. The torch relay ends during the opening ceremony on Friday, February 12th.
Sediment Tests Positive for Highly Elevated Levels of PCBs, PAHs, Heavy Metals
Fraser Riverkeeper calls on Vancouver Authorities to Take Steps to Protect the Public
Vancouver, BC – February 10, 2010 – False Creek, a part of the Fraser River watershed, which runs through the Vancouver Olympic Village, has sediments that contain dangerous chemical contamination – including elevated levels of PCBs, PAHs, copper, lead, and other heavy metals – it was announced today by local and international water conservation groups. The groups, led by the local Fraser Riverkeeper – which commissioned tests near the Olympic Village and notified the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) last month of the toxicity – now call on Vancouver to take immediate steps to educate and protect the public.
“Tens of thousands of athletes, workers and spectators will soon be passing through the False Creek Area, on which Olympic Village is housed, daily; we call on VCHA to immediately warn the public to stay out of these waters,” said Fraser Riverkeeper Doug Chapman. “Our members use and recreate in these waters, and Fraser Riverkeeper remains concerned about the well-being and long-term health of our community. We have an obligation to help inform the public, as they have a right to know about the quality of their waters.”
On January 11, 2010, Fraser Riverkeeper wrote to Vancouver Coastal Health Authority’s office regarding acutely toxic and contaminated sediment samples obtained from two False Creek locations east of the Cambie Street Bridge in front of the Olympic Village on December 23, 2009. At that time, Fraser Riverkeeper asked what steps would be taken to protect the public from the contamination, and a request was made that the public be warned immediately about the dangers of wading in and using these contaminated areas. The group was informed during a meeting on February 8th by VCHA officers that the agency has known about the contamination for a decade.
“We have done our duty by testing for the presence of toxins and informing the authorities; we now urge the VCHA to do theirs by remedying the situation and notifying the public of the dangerous nature of this area,” Chapman continued. “To date we have received no response from VCHA that it intends to take steps to protect the public, nor has any warning been issued.”
Laboratory analyses of the samples collected by Fraser Riverkeeper were conducted by CANTest and establish that False Creek sediment is contaminated with elevated levels of PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls), PAHs (Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – chemical compounds that occur in oil, coal, and tar deposits, and are produced as byproducts of fuel burning), and toxic heavy metals including copper and lead. PCBs are banned compounds that can cause skin lesions, severe liver damage, and acute systemic poisoning that may be immediately fatal. PAHs are of concern as a pollutant because they are known carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic toxins. PCBs and PAHs enter the human body most commonly through contact with the skin.
According to John Werring, Salmon Conservation Biologist at the David Suzuki Foundation and Advisory Board Member of Fraser Riverkeeper, the tests show that several chemical parameters exceed British Columbia’s contaminated regulatory limits for the protection of marine and aquatic life. He further noted that some chemicals also exceeded regulated limits for soils for residential areas and parks.
“We call on the VCHA to immediately post signage warning the public and to monitor boat traffic, which may need to be controlled to prevent stirring up these highly contaminated sediments,” said Scott Edwards, Director of Advocacy Programs for Waterkeeper Alliance. “The eyes of the world are on Vancouver for the Olympic Games. While we understand the city may not want to draw attention to this problem at this time, ignoring it, and thereby failing to protect the public, would be dangerously irresponsible, a real embarrassment for the city and country.”
“The public must be protected,” concluded Lauren Hornor, Executive Director of Fraser Riverkeeper. “Of course, we are concerned about athletes and visitors to our country, but we are also concerned about the long-term health and well-being of the local and provincial communities, which use and enjoy these waters year-round.”
This video is a short profile of Watauga Riverkeeper Donna Lisenby. It is part of an “Environmental Heroes” series created by students at UNC-Chapel Hill.
We’d like to welcome Moose Riverkeeper as the newest Canadian Waterkeeper. Moose River is 547 km long, and its headwaters form at the Mattagmi River.
The newest Riverkeeper was approved by Waterkeeper Alliance this past June and is responsible for the Moose River, near James Bay, Ontario. Joseph Boyden, who is a Giller Book Prize winning writer and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper member, is the new Moose Riverkeeper. Joseph’s connection to the Moose River spans the past 20 years. An interview with Mr. Boyden is here. Joseph’s book Through Black Spruce integrates with the river as well.
President Clinton Speaks at Waterkeeper Alliance Annual Conference
Earth Mamas and Water Babies Mark and Krystyn from Lake Ontario Waterkeeper talk about the founding of their organization and the impact of mothers on the environmental movement. Their interviews include a radio podcast of the newest mother in the Waterkeeper movement, Lauren Brown from Fraser Riverkeeper.
Office of the Auditor General Canada’s 2009 spring report on Protecting Fish Habitats. Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Environment Canada cannot demonstrate that fish habitat is being adequately protected as the Fisheries Act requires. This full report notes that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has made progress by focusing on development projects that represent a higher risk to habitat. However, the audit found that the Department does not adequately monitor projects that it has approved with certain conditions attached that are meant to protect fish habitat.
From the report:
1.87 Environment Canada has not clearly established what it plans to achieve with its main Fisheries Act responsibility—ensuring compliance by industries and activities with the Act’s prohibition against the deposit of harmful substances in water frequented by fish (the Department estimates that this could apply to hundreds of thousands of organizations or individuals).
1.88 Administration of the Act’s prohibition requirement. In 2005, Environment Canada established a Fisheries Act working group to develop and implement a national approach for administering the Act’s prohibition against the deposit of harmful substances in water frequented by fish. The working group identified nine national priorities and additional regional priorities (sectors, industries, or activities) where water pollution issues should be addressed through administering the Act’s prohibition requirement. The working group recommended a plan of action to address these priorities. It has not met since 2006, and no one is clearly assigned the responsibility for action on the issues identified.
1.89 Further, the working group observed that Environment Canada’s focus was on its administration of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 and that the Department no longer had the management structure to administer the Fisheries Act.
Some quotes from our Riverkeeper Doug Chapman:
This report clearly shows that Environment Canada does not even have the management structure to enforce the federal Fisheries Act, Canada’s most important legislation to protect our waters from pollution. This means that thousands of polluters across the country are able to violate our environmental legislation with impunity.
Now, more than any other time in our history, it is necessary for environmental groups like the Fraser Riverkeeper to patrol our waters, conduct pollution investigations and to bring private prosecutions against those who are polluting our waters.
On the weekend of May 8-10, 2009 Fraser Riverkeeper joined more than 300 exhibitors at the Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo (EP!C) held in Vancouver’s new convention center on the water. Exhibitions included other community and non-profit organizations, fashion, food and beverage, leisure, home and garden, transport, health and beauty, business and technology, and moms and babies booths. The focus of the convention was “green,” with hundreds of organizations showcasing how their products and services are geared toward being environmentally friendly and safe.
Fraser Riverkeeper’s booth gave away brochures, stickers, and newsletters as well as Waterkeeper magazines. Mary, Doug, and Carol attended the booth over the weekend, talking to interested visitors and making sure that they knew what we were about, what Waterkeeper Alliance is about, and what we are currently doing about the Fraser River.
Our visitors included a city planner, several “streamkeepers,” anglers, nature lovers, biologists, people who live on the river, and all types of people young and old who were interested in the state of the river and concerned about not only their neighborhood creek or stream, but about all of the Fraser and its tributaries.
We also presented a slideshow of our latest event photos: the Pegleg Gravel Bar clean-up in Chilliwack, which elicited awe, as many people had no idea how much waste you could pull off one gravel bar in one afternoon. Others were well aware of the problems of not just private dumping but dangerous agricultural and municipal waste runoff.
Everyone who stopped by was very concerned about the Fraser River’s current and future health. We reminded people of our pollution hotline, investigation of complaints, and our resources to build cases if illegal dumping is found.
We want to thank everyone for stopping by our booth and being interested in what we do. We encourage you to visit our website often (and watch for new science articles), get involved, and become a member! If you would like to make a donation, please click our “Donate Now” button, which will take you to a secure donation site as well as automatically send you a charitable tax receipt in return.
Environmentalist Alumnus Addresses Conservation Issues at Reunions ’08
“Doug Chapman ’58, the Fraser Riverkeeper in Vancouver, Canada, and Bob Boyle, who helped found the Riverkeeper movement, discussed their roles in the environmental movement to a Kennedy Auditorium packed with alumni.”
By Holly Foster, Hamilton College
Fraser Riverkeeper and Woodtone Hosted Fantastic Turnout at Annual Earth Day Fraser River Cleanup at Pegleg Gravel Bar, Chilliwack
Fraser Riverkeeper and Woodtone worked with the city of Chilliwack and Rotz Disposal to organize this year’s Fraser River clean-up at the Pegleg Gravel Bar in Chilliwack on Sunday, April 19th.
The mighty Fraser River is the longest river in Canada’s beautiful British Columbia. The river’s watershed is a vast ecological, cultural, and economic treasure chest, which drains more than one-fourth of the province before its egress into the Pacific through Vancouver. This river is where the heart lies for Vancouver’s Fraser Riverkeeper, a registered charitable organization founded in 2005 under the leadership of renowned environmental advocate and seasoned prosecutor, Mr. Doug Chapman.
Fraser Riverkeeper has played an active part in community outreach and education, law enforcement, river patrol, and enhancement of the ecological health and integrity of the river and its tributaries. On April 19th 2009, Fraser Riverkeeper continued its river stewardship by taking part in its second annual Earth Day event: helping to organize the cleanup of Fraser River’s Pegleg Bar, one of the numerous gravel bars located on the river between Hope and Mission.
These bars provide important riparian zones for aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. As the river leaves the Fraser Canyon at Hope and enters the vast floodplain extending westward to the Georgia Strait, it loses a significant amount of energy, which allows heavier aggregate material to be deposited. Given the right conditions, gravel bars and islands form over time.
For those unfamiliar with the gravel bars in the Fraser Valley, they are absolutely remarkable to see. During the late winter and early spring before the freshet begins, the gravel bars are exposed and their expanse is mind-boggling. Much of the exposed gravel will be submerged underwater once the freshet begins in late spring, becoming one of many sport fishing hotspots in the area.
Unfortunately, there are those who are not aware of the importance of these bars and continue to dump along the river. At last year’s Earth Day cleanup, in the span of two hours, about 50 volunteers collected over four tons of waste materials: two and a half tons of garbage and two tons of metal, including bicycles, household appliances, mattress springs, and other recyclables.
This year, to celebrate Earth Day in its second annual cleanup, Fraser Riverkeeper worked once again with Woodtone, the city of Chilliwack, Rotz Disposal, and many other friends of the river – with more than double the amount of last year’s volunteers. We also pulled out 11 tons of waste, including the remains of a car and a washing machine.
Doug Chapman of the Fraser Riverkeeper thanked everybody for their efforts and spoke of the difference even a small change can make. “The garbage you removed today will not be able to disintegrate and affect the wildlife that inhabits the river. And the plastics pose an even larger threat, as it either gets ingested by fish that are later consumed by people or floating plastics end up in the large plastic ‘island’ in the North Pacific Gyre.”
Barry Penner, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent and Minister of Environment, was also out lending his support to the effort. Barry was encouraged by the huge volunteer turnout and by the impact they had on cleaning up such an important part of the river.
We’d like to give special thanks to Woodtone, Rotz Disposal, and the city of Chilliwack for all their efforts in joining forces to ensure that the 2009 cleanup went so smoothly. We’d also like to thank Coast Capital Savings, RBC Blue Water Project, and the Young Foundation for donating funds to this event. We’d like to thank the press, especially Hawk FM and Star FM, for keeping the community up-to-date. Also, a great thanks to our in-kind donations from Waste Services Industry, Pro-Fab, Watson Gloves, Norm’s Concrete, Nestlé Waters Canada, Tim Horton’s, Save-on-Foods, and Preserved Seed Cafe. Thanks to all the families for joining us and to those who brought trucks and were able to get heavier metals.
Metro beats rap on sewage
“Ottawa has flushed a private prosecution against Metro Vancouver that alleged the Iona sewage treatment plant illegally polluted the Strait of Georgia with fish-killing effluent…”
By Jeff Nagel, BC Local News
Metro sewage plants failing federal tests
“Three Metro Vancouver sewage treatment plants have been failing federal environmental tests at least seven years while dumping billions of litres of partly treated waste into the Fraser River…”
by Leslie Young, with files from Glenn Bohn, Vancouver Sun
Canada Urged not to Share Water with Americans
“BANFF – Canada must resist pressure to sell or share its water with the United States if it wants to avoid an environmental catastrophe, said environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr…”
by Nick Lees, Edmonton Journal
