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“Under the Built Environment theme, the panel recommended that Metro Vancouver municipalities re-focus Integrated RAINwater/Stormwater Management Plans (ISMPs) on watershed targets and outcomes. This recommendation flowed from concerns of municipalities over the ‘unintended consequences’ resulting from ISMPs completed to date in the region,” states Kim Stephens. “The elephant in the room is the unfunded liabilities from doing plans where people are not thinking about what the outcome is…”

Two years in the making, the Integrated Plan establishes the framework for moving beyond regulatory compliance to transitioning Metro Vancouver to an approach that achieves the Sustainable Region Vision. “Think about it – the Reference Panel has influenced the waste committee, the finance committee and the way we make decisions overall. It is great,” reflected West Vancouver Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones. “The community benefits when there is collaboration and a true partnership between local government staff and community members in a working group.”

Metro Vancouver is faced with a $1.4 billion financing decision on HOW to proceed with replacement of the existing Lions Gate and Iona Island treatment plants that serve the North Shore and Vancouver sewerage sreas, respectively. Complete Lions Gate by 2020 and Iona Island as soon as is reasonably possible after that. “This approach gives Metro Vancouver the flexibility to go faster, but does not strap us in if the senior governments do not come to the table with financial support. In the absence of a financial guarantee, this approach puts the ball in our court with respect to timing,” stated Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore.

The Lions Gate and Iona Island treatment plants have each been in service for approximately 50 years. Both have exceeded their useful lives. Both are high risk facilities with attendant environmental and legal risks for Metro Vancouver. “The overall impact of constructing both treatment plants by 2020 is comparatively small. The incremental difference in the annual financing cost of one versus two plants is not that much. The biggest hit is the first one,” stated Mayor Malcolm Brodie of Richmond.