I am writing to express…

I am writing to express serious concern with and opposition to Searchmont Resort’s proposed wastewater treatment system for the Goulais River watershed.

The Goulais River is a sensitive and ecologically important tributary within the Lake Superior and Great Lakes watershed. Any discharge of treated wastewater into this system carries long-term risks to water quality, aquatic life, and downstream users. Given the cumulative impacts, this proposal does not appear to meet the precautionary standard required to protect public waters.

I am particularly concerned that:

The proposed system relies on treatment performance assumptions that may not hold under peak seasonal use, equipment failure, extreme weather events, or long-term operational changes.

Once wastewater infrastructure is approved and constructed, the ecological risk is effectively permanent, while monitoring and enforcement may be limited over time.

The proposal introduces unnecessary risk to a cold-water river system that supports fish habitat and contributes directly to Lake Superior water quality.

There appears to be insufficient consideration of alternative wastewater management options that would eliminate surface water discharge altogether.

Independent third-party technical review has raised legitimate concerns about the adequacy, resilience, and long-term environmental safety of the proposed system. These concerns warrant a far more cautious approach, including rejection of any plan that allows wastewater discharge into the Goulais River or its connected watershed.

Clean water is a shared public resource. Decisions made today will have consequences for decades. I urge the Ministry to deny approval of this proposal and require wastewater solutions that fully protect the Goulais River, Lake Superior, and the broader watershed.

Thank you for considering my comments.