SILVER WANTS DAWSON WASTEWATER TRANSITION EXTENDED

Whitehorse:  Interim Liberal Leader Sandy Silver is calling on Public Works Minister Wade Istchenko to extend the handoff of the Dawson Wastewater Treatment Project to the City of Dawson indefinitely.  Silver is making the request on the heels of the latest incident at the facility that saw the system malfunction on February 2nd.

Officials with the City of Dawson have made it very clear they are not prepared to accept the facility the way it is working now,” said Silver.  “With a deadline of August, 2013 the town is rightly concerned about taking on the management of a project with so many unknowns.  The Government of Yukon needs to commit to managing this project for an indefinite period of time, certainly for a full year with the plant working as promised.”

An agreement currently in place between the contractor, the Government of Yukon and the City of Dawson calls for the plant to be in operation for a year starting August, 2012 while local people are trained to run it and the cost of operating it can be determined, before it is turned over to the City.

“It only seems fair to the town that the facility is in good working order for a 12 month period so proper training and cost evaluation can take place,” Silver commented.  “Handing it over before that happens is simply asking too much of the City and is not in keeping with the memorandum that was signed.” 

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For additional information contact: 

Jason Cunning 667-8942