COURT OF APPEAL REJECTION PRESENTS ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE FOR SIERRA CLUB IN FIGHT AGAINST GAS N GO.

On Friday, July 2, the B.C. Court of Appeals handed down its decision rejecting Sierra Club Canada’s request to invalidate the Development Permit issued in March, 2007 by the CVRD for the proposed Gas N Go station on the Dyke Road. Mike Bell, Chair of Sierra Club Comox Valley, made the announcement today.

“The news was disappointing,” said Bell, “but not totally unexpected. We have been preparing for this eventuality for some months.” He stressed the importance of placing the court decision in perspective.

“People are concerned about the potential environmental damage. The site is in an ecologically sensitive area, on a flood plain and in earthquake zone, on highly unstable ground, less than 60 meters from the feeding grounds of migrating salmon. It is in a Canadian Important Bird Area, the second most important estuary for migrating birds in B.C. It is on a narrow, high volume traffic road with a significant history of crashes. But the court case didn’t deal with any of these environmental concerns,” said Bell

Early on, the Sierra Club recognized that there were no adequate environmental laws upon which to build a court case. So it had to build its case on the Municipal Act.

“The bottom line is this,” said Bell. “The court decision allows the CVRD and Mr. Procter to move to the next stage of the project—the building-permit stage. But, it doesn’t allow them to desecrate the Courtenay River Estuary with a high risk project simply because there is no adequate legislation or zoning to protect it.”

According to Bell, Sierra Club Comox Valley will continue to raise public awareness and oppose the development of the station. It will also expand its area of interest to deal with the Regional Growth Strategy and the development of a new Official Community Plan.

Working with other groups and government departments, it will help develop and implement a vision for the estuary. And it will mobilize its members and friends to keep the pressure on local governments and hold them accountable for preserving the spectacular environment of the Comox Valley.

Mike Bell
Sierra Club Comox Valley