SIERRA CLUB OF CANADA TAKES LEGAL ACTION TO PROTECT COURTENAY RIVER ESTUARY

COMOX, BC - Sierra Club of Canada is taking legal action to protect the Courtenay River estuary, an ecologically sensitive area designated a Canadian "Important Bird Area".

The organization is seeking a court order quashing the issuance of a development permit for a proposed gas service station on the Dyke (Comox) Road that runs along the edge of the estuary. The Comox Valley Regional District and Gas 'N' Go Petroleum North, Ltd. are named as respondents.

The development permit allows a gas station to be built right in the middle of a high-risk earthquake area, only a few metres from an estuary teeming with fish and wildlife. The proposed gas station, overwhelmingly opposed by Comox Valley residents, poses an unacceptable risk to the area's ecology and might increase the risk of traffic accidents.

"Gas stations have a notorious reputation for polluting nearby bodies of water," said Mike Bell, chair of Sierra Club Comox Valley. "Less than a two-hour drive from the Comox Valley we have the example of the service station spill at Cowichan Lake. It damaged a nearby stream, destroyed fish, and is costing taxpayers more than a million dollars to clean up. The same thing could happen here."

Bell emphasized that going to court was a last resort. "For more than a year we have given numerous presentations to the regional district, had many conversations with the staff, submitted a petition with 1300 names, tried to negotiate alternative uses with the owner-all to no avail."

The Courtenay River Estuary has the second highest concentration of over-wintering waterfowl in BC, including the Trumpeter Swan, and has been designated a Canadian "Important Bird Area"-a site providing essential bird habitat that contains threatened species, endemic species and a highly exceptional concentration of birds.

"This case speaks to the need for all communities to be included in decisions on land use. We need to give priority to businesses that create jobs while protecting the community's lasting asset, its ecological wealth," said Susan Howatt, campaigns director for Sierra Club BC.

Jennifer Millbank, Nanaimo, is legal counsel for the group. Sierra Club Comox Valley thanks West Coast Environmental Law and the University of Victoria's Environmental Law Centre for funding and legal expertise.