Permission granted to Catalyst Paper to increase its dumping allowance in a local landfill has angered residents of…
Permission granted to Catalyst Paper to increase its dumping allowance in a local landfill has angered residents of a village near Powell River, a recent report by The Province confirmed.
BC’s Environment Ministry has given Catalyst the green light to increase its disposal of slurry into a landfill located in the village of Wildwood. The go-ahead has prompted residents to fight the government-approved plan, The Province reported. Citizens are concerned the material will infiltrate their air and water with dioxins and furans linked to cancer.
“We just couldn’t believe it at first that they’d be allowed to do this,” The Province reported Pat Picken, a Wildwood resident of 35 years as saying. “This is right in our municipality.”
Catalyst is now able to dump a total volume of 850,000 cubic metres into the landfill, up substantially from 100,000. Despite the concern of residents, the ministry noted the failure of the consulting company hired by Catalyst to test for toxicity, to find levels of dioxins and furans outside those determined to be safe for residential areas.
“We haven’t seen any data that supports contamination from the existing landfill,” The Province reported Steffanie Warriner, acting Lower Mainland manager of environmental protection for the ministry as saying.
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