Sicamous council wants to keep commercial vehicles carrying dangerous goods off of Highway 97A.
At council’s Feb. 9 meeting, Coun. Jeff Mallmes brought forward a motion to ask the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) to lobby the provincial government to designate the highway as a scenic route.
Specifically, he sought to “restrict commercial transport, specifically the transport of dangerous goods, between Sicamous and the intersection of Highway 97A and Highway 97B (north of Enderby), until standard highway specifications are met to ensure the protection of the public, environment and critical infrastructure.”
Council passed the motion unanimously.
Prompting the motion was concern for the district’s water treatment plant adjacent to the highway which runs south from Sicamous along Mara Lake.
Coun. Malcolm Makayev said the plant can only take suspended solids out of the water; it can’t purify a dissolved solution.
“We don’t want anything that can spill into the lake and dissolve…” said Makayev, referencing a caustic substance as an example.
“If something gets dissolved in the water our water plant will have to be shut down immediately.”
Mallmes stated in his motion Highway 97A is inadequately designed for commercial transport and poses potential risks to public safety, the environment and critical infrastructure.
The resolution will first go to the Southern Interior Local Government Association. If supported there, it will go to the UBCM.
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Do you have something else we should report on? Email: zachary.roman@saobserver.net
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