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Letter to City Council

admin — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 08:27:11 -0700

Powell River Mayor and Council

I'm a member of the Wildwood citizen's group, PRL (Powell River Legacy) that currently has an appeal before the EAB, Environmental Appeal Board, in opposition to the Catalyst industrial dump-site expansion. In the course of gathering and preparing information in this regard, it has come to my attention that there is a running spring that empties into Powell River, (the river) approximately across from City Motors, on the west bank and below the power line cut. At the mouth of this spring, previously hidden from view by salal, is a test well for water quality monitoring, and adjacent to this, also previously hidden, is signage of unsafe drinking water.

The Wildwood Landfill: What’s in the balance?

admin — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:45:09 -0700

Presentation to City Council - March 20, 2009, created and presented by Alison Taplay.

(click on image to go to next slide)

Assurances from Berry Penner

admin — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:37:47 -0700

Reference: 98484

AUG 1 2008

Coby De Graauw Powell River Legacy 53 - 6271 McAndrew Ave Powell River BC V8A 5G8

Dear Coby De Graauw:

Thank you for your letter of April 21, 2008 and July 18, 2008 regarding the proposed expansion of the Catalyst Landfill site in Powell River, BC. I apologize for the delay in responding.

POWELL RIVER GROUP TO APPEAL 1.3 MILLION TON FLY-ASH DUMP PERMIT

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:43:31 -0700

An application by Catalyst Pulp and Paper of Powell River BC to expand a controversial landfill area led to more than a year of deliberations by the Ministry of the Environment, ( MoE ) and has recently resulted in the granting of a 40 year permit to dump up to 1.3 million tons of ash creating a 70' - 90' high fly-ash mountain.

The site is adjacent to the highway and in the residential / agricultural community of Wildwood. The application was strongly opposed by the Wildwood Ratepayers Association and led to the establishment of the Powell River Legacy group, (PRL) who fought this application to its bitter conclusion.

PRL opposition did lead to a number of conditions that had to be satisfied by Catalyst on behalf of our community’s safety: the testing of air quality, drinking water, ground water, and lake trout. Catalyst is also obligated to continue a search for alternate uses for this unwanted waste material.

You can launch an appeal!

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:29:27 -0700

Environmental Appeal Board

All appeals must be faxed or received by registered mail by September 5th, 2008!!

Appeal Process documents:

Overview ( PDF 41KB)
How to File an Appeal
Environmental Appeal Board Procedure Manual ( PDF 193KB)

Letter to the editor of Powell River Peak

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:06:45 -0700

Editor, The Peak re: Mill receives permit, Aug. 20 2008

For several years PR Legacy (a citizens’ group) and many citizens of Powell River have opposed the expansion of the Wildwood landfill by Catalyst—expansion that would leave our community with a 90 foot industrial mountain of fly ash (1.3 million tons) from their incinerator.

The Flyash Mountain will be 9 stories high, on top of a former toxic dump, in an area of seismic risk. Catalyst’s motive, of course, is to save money.

Despite a great deal of public outcry, the Ministry of the Environment has now granted Catalyst a permit to go ahead with this expansion for 20 to 40 years into the future. It’s a sad day for Powell River.

A bit of history on the toxic dump.

Gains we have made

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:03:06 -0700

Items in the amended permit that are better than the original permit amendment application:

Summary of Follow-up Actions to Complaints by Citizens Regarding The Catalyst Landfill Application

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:51:25 -0700

History

In late 2007, a request was made by Alison Taplay for an opportunity to have anonymous persons to step forward and provide evidence of alleged wrong doing or technical problems surrounding the proposed Catalyst Landfill amendment application. On January 21,2008 Jeff Foumier and Conservation Officer Gerry Lister took information from these individuals on an anonymous basis to look into the substance of these complaints.

The individuals that stepped forward provided a mix of concerns, second hand information and first hand observations of potential issues. It was apparent to me that certain concerns had technical merit that would warrant ministry follow-up while others did not. It was also apparent to me that a number of issues were raised out of a genuine concern for human health and the environment while others appear to be in the primary interest of severely restricting or shutting down use of the landfill.

MOE Signed Permit 4565

admin — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:08:50 -0700

Dear Permittee:

Enclosed is Amended Permit 4565 issued under the provisions of the Environmental Management Act. Your attention is respectfully directed to the terms and conditions outlined in the permit. An annual fee will be determined according to the Permit Fees Regulation.

Review of Dioxins and Furans 1992 to 2006 Wildwood Landfill, Catalyst Paper Powell River

admin — Tue, 06 May 2008 10:04:30 -0700

(Download PDF)

May 3, 2008
John Keays et al

Summary

This first complete comparative review and analysis of the dioxin and furan results from 1993 to 2006 yields very simple and clear results.

The landfill dioxin and furan results are dominated by two main patterns.

Dioxin D8 is generally dominant throughout the landfill. Its highest results occur at the landfill's western toe above the slope.

Dioxin D6 and furan F6's very toxic results are found concentrated around well 89-5 at the eastern toe of the landfill above the slope to the lake.

A pattern of dominant dioxin D5 occurs only on the slope to the lake. This appears to originate with the asphalt capping of the landfill.