VICTORIA - One day after the CRD voted to move ahead with sewage treatment in the Capital Region, the Mayor of Victoria made the rounds, selling the idea to his people. This morning CFAX radio listeners got the hard sell as he spun the numbers. Mayor Dean Fortin reassured listeners in the CRD that the cost would be just $10 per month, per resident for the biggest, most expensive infrastructure project on Vancouver Island. He equated the cost to the cost of garbage pickup. It's a way of looking at the cost that, for some taxpayers, is easier to swallow.

In a matter of weeks, a plan must be presented to the Province, but as the deadline looms, one opposition group says it is not too late to say no to secondary sewage treatment and it will do what it takes to prevent the facility from being built.

"We're willing to move heaven and earth to stop this," said John Bergbusch, chair of the Association for Responsible and Environmentally Sustainable Sewage Treatment. But could they actually stop it?

CRD Director Judy Brownoff says the region could face hefty fines, up to $300,000 per day, if it doesn't comply with new federal and provincial regulations. Environment Minister Barry Penner says the city has a "legal requirement" to follow through with the secondary sewage treatment plan.

There's a real sense of urgency for the CRD to put their stamp of approval on their sewage treatment plan so it can be on Minister Penner's desk by the end of the year. Nay-sayers feel the pressure too, but believe there's time. "Government's change their minds," says Bergbusch.