The province has committed to making derelict vessels and docks a "priority file," the chair of Islands Trust council told local government officials late last month.
Reporting on a meeting with Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson at the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) convention, Sheila Malcolmson said she had pointed out the lack of progress on the issue since meeting with Thomson two years ago, and again called for "a permanent solution."
While Thomson "acknowledged that work on a provincial funding mechanism had again stalled," Malcolmson said he "committed to bring the derelict vessel file back to a priority file within the ministry and to continue to work collaboratively towards solutions."
Thomson also agreed to meet with the federal transportation minister to discuss the ongoing problem, Malcolmson said.
"Once again, the stage is set for senior government work on this topic, but I suspect continued pressure will be needed to ensure that real progress is made," she said in the Oct. 21 letter.
Following the UBCM convention, Thomson's ministry released a draft manual for addressing problem vessels and floating structures.
Reviewing the draft document at their Nov. 7 infrastructure services committee meeting, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) directors agreed to forward four comments prepared by staff:
"Although the issues of jurisdiction are generally clear, the manual does not put the onus on the appropriate level of government to clean up debris and vessels, but instead seeks to expand the responsibilities to include local government due mainly to funding issues.
"Experience at the SCRD has been that there are more issues with abandoned structures than with abandoned vessels, other than related to our own docks.
"Rather than focusing exclusively on additional funding from the federal government, the provincial government should also establish funding to address issues with debris that is on Crown land.
"As a starting point, the provincial government should coordinate the establishment of an inventory of abandoned vessels and structures in order to establish the magnitude of the issue and provide the basis for establishing priorities. Once this is complete, the resulting funding requirements could be negotiated between the province and the federal government."
Discussing the problem at a recent Gibsons council meeting, Coun. Lee Ann Johnson noted that a large number of fibreglass boats "are about to fall apart because of age," and could cause significant harm to the environment.
Washington state, Johnson said, has been "very proactive" on the issue, addressing the expense problem through a licensing system and fee system for boat owners.
"I'm just disappointed that we seem unable to move forward," she said.
The issue was brought home for SCRD directors when some of them recently toured Hillside Industrial Park by helicopter and spotted a derelict vessel in Howe Sound apparently leaking oil.
The incident was reported to the provincial Ministry of Environment, but no response had been received before the Nov. 7 committee meeting, CAO John France told directors.
