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Sentinel
Northern
www.northernsentinel.com
Volume 61 No. 50
Union presses ahead on appeal Unifor 2301 says they have cleared a legal hurdle in their efforts to reduce the sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the Kitimat smelter. The union in September this year successfully filed a judicial review of the government decision to allow the smelter’s emissions as they are and the union says the Environmental Appeal Board has accepted their challenge to the permit. Their challenge joins another earlier filed by Kitimat residents Emily Toews and Lis Stannus. Appeal hearings have been held in the latter case however no ruling has been made by the Appeals Board. “We have grave concerns that Rio Tinto’s smelter expansion was rubber stamped with no consideration for the impact on our community,” said 2301 President Sean O’Driscoll in a media release. “The government needs to explain how it approved a proposal for a multi-billion dollar industrial project on the same day it was received.” The union says they are also seeking for an explanation from the BC government about why one of the key Ministry of Environment employees dealing on a full-time basis with the new smelter was being paid by Rio Tinto. That is referring to a secondment agreement which the company had said in a 2014 report is not unusual when handling very large projects and that the employees work was unbiased. The next step in Unifor’s challenge is to apply for disclosure of documents related to the Ministry’s decision. As it is, the current emissions permit under appeal increases sulphur dioxide air emissions from the 27 tonnes per day from the old smelter to 42 tonnes per day from the stacks of the new smelter.
Kitimat’s rep in the United States.
/page 8 Training an amazing experience.
/page 12 PM477761
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Wednesday, December 16, 2015
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1.30 INCLUDES TAX
Police dispatched by KCH athletes The athletes of Kitimat City High gave the Kitimat RCMP a run for their money in a friendly basketball game in the school’s gym. The event carries on the tradition of the school taking on local authorities; last year they faced, and won, against the Kitimat Fire Department. The winning streak continued with a 35-25 win for Kitimat City High. That’s Bradley Windsor defying gravity and leaping to shoot the ball.
Quarry quarrel unending Cameron Orr Cable Car residents, including those who circulated a letter of concern to the neighbourhood, believe they fully understood a proposal of a rock quarry and borrow pit, despite suggestions from Daudet Creek Contracting representative Jack Oviatt. Oviatt expressed concern to town council that the information submitted to the provincial government as comment from the District of Kitimat relating to the proposal included none of the support and rather all of the opposition. He felt the information being circulated was inaccurate as well, leading to unjustified opposition. He also felt the involvement of a particular concerned resident was suspect as the person, John Poszgay, owns his own gravel pit through John’s Contracting. Poszgay himself took aim in response to those concerns, saying the concerns circulated to residents was done in a professional manner and that no information was mis-represented. Oviatt’s presentation on December 7 also sparked further input from residents who were mostly opposed to the project. The presentations were simply elongating the debate however, as Kitimat has submitted their comments to the ministry
of lands already for their eventual decision about approving the rock pit. However the discussion does provide ammo in a future discussion on the quarry as the operation will require a temporary commercial use permit which the District of Kitimat issues. That is, even if the province says the operation is approved from their side, the municipality can still restrict it. Even so the council has voted to refine their submission to the provincial government on the file to better reflect other input, including the positive endorsement of the project by the Advisory Planning Commission, whose meeting minutes relating to the property were received by council at their December 7 meeting. Director of Community Development and Planning Gwen Sewell says that while there is usually only one chance to submit comment she has contacted the file worker on this directly via e-mail. Sewell said in total the town received 16 comments on the proposal, including 12 letters and four in person or by telephone comments to the city hall. Fifteen of the comments were opposed and one in support, not including the APC.