The Chilliwack
Progress Friday
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The next generation of scientists demonstrate their projects.
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Y O U R C O M M U N I T Y N E W S PA P E R • F O U N D E D I N 1 8 9 1 • W W W. T H E P R O G R E S S . C O M • F R I D AY, F E B R U A R Y 7 , 2 0 1 4
Russian CNG deal a ‘huge opportunity’ for IMW
■ H EALTH A ND S AFETY
Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Export superstars IMW Industries are about to see a significant upswing in production from its Chilliwack location. “It’s an extremely exciting time at IMW,” says Dave Orton, senior VP global business development and marketing for IMW Industries. IMW, a wholly owned subsidiary of Clean Energy Fuels, inked a partnership agreement with Russian Machines Corp. to produce compressors from its global headquarters and manufacturing plant in Chilliwack. “This agreement represents a huge opportunity in a massive market, and we’ve just nailed the perfect partner,” said Orton. The fact that Russian Machines have power and influence necessary to “reach well into the CIS market, and are aligned in similar industry, making CNG buses and light commercial vehicles,” bodes well, he said. The agreement will lead to an increased Continued: IMW/ p5
Sgt. Robbie Drake speaks during the first session in the 2014 Healthier Community Forum Series at Evergreen Hall on Wednesday. The first forum was on crime and public safety. The other forum topics include mental health and substance use, homelessness and affordable housing, partners in health care, and ‘Time for Action’. For more info, and to register for the weekly forums which take place on Wednesdays at various times and locations, go to www.chilliwack.com/healthiercommunity/forumseries. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Chilliwack mayor responds to waste recycling plant critics Jennifer Feinberg The Progress Chilliwack city council is defending its unanimous approval this week of a controversial waste recycling facility near the Fraser River. As threats of legal action swirled, Mayor Sharon Gaetz said Wednesday those opposed to the facility are simply misinformed. Council gave fourth and final reading Tuesday of a rezoning proposal for a waste recycling and transfer facility at 7582 Cannor Road. Critics say they value the recycling work the Ontario-based applicant Aevitas is known for, but not the proposed location in the heavy industrial Cattermole lands.
The threat of legal action sprang up this week about details around the city’s hearing notice from a coalition of groups opposed, who say they are also worried that an accidental spill could impact the Fraser River. Unfortunately there is a clear lack of understanding about the City of Chilliwack rezoning process and the actual safeguards proposed for the site, said Mayor Sharon Gaetz. “I get that some would not fully understand our process,” she said. “But what has been frustrating and unwelcome is the desire to twist information around. “Look, we on council all want a safe community, and we all want to make sure we look after the environment,” she said.
Strict rules guide council when conducting a rezoning hearing. That’s what kept them from answering questions following the Dec. 3 hearing, certainly not a Machiavellian desire to push something unpopular through city hall quickly, she emphasized. “If we’ve been silent on this, it was because we had to be silent under the legislation,” she told The Progress. “We never tried to circumvent any questions.” Council had to be careful not to take in any new information between the third and fourth readings. But in the wake of the coalition clamouring for answers about why the riverside location on Cannor Road was chosen, Mayor Gaetz is
trying to clear the air with facts. It’s only now that she can speak publicly. The only window for public input was the public rezoning hearing on Dec. 3, she underlined. Council acts in a quasi-judicial capacity during these hearings. To offer the public additional time or considerations would not be fair. They have to conduct hearings, and the notification for them, the same way each and every time, said Gaetz. The Aevitas facility is gearing up to build a state-of-the-art recycling operation employing 40 to 50 people, not a toxic dump of any kind, she said, as some have erroneously suggested. With myriad and multi-layered environmental safeguards in place,
council felt confident about its controversial decision. Engineering staff made it clear to council that the distance of the facility from the river, which is about 150 metres, is a sufficient distance from which to operate this recycling plant safely. The location was chosen by the applicant, but city officials hold the view that is acceptable and expect Aevitas to be able to operate safely. “Given the interconnectedness of all major waterways in Fraser River watersheds, no other location in Chilliwack, or throughout the Lower Mainland for that matter, would be inherently safer than this one for the facility,” she said. Continued: THREAT/ p3
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