PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Montreal, November 14, 2018 – On the eve of a spill of untreated wastewater by the city of Longueuil, an eight-day “flushgate”, the Fondation Rivières requests the implementation of six measures to significantly reduce the pollution caused by municipal decisions .
In letter transmitted to the new Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, Ms. MarieChantal Chassé, available on our website, the Fondation Rivières identifies concrete and simple actions that the Ministry should take. These are summarized as follows: 1) designation of a ministerial manager 2) identification of mandatory mitigation measures 3) production of a list of activities to be carried out 4) requirement to produce an event report 5) obligation to obtain ministerial authorization before a planned discharge 6) introduction of an incentive fee on each cubic meter of wastewater discharged.
In the case of Longueuil, where a 16-meter pipe in the bed of the Saint-Laurent must be replaced, it is noted that the contract with the contractor, paid at an hourly rate, does not provide an incentive clause for rapid completion of the work. works. Industries are also present in the affected territory and an inventory accompanied by mitigation measures, in such situations, is desirable.
“The population wants to have the assurance, with good reason, that all reasonable efforts have been made to minimize spills,” declares Alain Saladzius, engineer and president of Fondation Rivières, while adding that “the government has not yet implemented in place, since Montreal's flushgate in 2015, conditions that make it possible to identify best practices.
Like the 93 municipalities which still discharge untreated wastewater directly into the environment, the government must designate experts to support them in resolving these persistent problems.
- 30 -
For informations :
Alain Saladzius
President
514 924-2013
presidency@fondationrivieres.org
