The City of St. John’s is putting its foot down regarding funding for the Riverhead Wastewater Facility project. The city says it will not be participating in the project if the current cost-sharing formula is not adjusted.

In a letter to the federal government, Mayor Danny Breen outlined two main issues with the formula.

The federal government’s current commitment of just over $111-million is based on the initial cost estimates for the project, which have since gone up. That amount will only cover just 43.85 per cent of the cost, despite the federal government commuting to cover 50 per cent.

As well, the province is slated to cover 23 per cent of the cost, leaving municipalities to cover the remaining 33 per cent.

Breen says they want the federal government to cover the full 50 per cent, and for the rest of the cost to be split evenly between the province and municipalities at 25 per cent each.

Breen says they cannot move forward with the project as it stands. He says they cannot go into a project where they know before it even starts that they will be over budget.