July 2008

Developers slam urban boundary plan
1,200-acre expansion over 20 years not enough, will drive up house costs, homebuilders say

Ottawa Citizen, July 31, 2008, page C1
Mohammed Adam

The City of Ottawa is looking to expand its urban boundary by 1,200 acres -- about the size of Leitrim in the rural south -- over the next 20 years, but developers say homebuyers will pay dearly for keeping the expansion that small.

The boundary, a line around the outside edge of the city beyond which development is not meant to sprawl, is a key way to force developers to construct more buildings in existing neighbourhoods.

John Moser, the city's director of planning, told the Citizen editorial board yesterday that while intensification is here to stay, in the next version of its official plan for development, the city plans to expand the boundary to meet long-term housing needs. He said the expansion will not eat up agricultural land or encroach on new communities, but will be limited to areas where opportunities exist to take advantage of services or finish existing development.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=1d072846-5f7c-4dc2-b938-8805425f965e

City of Ottawa charged over huge 2006 sewage spill

CBC News, July 31, 2008

The City of Ottawa faces two charges under the Ontario Water Resources Act after a massive sewage spill into the Ottawa River two summers ago. The charges, laid by the Ministry of the Environment following an investigation, relate to the spill between Aug. 4 and Aug. 15, 2006, said a ministry news release Thursday.

One count is for allegedly causing or permitting the discharge of sewage into the river that could "impair the quality of the water," contrary to Section 30 (1) of the act. The other count is for failing to notify the ministry of the spill when it was discovered, on Aug. 15, as required by Section 30 (2).

The spill, estimated at 1.2 billion litres, was blamed for bacterial contamination at Petrie Island beach downstream, resulting in 45 days of no-swimming advisories.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/31/ot-sewage-080731.html

1,500 spills across river

Ottawa Sun, July 31, 2008
Kris Westwood

Raw sewage was released into the Ottawa River by the City of Gatineau about 1,500 times in 2007, and the frequency of the spills isn't likely to improve anytime soon, a city official said.

"We want to improve the situation, but we can't expect that it will be fixed in the short term," said Louise Lavoie, who heads Gatineau's water treatment department.

Gatineau faces a similar problem to Ottawa in that raw sewage overflows into the river after heavy rains because the waste water treatment system's capacity is overwhelmed. Fixing the problem will require a "major investment," Lavoie says.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/31/6313446-sun.html

Gatineau dumped sewage in Ottawa River almost 1,500 times last year

CBC News, July 30, 2008

Raw sewage from the City of Gatineau overflowed into the Ottawa River on almost 1,500 occasions in 2007, with overflows ranging from a few minutes to a few days at a time, the city reported.

So far this year, the city has dumped sewage into the river more than 500 times.

Like Ottawa's sewage system, which releases more than four million litres of raw sewage into the river each year, Gatineau's is designed to allow raw sewage to overflow into the river after heavy rain. That's because the volume of storm water and sanitary sewer water combined is often too large for the system's capacity, said Louise Lavoie, head of Gatineau's environment department.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/30/ot-sewage-080729.html

New rules take aim at highrise buildings in Ottawa
Critics say guidelines proposed by city planners assume height is good, reports Maria Cook, while developers argue the rules will drive up costs and hinder creativity.

Ottawa Citizen, July 28, 2008, page A1
Maria Cook

Ottawa wants to rescue its streets from "glorified" highrise "boxes."

Facing growing public dissatisfaction, the city is proposing ways to make tall buildings more palatable to communities.

To that end, staff are preparing guidelines that will be put before the public this fall at a series of open house meetings. Once accepted, the guidelines would be used during review of development applications for buildings 10 storeys and higher.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=84ac8d56-5c24-4261-a3c2-e17cb50fae18

Editorial: Staying on the rails

Ottawa Citizen, July 28, 2008, page A8

Capital Councillor Clive Doucet has long had the reputation of a left-wing idealist, and on some issues he is -- but on light rail he has shown a welcome practical streak.

Specifically, Mr. Doucet is demanding to know how exactly the city will come up with about $4 billion to pay for the recently approved light rail plan. Good question.

The City of Ottawa is in such dire straits that Mayor Larry O'Brien proposed a $50 surcharge for taxpayers so the municipality could cover its snow-moving bill. And it's not as though we should have been surprised by snow. True, Ottawa had near-record snowfall last winter but there is a budget and you can pretty much guarantee snow in Eastern Ontario each year. Some organizations might have had a little money in the kitty for heavy snow years. Some didn't.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=3b8dda4b-4dad-4d35-be68-dfc4cc8a42f9

City praised for reducing water leaks
New detection methods, meters, reduce losses by 12%

Ottawa Sun, July 28, 2008

The City of Ottawa is getting full marks shutting the tap off on leaky pipes.

The Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative, a group of participating municipalities that work to identify and share performance statistics and best practices, has singled out eight municipalities across the province that have taken steps to reduce leaks in the water and wastewater systems.

In a report released last week an expert panel put together by OMBI to monitor water and wastewater services across Ontario said Ottawa has reduced the amount of water leaking from old pipes by 12%.

When first surveyed, Ottawa had the worst Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI) of the municipalities OMBI examined, leading the city to take steps to reduce the problem.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/28/6287996.html

Ontario nuclear plant weld failure "unprecedented," documents show

Ottawa Citizen, July 27, 2008

Ken Meaney and Jack Branswell, Canwest News Service

When the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission was struggling last December with a shortage of medical isotopes sparked by the Chalk River reactor shutdown, it was also dealing with another Ontario nuclear plant where there had been an "unprecedented" weld failure on one fuel bundle.

In all, 10 defective welds were found on the fuel bundle, a collection of processed uranium rods resembling the barrel of a Gatling gun about a half-metre long.

The rods contain pellets of uranium dioxide - used to generate electricity by heating water into steam to drive turbines.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=5b689d87-3396-4dc7-ba50-5276d4d7005c

Merrickville needs fast fix for sewage problem: mayor

Ottawa Citizen, July 26, 2008, page D1
Graham Hughes

Merrickville Mayor Doug Struthers says the federal-provincial announcement of $9.3 billion in infrastructure funding was a good thing, but the village needs money for a new sewage treatment plant now, not sometime after the funding process is outlined.

He said the village has applied for funding for the $8.4-million plant five times under three programs since a report in 2002 said the liners of the system's 35-year-old treatment tanks were deteriorating.

Reports in 2005, 2007 and this year indicated continued degradation of the tanks' integrity. The 2007 report concluded that catastrophic failure is imminent, Mr. Struthers said.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=020f5ae3-abca-4e96-b439-d6f5a8067cc3

Environment minister wades into Kanata West development dispute
Warns developers, city officials to follow guidelines or face consequences

Ottawa Citizen, July 26, 2008, page A1
Patrick Dare

Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen has stepped into the development battle over Kanata West, telling developers and the city that he wants a lot more proof that building there is the right thing to do.

The minister warns the parties that failure to comply with the conditions he sets out could result in prosecutions under Ontario law.

Responding to several 2006 requests from citizens for more thorough study of the 700-hectare development near Scotiabank Place, Mr. Gerretsen this week issued an order for additional work to be done by the city and the Kanata West Owners Group before the huge office, retail and residential development can take place.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=18a117a2-cb65-42a3-9495-b3022df5b929

Cantley couple hopes to SLAPP back
Bill 99 would protect little guy from big business

Ottawa Citizen, July 26, 2008, page D1
Jean-François Bertrand

A Cantley couple is at the receiving end of something called a SLAPP, which is an acronym for strategic lawsuit against public participation.

The Cantley dry materials dump is suing Serge Galipeau and Christine Landry for $1.25 million for slander, costing the couple opposed to the dump numerous sleepless nights -- and about $20,000 in legal fees so far.

So why is Serge Galipeau smiling? Because the Quebec government introduced anti-SLAPP legislation last month, before its summer break. Bill 99 could be easily adopted in the fall, as both opposition parties said they would support it.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=73db8bf8-bfe1-41d2-ac3b-b18ac12d37f7

Cycling the rural route

Orleans Star/Weekly Journal, July 25, 2008
Laura Cummings

Bike enthusiasts will have an easier time getting out to spin their wheels in the near future, with council approving a $1-million cycling pathway for the rural east earlier this month.

The Rural East Ottawa Multi-use Pathway - passed by council on July 9 - is an approximately 24-km route that would connect to the United Counties of Prescott and Russell's cycling trail, which opened in 2004 and runs 72 km from Ottawa's city limits to the Quebec border. The city's section would follow the VIA Rail right-of-way through former Gloucester and Cumberland, linking with other rural eastern regions including Navan, Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Orléans south and the Greenbelt, where the NCC is currently developing its own pathway system.

The route was approved in conjunction with the passing of the $26-million, five-year Ottawa Cycling Plan, as a motion put forward by Innes Coun. Rainer Bloess asking staff include it as part of the plan's first phase, and to identify potential community partners for financial assistance with the trail's stretch from Cyrville Road onwards.

http://www.eastottawa.ca/article-234529-Cycling-the-rural-route.html

Train route pitched
Would aid Ottawa Valley commuters

Ottawa Sun, July 25, 2008
Terri Saunders

A commuter train that would weave between Ontario and Quebec through the Ottawa Valley into the capital's west end could give an economic boost to communities along its route, say proponents of the plan.

"This train would do wonders for economic development throughout the region," said Heather Alberti-Dickson, chairwoman of the Pontiac Community Futures Development Corporation in Shawville, Que., the group behind the proposal. "I think all the communities would see an increase in population and it would mean more people could work in an urban area but live a rural lifestyle."

The train would run on existing track between Pembroke and Ottawa, travelling through communities such as Renfrew, Aylmer and Gatineau, with of the end line in Ottawa's west end.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/25/6258971-sun.html

Tree-killing beetle discovered in Ottawa

CBC News, July 25, 2008

A destructive Asian beetle that targets ash trees has been found in Ottawa.

Damage caused by the emerald ash borer was discovered by municipal forestry inspectors at a stand of ash trees near St. Laurent Boulevard and Ogilvie Road earlier this week, the City of Ottawa said in a news release Friday.

Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspectors confirmed the damage was caused by that insect.

Larvae of the beetle, which is native to eastern Asia, feed under the bark, leaving behind serpentine tunnels filled with sawdust.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/25/ot-ashborer-080725.html

States of disrepair

Ottawa Citizen, July 25, 2008, page A12

Another heavy rainfall, another sewage spill into the Ottawa River. It's becoming a habit.

At least this time, city staff addressed the problem quickly and told authorities, bureaucrats and council promptly. A control mechanism at Booth Street had jammed due to debris, letting sewage pour into the river.

But that's not the end of it. About 730,000 cubic metres of sewage and storm water drained into the river last year because old combined sewage pipes overwhelm treatment facilities during heavy storms. Ottawa is not alone in Ontario, or for that matter North America, in these sewage incidents. Old infrastructure, that doesn't separate sewage from storm water, is the culprit.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=38d6f699-15cb-47aa-94d7-c7f76dc6322e

Gyno the ferret banned by Ottawa transit bylaw

Globe and Mail, July 25, 2008
Matthew Trevisan

When Frances Woodard tries to explain her panic and anxiety attacks, she stops in mid-speech.

"I just can't go there," she says quickly.

There are even times when she can't work up the courage to venture outdoors, especially if there's no one who will accompany the Ottawa woman, who uses a wheelchair.

But if she's got her pet ferret, Gyno, with her, things are different. "He comes up and he starts licking my neck like he's concerned about me," the 54-year-old said. "And just patting him and talking to him - it takes my mind away from the panic and it's a method of grounding."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080725.wferret25/BNStory/National/home

White paper debates Greenbelt development issue

Kanata Kourier-Standard, July 25, 2008, page 12
Peggy Feltmate

Any suggestion of development in the Greenbelt generates a strong reaction. People who use the trails in the Greenbelt or like having greenspace nearby are strongly opposed.

Others, who are concerned about the costs the greenbelt adds to the cost of city services or people's commutes, wonder why development isn't permitted in areas of lower environmental significance.

One of the white papers prepared as part of the City of Ottawa official plan review looks at the question of whether development should be permitted in some parts of the Greenbelt. The paper outlines the costs and benefits of the Greenbelt and asks for feedback from the public.

http://www.ottawaregionmediagroup.com

It's time for small thinking on energy security

Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 2008, page A15
David Chernushenko

The recent G8 Summit achieved one important result. It showed that too many of our leaders still think energy "security" can be achieved by calling for an increase in the rate of oil extraction at the expense of human and ecosystem health.

They are looking for security in the wrong places. For a real lesson in energy security, and a glimpse of the healthy local economy of the future, they could start with a small town in Germany, just one of many in northern Europe that are charting a course toward true energy autonomy, based on renewable sources of energy.

The town of Freiamt generates its entire electricity needs from locally owned renewable sources, and then sells a 30-per-cent surplus to generate revenue.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=e413e8f3-5656-4b53-ba2a-0440d5ef08fc

Ontario extends PST break for `green' appliances, bikes

Toronto Star, July 24, 2008
Robert Benzie

Going green will continue to save you some green.

As first announced in the spring budget, the Ontario government is extending the provincial sales tax exemption on energy-efficient appliances and most bicycles.

Energy Star-rated refrigerators, freezers, washers, dehumidifiers and room air conditioners qualify, along with high-efficiency light bulbs and bicycles costing less than $1,000, Premier Dalton McGuinty said yesterday. The 8 per cent PST exemption on appliances and light bulbs will continue until Aug. 31, 2009, and is expected to cost the treasury about $52 million.

The tax break on bikes, helmets and other cycling safety gear will continue until Dec. 31, 2010, at a cost to provincial coffers of about $16 million.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/466394

Taste for local food
For many, the goodness starts at home

Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 2008, page F3
Gary May

André Brisebois wants to know where his food comes from. He wants to eat healthy. And he wants to bridge the gap between consumer and producer that has been created in this age of industrialized food .

So the east-end Ottawa resident joined a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) farm called Riverglen Farm, and once a week for one-third of the year he goes to pick up his share of the bounty. For the rest of the year, Brisebois is forced to shop at grocery stores, but says his experience with the CSA farm has changed his buying habits.

"I'm eating more vegetables. You start exploring new recipes. I actually snack on tomatoes now instead of junk food," says the 26-year-old community organizer, who lives near St. Laurent Boulevard. "I don't buy as much processed food and I look for locally grown food."

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/life/story.html?id=2e5aac27-324d-4261-a1d9-a80c8613f8f2

My ding-a-ling

Ottawa Citizen, July 24, 2008, page A15
Richard Bercuson

The man strides confidently into a bike shop. He appears normal, even sane, for his age.

He's informed his wife he wants a bike. She accompanies him to observe the next throwback adventure unfold. As if running marathons after the age of 50 didn't produce enough hilarity.

After the last one in May, he hunched over the kitchen table, his haggard face nearly kersplatting into the pancakes.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=098389d5-ceff-4e73-828f-12fd713d0bd1

Following the greener path: Tools exist for Canada's SMEs

Ottawa Business Journal, July 24, 2008
Michel Girard

Concerns about climate change are increasingly driving public policy and corporate decisions. They're also altering consumer behaviour and rewarding those who build environmental sustainability into their practices.

But a January report from Pollara Strategic Insights indicated that only one per cent of Canadians say they strongly trust companies' claims that they're carbon neutral, while 57 per cent of Canadians say they don't trust companies' claims of carbon neutrality.

This skepticism is largely attributed to a lack of transparency and general confusion about carbon neutrality. Exactly what does it mean for a company or organization to be green?

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/294930756981256.php

Ont., feds to sign multibillion-dollar infrastructure pact

Ottawa Citizen, July 23, 2008
Mike De Souza

OTTAWA - Municipal leaders are optimistic that billions of dollars may soon flow into their cities to fix crumbling infrastructure in the wake of a new framework agreement to be signed between the country's largest province and the federal government.

High-ranking members from the Harper and McGuinty governments have scheduled an announcement Thursday at city hall in London, Ont.

Municipalities across the province are hoping that the new deal will allow them to access their share of a multibillion-dollar infrastructure fund that was announced in 2007 by the Harper government when it unveiled its Building Canada plan.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=78f578e4-760b-46dd-9918-c01a8ede6738

Transit ridership on record roll
OC Transpo reports 4.4-per-cent increase

Ottawa Citizen, July 23, 2008
Patrick Dare

Ottawa's public transit ridership is well on its way to a record-setting year, with 50.3 million riders in the first six months, according to the city. But the president of pro-transit lobby group Transport 2000 says the city must do more to prepare for the crush of riders expected in the fall.

OC Transpo said that in the first half of the year, ridership was up 4.4 per cent over last year and the company saw an additional 4,000 sales of transit passes in June.

Rural pass sales were up by 24.5 per cent, adult passes were up by 6.5 per cent and the number of riders paying with cash or tickets was up by five per cent.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=d6e4bda3-f7d9-44c7-8c05-3d0c762a9cbf

Group pushes for Ottawa Valley commuter train

CBC News, July 23, 2008

A passenger train running along the Ottawa River between Pembroke and Ottawa would breathe new life into the region, an economic development group says.

The group, in Quebec's Pontiac region, wants the train to travel on existing track west of the national capital, passing through Renfrew, Ont., crossing into Quebec, and dipping through Portage-du-Fort and Shawville before crossing back into Ontario at Fitzroy Harbour, toward Kanata and Ottawa.

The group's chair, Heather Alberti-Dickson, said Wednesday that such a train would "just change the face of Pontiac," a region that once relied on forestry, but has been struggling economically since the downturn in the industry.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/23/ot-train-080723.html

Le maire s'oppose au passage par Carling

Le Droit, le 23 juillet 2008
Dominique La Haye

Le maire d'Ottawa, Larry O'Brien, rejette l'idée de transformer l'avenue Carling en un circuit principal où passerait le futur train léger comme le souhaitent trois conseillers municipaux.

Les élus Clive Doucet, Christine Leadman et Marianne Wilkinson veulent que cette artère achalandée soit au coeur du plan de transport en commun de 4 milliards $ adopté récemment par le conseil municipal pour les prochains 25 ans.

Selon les conseillers, cette route constitue un meilleur tracé que celui de la promenade de l'Outaouais - tel que le prévoit le plan - pour desservir les usagers du corridor Est-Ouest.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080723/CPACTUALITES/807230343/6790/CPDROIT

Most sewage in Ottawa River dumped, not spilled: city

CBC News, July 23, 2008

Sewage spills such as the one last Saturday comprise very little of the sewage that winds up in the Ottawa River, says the City of Ottawa wastewater manager.

"The spill itself is frankly a rather minor issue compared to the fact that we have combined sewer overflows on a regular basis when it rains," said Dave McCartney. "That's the real issue."

That is because sewage spills happen relatively rarely, he said, while sewage is dumped by design into the river whenever there is a rainstorm.

Ottawa's sanitary and storm sewers share the same pipes, and those pipes tend to overflow during heavy rainfalls. The system is designed to send the overflow into the Ottawa River.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/23/ot-sewage-080723.html

Un code du bâtiment «vert» en Californie

La Presse, le 23 juillet 2008
Nicolas Bérubé

Des édifices qui utilisent moins d'eau aux maisons qui nécessitent moins d'énergie: les nouvelles constructions seront plus écologiques en Californie.

L'État vient de se doter du premier code du bâtiment «vert» en Amérique du Nord.

Le code stipule que toutes nouvelles constructions commerciales et résidentielles devront réduire leur utilisation d'énergie de 15%, l'utilisation d'eau de 20% et l'utilisation d'eau pour l'aménagement paysager de 50%. Le code n'oblige pas les entrepreneurs à abandonner tel système ou produit au profit d'un autre, laissant de la latitude pour atteindre les objectifs.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080723/CPENVIRONNEMENT/807230599/6638/CPENVIRONNEMENT

A river runs through them
Water and pollution flow across boundaries -- and so Ottawa, Gatineau, Quebec, Ontario and the federal government need to get together to clean up the Ottawa River

Ottawa Citizen, July 22, 2008, page A11
Meredith Brown

The Ottawa River runs through a jurisdictional quagmire. Two news events in the past month provide poignant examples of how confusing it remains to precisely determine what government agency has the authority and the willingness to regulate river pollution.

Almost one million cubic metres of raw sewage entered our river in 2006 and two years later there are three independent investigations being led by three levels of government, yet no fines laid for what seems to be an obvious infraction of our federal Fisheries Act. And in early July a kayaker raised concerns when he witnessed workers from the Chinese embassy dumping large amounts of concrete debris into the Rideau River. It took four days just to figure out who has the authority to regulate this activity.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=7a664e15-3cb2-4a9c-89ad-ef7c6807c6c8

Excerpts of press releases sent to the Ottawa Citizen newsroom

Ottawa Citizen, July 22, 2008, page C2
Linda Denley

Trees for Tomorrow: The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is working with Trees Ontario to help deliver the province's '50 Million Trees By 2020' promise. Interested rural landowners with one acre of land or more who are willing to plant a minimum of 500 trees are encouraged to contact the LandOwner Resource Centre at 613-692-2390 or 1-800-387-5304. You will get help preparing an appropriate planting plan, and it may even help reduce your costs through incentive programs. Trees for Tomorrow is a full-service reforestation program planting trees throughout the Rideau Valley watershed. The focus is on planting shoreline buffer strips with trees and shrubs, and replanting larger parcels of idle or marginal lands with hardy, native Canadian trees of local stock.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=ad77e91e-0f5b-4dd7-9b98-520b87fa2229

Record numbers riding the buses
Gas prices helped spur 4.4% increase in transit users

Ottawa Sun, July 22, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

OC Transpo is cruising towards 100 million riders.

During the first six months this year Ottawa's public transit network has carried 50.3 million riders, an increase of 4.4% over the same time last year. OC Transpo expects that with more people leaving their vehicles at home because of high fuel costs the trend will continue and by the end of the year ridership will hit 100 million.

More than 4,000 additional riders purchased a bus pass, a 4.1% increase over 2007.

"The growth in transit ridership and pass sales shows that Ottawa residents are starting to question their usual transportation choices and make a longer-term commitment to transit," said Alain Mercier, the City of Ottawa's Director of Transit Services. "It's true that rising gas prices are encouraging more people to use transit, but in doing so they are also discovering the excellent value, reliability and convenience of the city's public transit system."

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/22/6230986.html

Jammed gate causes another Ottawa sewage spill

CBC News, July 21, 2008

A jammed gate in Ottawa's sewer system has led to another raw sewage spill in the Ottawa River and a precautionary no-swim advisory for the Petrie Island beach downstream.

Dave McCartney, manager of wastewater and drainage services for the City of Ottawa, said the incident occurred early Saturday morning when a regulator on Booth Street was jammed open with sand and debris following Friday's heavy rainfall.

The gate was fixed within two hours, and both public health and Ontario's Ministry of the Environment were immediately notified, McCartney said.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/21/ot-sewage-spill-080721.html

Plasco staying put

Nepean This Week, July 18, 2008, page 4

City council has approved a lease extension for the plant which generates power from garbage through a plasma gasification process. The original lease was scheduled to expire Nov. 30, 2008. Council also declared the portion of the plant that deals with storing, processing and sorting waste a municipal capital facility. That designation exempts it from paying property and education taxes.

http://www.nepeanthisweek.com/

Carling alternative 'too late'
Councillor's idea for light-rail route fails to get traction

Ottawa Citizen, July 17, 2008, page C2
Jake Rupert and Laura Drake

An Ottawa city councillor says the city should stop plans to run a section of its light-rail rapid transit network on the Ottawa River Parkway, or any other route close to the parkway, and instead focus on running it along Carling Avenue.

But critics of the idea call it too late, too expensive, and not even on the radar.

Kitchissippi Councillor Christine Leadman made the suggestion yesterday. Her ward contains part of the parkway the line would run on, and many residents in the area are strongly opposed to the idea.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=b3313a21-fec8-4b3a-9601-9d0312aacc73

Route gathers steam
Leadman joins councillors fighting to send LRT down Carling Ave., not parkway

Ottawa Sun, July 17, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

Another city councillor is jumping on board with the idea of sending light rail down Carling Ave.

Kitchississpi Coun. Christine Leadman is joining council colleagues Clive Doucet and Marianne Wilkinson in proposing the idea of taking light rail transit down the centre of the busy Ottawa road.

All three say the route is the best one to take commuters east and west.

The city's current plan is to take the rail line down the western portion of the Ottawa River Parkway, which Leadman argues will destroy its environmental integrity and is raising concern among area residents.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/17/6179546-sun.html

Toronto: Road tolls, fees 'on the menu'
Initiatives admittedly 'controversial' but necessary to ease congestion in GTA, transit forum says

Toronto Star, July 17, 2008
Daniel Girard

Already feeling the sting of soaring gas prices, GTA residents face the prospect of digging deeper for everything from road tolls and a regional sales tax, to parking at the mall or their suburban office lot.

And, while clearly "very controversial," the consensus at a forum on regional transit infrastructure yesterday was that politicians and the public must at least be ready to ponder such initiatives in an effort to ease congestion.

"These are the kinds of things that are on the menu that we are going to have to seriously talk about," said Paul Bedford, former chief planner for the City of Toronto and current board member of Metrolinx, the regional transit planning body.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/461864

Group wants pet pass
Dog owners urge council to let crated pets on public transit, but councillor says idea won't fly

Ottawa Sun, July 16, 2008
Terri Saunders

A group of local dog owners wants their pooches to be permitted on public transit, and is recommending the city embark on a pilot project.

Members of the local chapter of Responsible Dog Owners of Canada will ask a citizens' committee on transit tomorrow to support their proposal that calls on city council to approve a six-month trial allowing OC Transpo users to carry small, crated animals on city buses.

"There are many cities in Canada which allow this sort of thing," said Candice O'Connell, chairwoman of the group. "All we're asking for is a policy that would allow the citizens of Ottawa to have the same opportunity."

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/16/6168586-sun.html

NCC to spend millions on grand entrances into city, documents show
A monumental decision

Ottawa Citizen, July 16, 2008, page A1
Mohammed Adam

Ottawa is to undergo a dramatic facelift that will enable it to tell more of the history of the city and the country, and allow Canadians to see more of themselves in the capital's monuments, according to NCC documents.

In a major remaking of downtown, the NCC wants to transform the messy Rideau-Sussex-Wellington-Colonel By intersection into a grand new gateway into the heart of the capital, complete with a commemorative national monument.

And on the western edge of the ceremonial route, officially known as Confederation Boulevard, the NCC will dramatically alter the Wellington-Portage intersection into a major landmark and western entrance into the city. The new intersection will be adorned with a "national commemoration of the highest order."

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e1e18054-2181-40eb-98fb-cc2862987ae6

We may all pay for rural land-use restrictions

Ottawa Citizen, July 16, 2008, page A10
Joe Banks

If you spend any time in rural Ottawa this summer, take a minute to calculate how much a vista is worth to you.

The view across a verdant pasture backdropped by deep green woodlands, dotted by stone outcroppings, barns and livestock, can be a zen-like experience that spas would charge clients to see.

From the right vantage, on the right day, in the right frame of mind, you might even rate it priceless.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=a1e34868-a89b-4661-a573-256381903d26

City trades rules for shrubs

Ottawa Citizen, July 15, 2008
Randall Denley

The City of Ottawa has no end of zoning regulations aimed at protecting the environment and controlling what goes where. The rules don't mean much unless they are enforced, though.

A six-year effort to get an area golf course to comply with zoning and environmental regulations has ended with the city bending over backward to accommodate the owner of the golf course. Instead of enforcing its regulations, the city has waived them in exchange for a bit of shrubbery. It's a lame compromise, at best.

Riverbend Golf Course was expanded 10 years ago on 9.4 hectares of land that does not permit a golf course, the city says. The expansion also bent a current zoning rule that all tee boxes, fairways and greens be set back a minimum of 30 metres from the Jock River, which runs through the course.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=5f231abc-e351-4f45-8f34-5af936672b4f

Feds LEEDing the way
Government spending major cash on green buildings

Ottawa Sun, July 14, 2008
Laura Czekaj

As public awareness about the environment grows, so does the thirst for construction projects that are sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Just as developers are recognizing this increasing demand, so has the federal government, but taxpayers will be on the hook for some hefty renovation bills if the feds continue their push to meet green building standards.

The government is already committed to using the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-New Construction (LEED/NC) gold standard for all new office buildings and for long-term leases.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/14/6149991-sun.html

Riding all the way to the bank

Ottawa Business Journal, July 14, 2008
Krystle Chow

Ottawa's new cycling plan could be a tourism and retail boon for a city known as a top bikers' destination

Long known as a cyclist's paradise, Ottawa is about to get a little more heavenly for the two-wheeled set - and the retailers, hotels and other businesses who serve them - with city council's decision last week to green-light a 20-year master plan for more than 2,500 kilometres of on- and off-road cycling paths.

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/362614773498582.php

Port Moody strikes waste-conversion deal
City to investigate possibility of converting waste into energy that could power 20,000 homes

Globe and Mail, July 14, 2008
Sunny Dhillon

VANCOUVER - The first B.C. community to introduce the blue recycle box might soon set another precedent by launching a facility that would process 150,000 tonnes of post-recycled waste per year with no air emissions.

The city of Port Moody last week entered into a joint agreement with Plasco Energy Group to explore the development of a waste-conversion facility on the former Barnet Highway landfill.

The facility would process the residual waste into engine-fuel gas, construction aggregate, sulphur suitable for agriculture, salt and clean water. The gas generated would provide enough electricity to power 20,000 homes.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080714.wbcgarbage14/BNStory/National/
?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080714.wbcgarbage14

L'aqueduc d'Ottawa inquiète Paul Dewar

Le Droit, le 14 juillet 2008

Le mauvais entretien du réseau d'égouts et de gestion de l'eau fait planer la menace d'une "crise environnementale à Ottawa", selon le député néo-démocrate Paul Dewar.

Dans une lettre envoyée aux ministres responsables des infrastructures au fédéral et de la santé au provincial, Lawrence Cannon et George Smitherman, le député d'Ottawa-Centre affirme que la Ville d'Ottawa risque de traverser une crise environnementale si les gouvernements n'investissent pas plus dans le réseau public.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080714/CPACTUALITES/807140339/6790/CPDROIT

A New Fashion Catches On in Paris: Cheap Bicycle Rentals

New York Times, July 13, 2008
Steven Erlanger

PARIS - They're clunky, heavy and ugly, but they have become modish - and they are not this season's platform shoes.

A year after the introduction of the sturdy gray bicycles known as Vélib's, they are being used all over Paris. The bikes are cheap to rent because they are subsidized by advertising, and other major cities, including American ones, are exploring similar projects.

About 20,600 Vélib' bicycles are in service here, with more than 1,450 self-service rental stations. The stations are only some 300 yards apart, and there are four times as many as there are subway stations, even in a city so well served by its metro system.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/world/europe/13paris.html?_r=2&oref=slogin

The days of urban sprawl are over - but not for the reasons you think

Globe and Mail, July 12, 2008
Richard Florida

One of the few things increasing as fast as the price of oil lately has been the amount of commentary linking higher energy costs to the death of suburbia. Clearly, higher gas prices have affected where people want - or can afford - to live. Just as the demand for SUVs plummets and consumers have finally begun to see the point of hybrids, people are turning away from sprawling exurbs toward urban neighbourhoods and inner suburbs.

A recent report from CEOs for Cities, a group of U.S. business leaders, mayors and university presidents, declares: "Now that the era of cheap gas is over, demand for development on the fringe is down, and consumer interest and market potential lie in developing and redeveloping neighbourhoods closer to the urban core."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com//servlet/story/LAC.20080712.FLORIDA12/TPStory/Comment/

City to repave fewer roads in effort to salvage budget hit by fuel hikes

Ottawa Citizen, July 11, 2008, page A1
Jake Rupert

If the high cost of fuel is putting a damper on your plans this summer, you are not alone: the city is feeling the pain, too.

Yesterday, Ottawa's infrastructure director Wayne Newell said for the first time in as long as anyone can remember, several planned and approved repaving projects are being cancelled due to rising fuel costs.

Mr. Newell said to stay within the $20 million allocated for repaving this year, 10 out of 50 planned projects need to be cancelled because costs have risen 25 to 35 per cent over last year.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=129f8f7c-1e7d-4215-8a19-7e593543c614

Ottawa's choice for compost service leaves lingering odour

CBC News, July 11, 2008

The City of Ottawa has created a potentially smelly problem by opting for the cheaper of two curbside composting services - one that doesn't include used diapers or pet waste.

When the composting program launches in October 2009, it is expected to substantially reduce the amount of garbage people have so the city will reduce regular garbage pickup to every two weeks.

That means people with used diapers and pet feces will have to keep them around for longer periods of time.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/11/compost-diapers.html

Love thy neighbourhood as thyself

Ottawa Citizen, July 11, 2008, page A12
Ken Gray

Those lucky people in Sandy Hill and Lowertown. They have the Bytowne Cinema. That's a real asset to the community -- a downtown theatre. So too, the folks in Old Ottawa South who can walk to the Mayfair.

Those are real places that draw real people to worthwhile events. They are community assets. The theatres create a street scene, making the community vibrant and safer. And on the Bytowne's Rideau Street, gawd knows with its druggies, poverty, disease, panhandling, petty crime and Councillor Georges Bédard, it needs a healthy street scene.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=21b379e8-cb3e-49d5-b16a-792b1edcd95f&p=1

Council Approves New Bike Plan

CFRA, July 10, 2008
Josh Pringle

It's full speed ahead for Ottawa's new Cycling Plan.

City Council has approved the 20-year, multi-million dollar strategy to link and expand the existing bike path network serving urban and rural Ottawa.

The $25 million first phase includes new bicycle lanes, paved shoulders and multi-use pathways. The cost of Phase 2 will be $60 million.

The city hopes the new plan will triple the number of person-trips made by bicycle during the afternoon peak from 45-hundred to 12-thousand over the next 20 years.

http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=58084

Food aisles, pharmacy great sources for DIY cleaning supplies

Ottawa Citizen, July 10, 2008, page F2
Catherine Lawson

How easy is it to find the ingredients to make your own cleaning products? To find out, I headed to Loblaws at College Square armed with a list of ingredients culled from recipes at lesstoxicguide.ca.

Vinegar is the No. 1 recommended ingredient for DIYers, so my first stop was the pickles and condiments aisle. There I found four litres of Heinz brand for $3.19. The label boasts that vinegar is "ideal for food" but makes no reference to its ability to cut through grease and disinfect.

Baking soda is a close second in popularity because it makes a good scrub and is also a deodorizer.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/life/story.html?id=b390a0ef-106a-4c78-90b1-0e0ce15c511c

Mr. Green vs Mr. Clean
Eco-friendly cleaning products fight for space in store aisles and consumers' wallets

Ottawa Citizen, July 10, 2008
Catherine Lawson

There's a battle raging in the cleaning aisles of the nation's hardware and grocery stores. On the one side are products with familiar names like Lysol and Clorox that promise to kill bacteria and make your house sparkle with little or no scrubbing required. On the other, less common brands like Seventh Generation and Nature Clean assure they'll cut through sticky messes, and be gentle on you and the environment.

The battle is for the hearts, minds and wallets of consumers. While consumer sales of cleaning products in the U.S. remained nearly stagnant at $2.7 billion last year, sales of convenient, effective, eco-friendly products soared into the double digits -- making them the "sweet spot" for growth and big profits, according to a recent report by Packaged Facts, a market research firm.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/life/story.html?id=d4528e80-b900-4d85-95aa-2b2d0d71c6ee

Ontario to introduce recycling levy on electronic goods

CBC News, July 11, 2008

Ontario will become the latest province to charge a recycling fee on electronics, starting in the spring.

In April, all televisions and computers sold in Ontario will be affixed with a surcharge to help pay for recycling the electronic waste.

The cost for a TV will be $10 and it'll be $13 for a desktop computer.

It's not yet known whether companies will absorb the cost or pass it on to the consumer.

Similar fees have been implemented in Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/10/recycling-fee.html

Ontario Imposing Recycling Fee on TVs and Computers

CFRA, July 10, 2008
Josh Pringle

A recycling fee is being added to every TV and computer sold in Ontario.

The Toronto Star reports the first phase of Ontario's recycling program will impose a fee on nearly all electronic products.

Producers and importers will have to start paying the fees next April. The Star says it's unclear how much of the cost will be passed on to consumers.

Money raised through the new program to increase the recycling of electronics will go to an organization established by Waste Diversion Ontario to fund the collection and recycling of products from drop-off spots.

http://www.cfra.com/?cat=3&nid=58088

Pay-per-bag works
Plan has helped Kemptville, Brockville successfully reduce trash at curb

Ottawa Sun, July 10, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

Paying for every bag of garbage dropped at the curb can work well, successful programs in neighbouring municipalities show.

Kemptville, 20 minutes south of Ottawa, introduced a tag-a-bag system in 1999 with little opposition and it has done wonders for that municipality's recycling program.

Karen Dunlop, the director of Kemptville's Public Works department, said residents pay for every bag of garbage they dispose of every week, which has led to a "dramatic reduction" in the waste that heads for the dump.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/10/6114841-sun.html

Editorial: A gruesome waste of money

Ottawa Citizen, July 10, 2008, page A12

The terrible decision by city council in late 2006 to kill the original light-rail project still continues to surprise and shock Ottawans.

Anyone who thought you can just press the reset button on the contract, as Mayor Larry O'Brien put it, with no financial ramifications for the city was badly mistaken. River Councillor Maria McRae inquired in May about the cancellation costs and last week she got her sobering answer.

In fact, the tally is $57 million or about a one-time, six-per-cent tax increase. That includes: land purchases of about $20 million; moving utilities at a cost of about $3.5 million; project office costs of $22 million; $5 million on studies; and $5 million set aside for further costs. On the bright side, the city had budgeted $68 million for closure costs so there's money left over. Cold comfort indeed.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/editorials/story.html?id=528c0cfa-35e8-4b1e-b6d4-7155323d00d5

Never look a gift horse in the mouth

Orleans Star/Weekly Journal, July 10, 2008
Aldege Bellefeuille

When city hall, supported by Coun. Rob Jellett, said no to $80 million the federal and provincial governments promised to widen Highway 174 from Trim Road to Rockland, it was a shrewd political move because $15 million of our property tax dollars would have gone towards a project and not benefited our residents.

But was there a middle-ground that could have been negotiated or at least debated by all sides?

Presently, Montreal's Mayor Tremblay is examining the issue of implementing toll roads for commuters wishing to enter Montreal. The idea would generate approximately $450 million, which would be used to improve public transit throughout the greater Montreal area. Mayor Tremblay also likes the idea because it will reduce pollution caused by vehicles and simultaneously increase public transit ridership.

http://www.eastottawa.ca/article-231202-Never-look-a-gift-horse-in-the-mouth.html

Des éoliennes au cœur du Plateau

La Presse, le 10 juillet 2008
Clément Sabourin

Quand on pense éoliennes, on pense immenses hélices blanches plantées au milieu des champs de la Gaspésie et du Bas-du-Fleuve. Difficile de croire qu'on en trouve aussi... au coeur du Plateau Mont-Royal! Avenue du Parc, Hugues Leblanc produit sa propre électricité. Et ce n'est absolument pas rentable. Pour le moment.

Si une autre crise du verglas devait plonger Montréal dans le noir, une maison serait encore éclairée, au cœur du Plateau-Mont-Royal. Une maison coiffée de deux éoliennes fabriquées par Hugues Leblanc, un débrouillard qui a choisi de produire sa propre électricité.

Les grandes pales grises sont invisibles de la rue, tout comme les trois panneaux solaires installés près des éoliennes.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080710/CPENVIRONNEMENT/80709267/6112/CPENVIRONNEMENT

Committee Approves Waste Diversion Plan

CFRA, July 9, 2008
Josh Pringle

The City of Ottawa is one step closre to moving forward with a plan to divert 60 per cent of Industrial, Commercial and Institutional Waste from Ottawa's landfills.

The Planning and Environment Committee has approved a new plan to reduce garbage heading to the dump. It includes higher fees for using landfills, banning materials and looking for ways to help business, industry and institutions recycle.

Councillor Shad Qadri tells CFRA News 70 per cent of waste heading into Ottawa's landfills comes from hospitals, schools, businesses and institutions.

A consultation period will begin this fall before the plan is finalized.

http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=58055

City pitches commercial recycling plan
Council targets wasteful sectors

Ottawa Citizen, July 9, 2008, page C3
Jake Rupert and Laura Drake

The Sierra Club of Canada has thrown its support behind a waste-diversion plan for Ottawa's industrial, commercial and institutional sectors that was approved by the city's environment committee yesterday.

To lower pressure on area landfills, city waste officials aim to have 60 per cent of all waste created by the sector diverted from landfills by 2015.

Rod Muir, a waste-diversion campaigner for the Sierra Club, gave a brief presentation to councillors at the meeting, in which he said diverting 90 per cent of waste should be "easily attainable."

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=5d67b784-d3e0-49b4-8266-f87760d1cc3e

Aw poop! City seeks solution to diaper waste
Green box organics recycling creates new issues to debate

Ottawa Sun, July 9, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

Residents who need stinky diapers picked up each week after the city rolls out its green box recycling program might have to apply for a special service.

Ottawa councillors were told today by city staff that extra service could be offered as an option once Ottawa moves to biweekly garbage collection program when green box recycling for organics begins in October 2009.

Council is still trying to decide if it will move to bi-weekly trash pickup six months, or one year, after the green box program begins.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/09/6109376.html

Garbage scheme dumped on

Ottawa Sun, July 9, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

Residents could soon be paying for every bag of garbage they toss out.

Bay Coun. Alex Cullen said a user-pay system, or "tag-a-bag" program, is on the way.

If the city proceeds, it would mean residents would need to purchase City of Ottawa garbage tags and then attach them to each bag before they are carted away.

"It's coming," said Cullen. "Everyone understands it's inevitable."

Property taxpayers currently pay $87 a year, or 24cents a day, for garbage removal service.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/09/6104721-sun.html

Dump owners rap Cantley mayor for remarks

CBC News, July 9, 2008

The owners of a controversial dump in the western Quebec village of Cantley are threatening to sue the town's mayor over remarks he made when he recently urged the provincial environment ministry to step in and make sure the landfill site is safe.

"The message is to the mayor of Cantley to get his facts straight and tell the truth, and if he has nothing positive to say, to shut up," said André Guibord, a spokesman for the dump's owners.

Two weeks ago, Mayor Steve Harris said he had been getting lots of complaints about excessive odours in the air, but hasn't received information about gas levels at the site north of Gatineau.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/09/cantley-dump.html

City panel aims to show developers how to build a better subdivision

Ottawa Citizen, July 9, 2008, page A1
Jake Rupert

Ottawa's city government is a step closer to building its own model subdivision in Barrhaven, aiming to show private developers how suburban construction should be done.

The 1,400-unit plan, approved by the planning committee yesterday, was launched four years ago. One of the plan's early critics was Barrhaven Councillor Jan Harder, who didn't see the need for it. She's since changed her mind.

"I think we thought, 'Why would the city do this? We have developers that do this'," she said. "But this shows a lot of the things the developers said you couldn't do, are doable. With this, we wanted to show developers you can do these things, and they make common sense. When this is built, it will showcase where this city wants to be in decades to come.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=8bff5a8b-5e5a-4ccc-a2fd-2ee21977d0e3

City may opt out of opt out parking

Ottawa Citizen, July 9, 2008, page C3

City staff are reviewing a controversial program that allows businesses to pay a fee to opt out of providing parking spaces. A report received by council's planning and environment committee yesterday outlines options to change the cash-in-lieu of parking process, including scrapping it. The program allows businesses to apply to the city to be exempt from requirements to pay for on-site parking. Since these exemptions shift a burden to the city to provide parking, the business is supposed to pay a fee. However, the report notes that since amalgamation in 2001, the city has waived 44 per cent of these fees. City staff will consult with affected businesses in the fall and determine a preferred option by next year.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=aef4f381-e2d3-400e-b31a-a360c8525e58

City to spend $40M for sewer upgrades
Council to match fed funding, reduce flow of raw sewage into rivers

Ottawa Sun, July 9, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

City councillors are setting aside $20-million to plug some gaps in the city's wastewater system which allow raw sewage to flow into Ottawa's two largest rivers.

Council voted this morning to allocate the money in the 2009 budget. The city contribution will match funds federal Environment Minister John Baird announced last month to help the city better separate storm sewer runoff from sewage waste.

In some areas the city has a combined sewer system, which handles both rain water and sewage. This means in some of Ottawa's older neighbourhoods, rain water mixed with raw sewage can be released untreated into the Rideau and Ottawa rivers.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/09/6109541.html

Conservation authority vows to have debris behind embassy removed

Ottawa Citizen, July 9, 2008, page C1
Cassandra Drudi

The blocks and sediment that comprise the retaining wall in the Rideau River behind the Chinese Embassy are likely considered pollution under the federal Fisheries Act, according to a federal biologist, and the conservation authority is committed to doing whatever it takes to remove the wall from the water.

"We'll do everything that we can to have it removed," said Shelley Macpherson, regulations enforcement officer with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority.

Under Section 35 of the Fisheries Act, any work or undertaking that causes the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat is prohibited, said Mark Ferguson, a fish-habitat specialist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=2d3f2af0-fcd5-44ad-8099-1fa745b26333

‘Free' public transit too pricey for here

Metro News, July 8, 2008, page 1
Tim Wieclawski

The head of Ottawa's transit committee estimates it would cost taxpayers $500 more a year to offer free public transit here, as the City of Hamilton is considering doing.

As fares make up roughly half of OC Transpo's operating budget, Coun. Alex Cullen said doubling the existing transit levy would be a simple way to estimate how much a free service would cost the average taxpayer in Ottawa.

"There is a good argument to reduce the cost of transit, but the question is where to find the money?" he said.

Cullen was responding to reports that Hamilton transit planners are studying making its system free, at a cost to the taxpayer of nearly $31 million per year.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/80207

Model subdivision sets the standard for housing density

Ottawa Citizen, July 8, 2008
Jake Rupert

A model subdivision developed by city planning officials to show how increased residential densities can be accommodated in the suburbs was endorsed by councillors on the municipality's planning committee Tuesday.

The plan calls for 1,400 residential units to be built in four stages made up of 25 per cent detached homes, 25 per cent townhouses, and 50 per cent stacked townhouses and apartments, as well as business, commercial, parks, and a village-like core. There are also plans for schools and non-profit housing.

If built according to plan, overall density of subdivision will be 46 units per hectare of residential land compared to an average suburban density of 24. The city's goal is to reach 42 units per hectare in the suburbs.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=aacab279-6062-49f1-a48f-3410e2b1edac

Alternative power struggle on Hill
Feds consider green fuel sources for Parliament buildings

Ottawa Sun, July 8, 2008
Laura Czekaj

Switching the Parliamentary Precinct to a green power source is being bandied about by the governing body of the House of Commons.

Environmental groups, however, are waiting to see if members of the Commons Board of Internal Economy are merely full of hot air.

Changing Parliament Hill to an alternative power source would demonstrate the government's commitment to the environment and not just pay lip service to environmental best practice, said Jean Langlois, national campaign director for the Sierra Club Canada.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/08/6094066-sun.html

Judge's ruling called 'too harsh'
Jailing Sharbot Lake protester 'inappropriate'

Ottawa Sun, July 8, 2008
Frank Armstrong

The Ontario court of appeal has dismissed $50,000 in fines on a group of Algonquins who blockaded a uranium exploration site and ruled that a six-month sentence against former Ardoch Algonquin chief Bob Lovelace was inappropriate.

"With great respect to a judge trying conscientiously to resolve a difficult, bordering on intractable problem, the sentences he imposed are too harsh," Justice James MacPherson wrote in a unanimous decision released yesterday.

Superior Court Justice Douglas Cunningham jailed Lovelace in February for six months for refusing to obey his injunction to stop preventing uranium prospector Frontenac Ventures from entering a prospective mine site north of Sharbot Lake.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/08/6099316.html

Village sewage an environmental threat to Rideau Canal, mayor says

CBC News, July 7, 2008

A sewage-treatment plant in need of replacement in the scenic eastern Ontario village of Merrickville-Wolford poses a serious environmental threat to the historic Rideau Canal, the mayor says.

"The province has its head in the sand and we're going to be up to our necks in sewage," said Doug Struthers.

"We're not fear-mongering, either. This is a serious situation. We're not crying wolf."

The municipality, south of Ottawa, says it can't afford the roughly $8 million it would cost to build a new treatment facility.

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/07/07/rideau-sewage.html

Conservation authority investigating river debris complaint

Ottawa Citizen, July 7, 2008
Cassandra Drudi

The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is investigating where the property lines of the Chinese Embassy fall, after embassy officials said construction debris being dropped in the river near St. Patrick Street is meant to restore an eroded shoreline on embassy land.

Rivers and water bodies are typically crown land and subject to legislation, the authority's Shelley MacPherson said.

"The matter is under investigation, and we're hoping to have the material removed as quickly as possible," said Ms. MacPherson, regulations enforcement officer with the conservation authority.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=aed2f3e1-abf8-4c8d-b0e2-a58c926dce05

Weedy lakes divide Greely neighbours
Chemical treatment has support; others say it will worsen problem

Ottawa Citizen, July 7, 2008
Tim Shufelt

Lurking just below the surface of two nameless lakes in a private community in Greely is a slimy demon weed that takes over waterways, can pose a threat to swimmers and is impossible to eradicate.

Now the growth of Eurasian milfoil, which also plagues the Rideau River and lakes across North America, has created a rift among residents of Lakeland Estates over how to contain the problem.

A chemical herbicide treatment, which is almost never used on public bodies of water in Ontario anymore, is scheduled to be applied today on the two lakes.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=cd6d5ffe-b97c-4186-bd6d-e01829100fba

Organic change is in the air
While a lot of people say Ottawa is past due for a green-bin program, others fear it will bring increased traffic, threaten area water quality and, oh yeah, smell really, really bad. A process called aerobic digestion may be the solution to that last concern, Tim Shufelt writes.

Ottawa Citizen, July 5, 2008, page D1
Tim Shufelt

Where organic waste goes, you will find noses out of joint.

As cities in Canada add green-bin composting programs to divert waste from landfills, waste managers are struggling to contain the potent, concentrated stench of organic waste.

For example, Newmarket residents who complained of nausea, headaches and diarrhea registered more than 500 odour complaints against a local composting plant in 2005, prompting the town to file a lawsuit against the owner of the facility.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=7e1bca4c-6a6a-4df8-8eca-86b4abc3cef3

Recycling a taxing issue
Councillor proposes using tax system to divert business garbage

Ottawa Sun, July 5, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

A city councillor is proposing a garbage tax and rebate program for Ottawa business as an incentive to recycle.

Bay Coun. Alex Cullen said he wants to explore the idea and is working with the city's finance department to see if such a program is feasible.

Businesses are not taxed for garbage disposal but do pay for private pickup. If they engage in a recycling program with their private contractor, that is an added cost.

Cullen said the city is doing what it can to encourage and regulate residential recycling, but has limited power to regulate businesses to participate in any recycling initiative.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/05/6071836-sun.html

Conservation authority to check shore for damage
Officials aren't sure if they have the power to investigate incident on embassy grounds

Ottawa Citizen, July 5, 2008, page A1
Katie Daubs

Construction workers at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China have been dumping old cinder blocks into the Rideau River where the embassy property backs onto the water, a move that has sparked anger and confusion about who is responsible for overseeing the area.

The large pile of crumbling blocks and construction debris is several metres wide, outside a chainlink fence protecting the embassy grounds. The pile covers a retaining wall by the river's edge and slopes into the river.

An officer from the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is to visit the embassy today, but officials aren't sure if they will be able to investigate the dumping, since international law dictates that the embassy grounds are "inviolable."

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=e1f6f46e-5df1-4ae8-8521-f22248757c0a

Trashing recyclables could see Ottawa businesses taxed

CBC News, July 4, 2008

The city of Ottawa is looking into extra fees to stop businesses from sending recyclable materials to city dumps, while a municipal councillor is even proposing a tax to encourage more responsible waste disposal.

A city staff report outlining a strategy for encouraging recycling and composting among businesses and industries is to be tabled at a meeting of the civic planning and environment committee next Tuesday.

The proposals would help bring the city toward its goal of diverting 60 per cent of its trash away from the landfill by 2015.

According to the city, about two-thirds of Ottawa's waste - 600,000 or 700,000 tonnes a year - is produced by business and industry and is collected by private contractors rather than the city. Of that, less than 20 per cent is recycled.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/04/ot-recycle-080704.html

Les entreprises incitées à produire moins de déchets

Le Droit, le 4 juillet 2008
Dominique La Haye

La Ville d'Ottawa veut dépenser 1 million $ sur quatre ans pour inciter les entreprises, les écoles, les hôpitaux et les autres institutions à réduire leur quantité de déchets terminant leur vie dans ses sites d'enfouissement.

La stratégie élaborée dans un rapport des fonctionnaires municipaux intitulé Réorientation 2015 des déchets industriels, commerciaux et institutionnels laisse cependant les conseillers municipaux sur leur faim.

Ces derniers s'étonnent qu'aucune mesure pour inciter les entreprises à réduire leurs déchets acheminés vers les dépotoirs n'en fasse partie. Le rapport découle d'une directive du conseil municipal datant de 2006.

http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080704/CPACTUALITES/807040342/6790/CPDROIT

Father suspects contaminated Ottawa beach after girl, 2, falls ill

CBC News, July 4, 2008

An Ottawa man is calling for better signage at city beaches contaminated with E. coli bacteria after his two-year-old daughter fell ill following a Canada Day swim at Petrie Island.

Scott Joyce's daughter Leigha came down with diarrhea Wednesday, a day after visiting the east end beach on the Ottawa River with her father, mother Kim and brother Christopher, 7.

Joyce said the family never took Leigha to a doctor, as the diarrhea cleared up on its own after a day or two, but they suspect the illness might be related to their day at the beach.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/04/ot-petrie-080704.html

New Brunswick: N.B. establishes strict uranium exploration rules

CBC News, July 4, 2008

New government regulations in New Brunswick will limit uranium exploration and staking of claims.

The province announced on Friday that exploration is now banned on municipal land and in watersheds and fields with private wells. Claims will also not be allowed to be staked within 300 metres of private homes.

The new regulations are retroactive and exploration in previous claims in areas that are now banned will not be able to continue.

Exploration on Crown lands and land privately owned by companies will be allowed to continue.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/07/04/nb-uranium-exploration.html

Landowners blame drainage system for new 'wetland' designation

CBC News, July 3, 2008

Angry landowners in Ottawa's western rural outskirts are calling on the city to fix drainage ditches that they blame for causing the province to designate their land protected wetlands, potentially hurting property values in the area.

Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources officially classified about 3,600 hectares in the Stittsville area as wetlands last month. That prompted local landowners to meet in Richmond Wednesday night to discuss how they will fight the designation, which brings with it strict controls on development.

Landowners said they could consider legal action against the province.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/07/03/ot-wetland-080703.html

Council considers climate change plan
Preparation will help mitigate expected impact, group says

Ottawa Citizen, July 3, 2008, page C1
Jake Rupert

With scientific models predicting a hotter and wetter Ottawa due to climate change, city bureaucrats say the time to prepare is now.

Council's planning and environment committee is being asked to endorse a climate change adaptation plan for the city next Tuesday.

The plan was created by officials in the economic and environmental sustainability group, and it's the next step in series of events after council's 2005 decision to acknowledge climate change and that greenhouse gases are contributing to it.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=97de7461-707e-47cb-9c39-5e20af350170

City considers allowing higher densities in exchange for cash, amenities
Developers strongly opposed to proposal

Ottawa Citizen, July 3, 2008, page C2
Mohammed Adam

After several battles with developers over unwelcome condo towers in older neighbourhoods, the city is considering a new proposal to exchange higher densities for cash or community amenities.

In a plan that has been under consideration by the planning committee for months, builders seeking highrise condos or denser development in built-up areas would get the higher densities in exchange for parks, community centres, arenas and affordable housing. Where there is no room for such public amenities, the city will take cash.

Developers are strongly opposed to the idea, but the city says builders should pay for community amenities in areas where they want significantly more housing because higher densities demand more services.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=ed928284-3da6-4847-9902-37406ca41b05

City takes first step in tunnel project

Ottawa Sun, July 3, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

The city has hired an engineering firm to begin working out the best route for a downtown light rail tunnel.

Delcan Corporation, an engineering, management and technology consulting firm, will immediately begin assembling a team of engineers, planners, architects and other specialists to work on the project, a part of the City of Ottawa's new long-term transit plan. Included in the team of experts will be Halcrow Group, a firm based in London, England.

Nancy Schepers, the deputy city manager for planning, transit and the environment, said in a memo today that Halcrow has worked on similar projects in Britain, Scotland, Portugal, Italy, Hong Kong and the Philippines. Halcrow will be the tunnel planning and design experts for the project.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/03/6054451.html

Firm selected for LRT tunnel assessment

Ottawa Business Journal, July 3, 2008

The city of Ottawa announced Thursday that Delcan Corp. has been selected to complete the downtown Ottawa transit tunnel (DOTT) planning and environmental assessment.

For the study, Delcan will lead a multi-disciplinary team of consultants comprised of engineers, planners, architects and other relevant specialists, including Halcrow Group, an international firm based in London, U.K. The study will develop a plan for transit through the downtown core, within a study area spanning from Bayview to Ottawa's VIA Station on Tremblay Road.

http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/292069424665447.php

Higher fares down road
Committee warns rising operating costs could push transit hikes higher than expected next year

Ottawa Sun, July 3, 2008
Derek Puddicombe

Commuters could be in for a big bus fare shock next year.

With the city battling an unexpected rapid rise in the cost of fuel, it might be faced with hiking transit fares even higher than already budgeted. On Canada Day, fares jumped 7% and are scheduled to rise another 6.5% the same time next year.

However, the chairman of the city's transit committee says the increase could be much higher when city council wraps up its 2009 budget debate later this year.

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2008/07/03/6050061-sun.html

City Wants to Divert Private Trash from Dumps

CFRA, July 3, 2008
Josh Pringle

The City of Ottawa wants schools, hospitals and businesses to reduce the amount of trash being sent to the dump.

Planning and Environment Committee Chair Peter Hume tells CFRA News the only way the city can reduce the need for landfills is to increase diversion, adding there is lots of opportunity in the Industrial, Commercial and Institutional waste sector.

Ottawa's "Diversion 2015" plan for the Planning and Environment Committee outlines suggestions to reduce the amount of private business waste heading to Ottawa's dumps.

70 per cent of Ottawa's garbage comes from the ICI sector.

Hume says Ottawa can expand the new organics recycling program for homes to businesses.

http://www.cfra.com/?cat=1&nid=57900

City sets aggressive waste-diversion target

Ottawa Citizen, July 2, 2008
Jake Rupert

The city has set an aggressive waste-diversion target for the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors, and it plans to lead by example.

Next week, municipal garbage officials will table a report calling for 60 per cent of all waste currently created by the sector to be diverted from landfills by 2015 and outlining ways to achieve this.

It's an aggressive goal for several reasons, chief among which is that the city has limited control over waste disposal in this sector. In fact, as it stands now, the city has a great deal of control over residential garbage, but only the province can enforce reduction, reuse and recycling programs aimed at businesses and institutions.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=5082da38-dc06-4d3b-93b5-ac63afe36f47

Growing dilemma

Ottawa Citizen, July 2, 2008, page C1
Tim Shufelt

Robert Parks has a winning lottery ticket that he never intends to claim.

To sell his farm just south of Kanata would fetch him millions and secure the future of his three young children. He would rather pass on to them a way of life and a piece of land that's been in his family for four generations.

"There's no life like growing up on a farm, anyways," Mr. Parks said.

Tracts of farmland that sit just outside Ottawa's urban zoning boundary, like Mr. Parks' 100-acre grain farm on Eagleson Road, are being driven up in value by land speculators who count on the eventual expansion of the zoning limits. Instead of rows of grain crops, they envision rows of houses in the city's next big subdivision.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=83c57dac-fda7-4a6a-bdd0-58ae683dd7e7

Committee approves study of new rapid transit corridor

Ottawa Citizen, July 2, 2008
Patrick Dare

Ottawa's transit planners should proceed with a study of a new rapid transit corridor linking Blair Road with the southeast transitway, city council's transit committee decided Wednesday.

The corridor being studied runs from Blair Road near Ogilvie Road, south and west along Innes Road and through the Smyth Road hospitals to the transitway at Riverside Drive.

An environmental assessment of the corridor was made a priority at city hall after residents in the Alta Vista neighbourhood of Riverside Park took the city to the Ontario Municipal Board over a possible transit line included in the city's transportation master plan. The board ordered the city to complete a study of the project by December 2009. The committee slightly expanded the study area.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=cb102e8a-b81d-4857-b1ac-768491dedec5

Council approves Plasco tax break

Ottawa Citizen, July 2, 2008

Elected officials on city council's economic-affairs committee endorsed a property tax exemption for Plasco Energy on Wednesday morning.

The company is running a test waste-to-energy plant on city property at the municipally owned Trail Road landfill, and the municipality is a partner of the company's. The city has an agreement with the company stating its garbage disposal technology, which eliminates the need for new landfills, will be used to handle all city garbage if the company wins approval from the province's environment ministry.

Plasco officials requested to be exempted from paying property taxes of about $72,000 per year. The exemption will be before city council next week for final approval.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=1851cccd-13b3-4a8b-ae5e-57b1a10d5de3