Press Release:

Carp River Coalition Asks Councillors to Defer Approval of Kanata West Infrastructure until Environmental Assessments are Complete

May 1, 2006

The Carp River Coalition is asking City Councillors to delay approving the infrastructure projects for Kanata West until after the Environmental Assessments for the development have been completed.

The City's planning staff is asking Councillors to approve 23 projects in support of development of Kanata West while acknowledging that the Environmental Assessment Reports have not yet been completed. The recommendation is to be considered by a joint meeting of Transportation and Planning and Environment Committee on May 3 and by full Council on May 24.

On April 20, members of the Coalition met with city staff, developers and consultants to learn more about the plans to fill and develop 28 hectares (69 acres) of the Carp River floodplain. None of their concerns were addressed to their satisfaction. Concerns identified include high water levels, loss of floodwater storage capacity, inappropriate application of policies governing flood hazards, long-term implications of the incremental chipping away at the floodplain, and legal precedents contradicting the plans.

The Carp River Coalition is challenging the city and developers' consultants to do better with their plans. "We aren't where we should be yet with these plans and we remain concerned about a number of things, including how the higher water levels will affect the ribbon of life along the Carp River", says John Almstedt, a member of the Coalition. The staff report stops short of stating that the provincial Ministries of Environment, Natural Resources and Transport have signed off on the Assessments. "Given the risks and concerns here, this is just not the right way to proceed in order to protect the public interest. Councillors should insist that the environmental assessments be signed off on Kanata West before approving any of these projects" says Carol Gudz.

The objective of the Carp River Coalition is to ensure that development of Kanata West along the Carp River does not pose risks of flooding to upstream and downstream communities and also furthers the long-term health of the river and the various species it supports. The Coalition draws members from Friends of the Carp River, the Ottawa Riverkeeper, the Ottawa Group of the Sierra Club of Canada and the Greenspace Alliance of Canada's Capital.

For further information contact:

Carol Gudz 274-0991

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