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Thursday, June 25, 2015
REGIONAL DISTRICT
Deadline set for airport funds Âť Smoky haze
Public input process to last until Aug. 5 ERIC PLUMMER ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
ban on backyard burning in 2011, but this was declined by council due to the lack of options for residents to dispose of their unwanted vegetation. Now this waste can be taken to the Alberni Valley Landfill composting. “The landfill now accepts any branches that are up to two inches in diameter for free,� said Thomas, adding that private haulers can collect yard waste. “There are companies in town that will come to your home and take material from you.� Backyard burning has drawn on a considerable amount of time from the Port Alberni Fire Department. Last year backyard burning responses and smoke complaints totalled 112, encompassing nine per cent of the department’s calls. Even if an air quality advisory is in place the fire department often is limited to requesting residents to voluntarily put out backyard fires, as municipal laws actually allow small campfire-sized burns despite a provincial ban. “The municipal bylaw supersedes the provincial regulation,� said fire chief Tim Pley in an interview with the Times after an air quality advisory was issued last winter. “What we’ve been doing is asking people to voluntarily comply with the intent of the regulation.�
Residents opposed to having taxpayers finance up to $6 million for the expansion of the Alberni Valley Regional Airport now have just over a month to affect the development, with the approval of a public input process on Wednesday. An Aug. 5 deadline has been set for Valley residents to submit their opposition of a large loan to fund the project. A decision from the ACRD’s board of directors now requires that at least 10 per cent of the Valley’s 26,744 residents must disapprove of the funding plans through forms submitted to the regional district. According to stipulations in B.C.’s Community Charter, if this portion of the electorate expresses opposition the airport financing must go to a formal referendum. With the hopes of developing the airport’s capacity to accommodate larger aircraft and passenger flights, the ACRD’s expansion plans include increasing the existing runway by 300 metres, installing a Global Positioning System, and upgrading lighting to airport industry standards. The ACRD is preparing applications for provincial grants in the fall, but to ensure funding is in place sooner the regional district plans to take out a loan of up to $6 million from the Municipal Finance Authority. A 30-year repayment plan is estimated to cost a $200,000 home in the Alberni Valley an additional $16.80 in property taxes. Currently the airport’s largest user is Coulson Aircrane, which employs 30 people at the site for aviation-related work. The ACRD estimates the airport project would boost Coulson’s workforce by 15 well-paying jobs, according to a business case on the expansion. “Without the expansion, we cannot continue to grow our business in Port Alberni and will be forced to contract this work out to another facility,� stated a letter from Coulson Aircrane endorsing the project. The Alberni school district’s board of trustees recently declined to support the airport expansion, questioning if such a development should be shouldered by taxpayers. But Port Alberni Mayor Mike Ruttan believes the development could boost the local economy. “Our current infrastructure in the Alberni Valley has constrained our ability to secure a scheduled airline passenger service,� wrote Ruttan in the city’s endorsement of the airport project. “This has negatively impacted our efforts to attract businesses, tourists and new residents.�
Eric.Plummer@avtimes.net
Eric.Plummer@avtimes.net
Air quality in Port Alberni, seen here from the Alberni Inlet Trail last year, has high concentrations of fine particate matter during the colder months, which led to several health advisories last winter. Air quality experts believe that the Valley’s geography allows particulate matter from burning to collect in the area’s lowest elevations. [ERIC PLUMMER, TIMES]
Backyard burning bad for health, should be banned: Port Alberni Air Quality Council ERIC PLUMMER ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
The group tasked with overseeing Port Alberni’s air quality wants a ban on backyard burning due to health concerns. The request came before city council on Monday from Port Alberni Air Quality Council members Earle Plain and Sarah Thomas, who noted the adverse health effects of fine particle emissions from the outdoor burning of garbage and vegetation. Each fall and winter, concentrations of fine particulate matter in the Valley’s air increases due to the rise in fuel usage to heat homes, and burning discarded vegetation outdoors, said Plain, who is an air quality meteorologist with the B.C. Ministry of Environment. Fine particulate matter is smaller than dust, creating issues for those with diabetes, heart conditions and respiratory problems. “The finer the particle, the more easily those particles can bypass our natural defences,� said Plain. “It can actually transfer directly from our lungs to our bloodstream.� Data collected from a monitoring station at the Alberni Elementary School shows a sharp rise in fine particulate concentrations over the previous two years, levels that led to several air quality advisories in November, December and January. Last
“Smoke is quite toxic, especially when it’s burning from garbage. You have a smoke problem here in the Alberni Valley so we want to try and look at minimizing areas where we actually can.� Sarah Thomas, Port Alberni Air Quality Council
winter the province’s health threshold of 25 micrograms per cubic metre was exceeded a dozen times, a limit that was reached 20 times over the previous winter. During the winter of 2012–13 the provincial threshold was exceeded only twice, and in winter 2011–12 the limit was breached three times. Thomas noted that the particulate matter released from backyard burning leads to similar health concerns as smoking cigarettes. “Smoke is quite toxic, especially when it’s from burning garbage,� she said. “You have a smoke problem here in the Alberni Valley so we want to try and look at minimizing areas where we actually can. Backyard burning is one of those areas where alternatives exist.� Thomas added that the Port Alberni Air Quality Council previously requested a
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