There’s no cheap or easy solution to a derelict vessel problem in Porpoise Bay, councillors heard at the District of Sechelt’s June 29 planning and community development committee meeting.
Bylaw enforcement officer Greg Horning gave a presentation to committee that outlined the issue, saying there are about 29 derelict vessels now floating in Porpoise Bay within the 300 metres from shore the district holds jurisdiction over, which could cost upwards of $160,000 to haul away and dispose of at the landfill.
That cost doesn’t include the estimated $14,500 to remove the vessels’ mooring buoys and about $7,000 to remove a handful of floating docks also in the area.
Making the issue more complex is the jurisdiction the buoys, docks and vessels fall under.
Horning said floating docks fall under the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, the mooring buoys fall under federal jurisdiction, and derelict vessels themselves fall under different federal government agencies.
“We have several people involved with the authority over the vessels, so Transport Canada, Coast Guard, Environment Canada and sometimes Fisheries and Oceans, depending on what’s happening right where they’re anchored,” Horning said.
He noted other levels of government would be willing to help Sechelt deal with its derelict vessel issue if Sechelt could pay the associated costs.
“They will gladly come and do this for us and I can act on their behalf, if we supply the money,” Horning said.
He explained a derelict vessel is defined under federal legislation as being “property which has been abandoned and deserted in waters by those who were in charge without any hope of recovering it.”
It can also be defined as a vessel with no running lights that is a navigational hazard or a vessel that has no way of moving.
Horning said that of the approximately 29 derelict vessels identified in Porpoise Bay, about five have people living on them.
He noted it’s extremely difficult to find out who legally owns each vessel because of the lack of enforcement around registering boats, making cost recovery from owners for disposal of vessels unlikely.
Coun. Mike Shanks said he asked for the report to come to committee after hearing from East Porpoise Bay ratepayers that they wanted something done about the derelict vessels in Porpoise Bay.
“It’s made its way to this agenda to get some input from members of council in terms of how we want to entertain moving this forward and any questions council may have at this time,” Shanks said.
Councillors Darnelda Siegers and Alice Lutes were the only other two councillors present for the committee meeting and Siegers asked for more information about how Gibsons deals with the issue. In particular she wanted to know more about how Gibsons’ water lease impacts the Town’s ability to enforce rules around derelict vessels.
Horning said Gibsons is one of only two local governments in the world that has a derelict vessel bylaw on the books, although he questioned its enforceability.
Siegers also asked if there was any monitoring of possible fuel or oil contaminants leaking from the derelict vessels in Porpoise Bay. Lutes said local pilots take pictures of any oil slicks from the air and notify Sunshine Coast Regional District emergency program coordinator Bill Elsner, who investigates if needed.
“So in that manner, we have a pretty good handle on it,” Lutes said.
Councillors then voted unanimously to send the report, along with information about Gibsons’ water lease and how it impacts derelict vessel enforcement, to a future council meeting for more discussion and debate about possible next steps.
