Petition calls for vote on Dawson sewage site

A 260-name petition protesting the location of the proposed Dawson City sewage treatment lagoon may force the Yukon town to hold a referendum.

The petition, spearheaded by resident Jorn Meier,objects to the lagoon being built near the entrance of the community and its source of underground drinking water.

Meieris also concerned the location was chosen after the Yukon government fired the former council and before the current council took over.

"This means that Dawson had no elected council or no democratic way to have a say in this process — with this referendum we will," Meier told CBC News Thursday.

Dawson Mayor John Steins says residents should stop trying to delay the court-ordered treatment lagoon meant to end the community's practice of dumping its sewage into the Yukon River.

"We're under a court order,"Steins said. "We've got Environment Canada breathing down our neck and being very aggressive. It's all well and good for citizens to voice their opinion but it's a little too late."

Steins does not think the location of the new $14-million facilityposes any threat to the community's water supply.

Other sites considered for the project were farther from town and more expensive to build, he says.

If at least 199 of the 260 people who signed the petition are qualified Dawson voters, then, under territorial law,the town will have to hold a referendum, likely in the fall.