An Anatomy of a Water Win
Dara Quast On March 21, 2016, a Supreme Court ruling confirmed the Cowichan Valley’s Regional District’s authority regarding permitted land use. Contaminated soil will cease to be dumped into the…
South Island Aggregates (SIA)
Polak–Shawnigan Dirty Dirt Permit Can’t Be Pulled Without Evidence Of Ecological Harm
Here is another Peter Rusland article originally published in the South Cowichan Echo. Apparently the Environment Minister rejects the long standing guidline contained in the ‘Precautionary Principle’ approach Peter…
Stephen Hume: Drinking-Water Warning Brushed Aside By Province
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The three and a half year controversy surrounding South Island Aggregates (SIA) being permitted, by the BC Liberal government, to deposit contaminated soils and other toxic substances…
Injunction Sought: SIA Attempt to Muzzle Shawnigan Folk Hero ‘Shemama’ Shelagh Bell Irving
SIA and ‘Shemama’ Shelagh Bell-Irving-A Study In Contrasts The South Island Aggregates (SIA) outfit is a classic example of greed driven capitalists without conscience. They have little…
Steelhead LNG-Malahat Nation Plans Proceed While The Chief Michael Harry And Council Have Resigned!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger We may be in the throes of a Federal Election and trying to enjoy the last few weeks of summer but the Steelhead LNG-Malahat Nation proposal to…
Malahat Nation and Steelhead LNG to Announce an LNG project.
Cowichan Conversations broke the story of an impending LNG Project announcement August 9th. Today the announcement has been scheduled for Thursday, August 20th 2015 at 10AM. On Thursday, August 20th,…
CVRD CAO Brian Carruthers Reveals The Details Of Court Action To Stop SIA Cold.
Richard Hughes The CVRD has spent over 3 years and well in excess of 600,000 dollars of our money flip flopping about over the South Island Aggregates (SIA) plan to…
The CVRD Has Amended Their Petition Over Bylaws To Halt SIA’s Contaminated Site Facility
Here is the CVRD’s late Friday release. In communications circles late Fridays are the time to deliver unpleasant news, firings, and the like. I spoke with CAO Brian Carruthers and…
Screw the Law! — BC Liberal Government Rides Roughshod Over Cowichan Communities
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger The BC Liberal government’s Mines ministry has fully embraced a new political tactic. Screw the law, it is all about rewarding businesses to plunder at will. South…
Shawnigan Lake Residents — Idle No More
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Shawnigan is located at the south end of the Cowichan Valley Regional District and for a number of reasons seemed somewhat detached from the local government headquarters…
Toxic Algae Bloom Leaves 500,000 Without Drinking Water in Ohio
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Water shortages are a serious concern in the Cowichan Valley with record low levels in the Cowichan River threatening salmon survival. Water use regulations restricting use have…
South Island Aggregates Shuts Down Pit. Is This The End Or Just A Ploy?
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger SIA has apparently shut down their operations and may be out of business. At first look this is encouraging news to residents justifiably worried about SIA’s government…
CVRD Heads Off To Environmental Appeal Board In Hopes of Stopping Contaminated Soil Being Dumped In The Shawnigan Watershed
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger It has been a year and a half since Shawnigan residents learned of an application to dump 5 million tonnes of contaminated soil in their watershed. Until…
Have the CVRD Politicans Finally Woken Up?
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes-Political Blogger I suspect that many of you are getting as tired of hearing about yet another CVRD screw up and outright failure to responsibly represent the taxpaying…
CVRD Director Bruce Fraser and his Colleagues Have a Great Deal To Answer For!
The CVRD has finally discovered that the land use bylaw that they insisted was of no use in blocking the proposed South Island Aggregate’s proposed contaminated site does in fact…
Cowichan Citizen Poll on Contaminated Site Approval Falls Short!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Dear Editor, I was taken aback seeing the simplistic and cavalier manner in which your structured your latest poll. The issue is far more complex than the…
BC Liberals Give Green Light To Dump Contaminants in Shawnigan Watershed.
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Political Blogger The BC Liberal Government announced today that the South Island Aggregates (SIA) have been granted a permit to dump 5 million tonnes of contaminated and…
Hey CVRD! Draw Up a Bylaw to Protect the Shawnigan Watershed!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger OK so the Provincial Election returned the BC Liberals. They changed Environment Ministers slotting Mary Polak in as our new Environment chief. Those concerned with the Shawnigan…
Shawnigan Director Bruce Fraser Reports: SIA Permit For Contaminated Soils Will Be Approved!
Breaking News on SIA Permit Shawnigan CVRD Director Bruce Fraser At a meeting this morning (June 19th) between the MOE, Ministry of Mines and the CVRD it was confirmed that…
Guerilla Radio Covered Shawnigan Contaminated Sites Protest!
Richard Hughes-Political Blogger Saturday turned out to be a spectacular warm spring day. It was perfect weather for about 250 residents and politicians gathered in Shawnigan Village to rally and…