As some of you know, The Town of the City of Dawson is attempting to comply with a 2003 court order issued by the Yukon Territorial Court to build a secondary waste water treatment plant.
Yesterday afternoon (Aug. 13/09) we appeared in court at the old Administration Building before Judge Lilles to provide court with an update on our progress.
The courtroom itself dates back from the early 1900′s and has the ambiance of the court used in the Gregory Peck movie To Kill a Mockingbird. The only thing missing are the ceiling fans rotating slowly over a gallery of overheated spectators.
Of course our submission to court was all good news. Namely that a contract has been signed for 25M with Corix who will co-ordinate the job of designing and building a deep shaft treatment plant. This plant will function much like an aerated lagoon except that the ‘cells’ will be vertical steel shafts 300 feet into the bedrock. It is a proprietary technology called Vertreat. More can be learned at this website; dawsonwastewater.ca
Crown Counsel on behalf of Environment Canada expressed cautious oprtimism regarding the plan, pointing out that it still remains just a plan and would happier if there were a contingency plan in place. In other words, a parallel lagoon option should be pursued.
A stern warning was issued by the Crown that criminal liability still lurks in the background should all attempts to satisfy the court order fail. A cloaked way of saying that perhaps prison awaits the mayor if it is shown that the city is acting contrarily and flaunting the order. As long as I can bring my yoga mat and a few books it might serve as a welcome break ;–) as long as Bubba isn’t my bunk-mate.
Judge Lilles then went to the site for a ‘view’ along with everyone else. Stephen Johnson, on behalf of Corix then explained the test drilling operation that’s being undertaken at the moment.
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