Less Study, More Action on River Says Minister in Charge

Wednesday, October 08, 2008 03:56 AM

Prince George, B.C.- The Solicitor General, and Minister in charge of public safety John van Dongan, says the time for studies on gravel extraction from the Nechako River is over. “We want to see real activity for flood mitigation.”

Van Dongan says if the City tries to second guess what the Department of Fisheries and Oceans requires to issue a permit for the extraction, it could be doing studies forever. He says it has been his experience that once you start the application process, the federal government will tell you exactly what is needed.

The City wanted Emergency Management B.C. to provide more funding for further studies, even though their reports indicate gravel extraction would only be helpful in clenaing out two back channels, and in scalping a gravel bar.

Van Dongan toured the river by jet boat recently and says the build up of gravel at the confluence of the Nechako and fraser rivers was evident. He wants to see some activity that will help avert another ice jam this winter rather than more information gathering.

Emergency Management B.C. has already provided 350 thousand dollars for studies, and $2million for the first phase of a system to drain and pump water out of the River road area. That is in addition to the dollars spent during the ice jam flooding last winter.

Mayor Colin Kinsley says he has written a letter to the Minister to explain the need for more data.

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Posted on Wednesday, October 08, 2008 03:56 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Eagleone on October 8 2008 5:37 AM

Too late IMO.

Posted by: BCRacer on October 8 2008 5:39 AM

We have been saying there have been too many studies for ages...and we are ignored...so I wish you well on stopping that...
Maybe stopping the money until the project gets going would be a good start...

Posted by: giterdun on October 8 2008 7:43 AM

Most of the posters on this site said last winter that the river needed to be dredged. Guess what? The bureaucrates have just came up with an novel idea... Dredge the river. What a good idea. I don't care where the idea came from, just DREDGE THE G.D. RIVER before the end of november so we don't have to go through another painfull process of watching the city piss our money away like last winter.

Posted by: metalman on October 8 2008 8:13 AM

Wholly Schnyke! a politician took a boat ride to get a look at the situation??
And he suggests that the time for studying the problem is past?? And he agrees with the common man's approach to a solution??
The city will not like that!
metalman.

Posted by: heidi1555 on October 8 2008 8:52 AM

He didn't need a boat to see. All he needed was a good pair of running shoes to hop from mound to mound. Makes for a fun Sunday afternoon with the kids. Not much time left to fill sandbags before it gets to -30 C.
The time is now. The time was yesterday.

Posted by: Born in BC on October 8 2008 9:08 AM

The generations running things in the 60s and 70s already destroyed all the fish in the Nechako. Whats left to consider? Do what you have to do.

Posted by: lostfaith on October 8 2008 9:11 AM

Kinsley hang up your damn hat, your done.
My god man don't you get it? You don't have a clue.
Studies are done by people that are clueless.
Actions are taken by people that should be in the office you are currently holding.
Thank goodness you are soon to be gone, my wallet hates you.

Posted by: Bridge on October 8 2008 9:46 AM

And dont tell us that DF will not alow gravel extraction. They are doing it in the Frazer in the Lower Mainland for flood control.

So get on with it.

Cheers

Posted by: seamutt on October 8 2008 11:44 AM

People make money on studies. More studies, more money, easy money. Once a study is implemented no more money. See the picture.

Posted by: seamutt on October 8 2008 11:47 AM

Oh I forgot to add. People who do studies don't like to get their hands dirty to make money, so they study and study some more to make money.

Posted by: metalman on October 8 2008 11:54 AM

Of course they dredge the lower Fraser, they have to, or it would not be navigable. The lower Fraser was 'tamed' and channeled long ago to permit the land to be used for farming, originally. They managed it, and controlled it, so that the new farms and communities that started growing and growing would not be routinely flooded out (like what happened in 1948) Inevitably, when you mess with the flow of a river, there are going to be trouble areas, some of these are where the river widens out and slows down, allowing the suspended solids to settle out and build up. DFO should just stay seated in the coffee shop while we go and extract gravel from the confluence of our rivers. I bet that no one will intentionally club a sturgeon with a 'hoe bucket, hell, I personally believe that all the fish will do better in the rivers if there was a nice wide, deep channel between the two.
metalman.

Posted by: tinyapplecork on October 8 2008 2:20 PM

*rubs eyes*.........blink, blink...

HOLY TOLEDO!! I can't believe it! WOW. Minister has put his foot down AND agrees with Joe Q Public!!

Utterly amazing!

Now, can we get tasers to zap the rest of them into action??

Posted by: lostfaith on October 8 2008 10:20 PM

I wouldn't hold my breathe if you think this means they will actually, really, truly, incredibly, unbelievably start a gravel removal project anytime soon.

They should but they won't, cause it's the correct course of action in this matter. We all know what happens when correct actions and Govt's come together in the same conversation.