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Crofton mill smokes out public input as emissions permit renewed |
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Gulf Islands Driftwood
Jan 11, 2006
By SEAN MCINTYRE
Staff Writer
Members of the Crofton Airshed Citizens Groups (CACG) were shocked to
learn the provincial government has no intention of extending public
consultation before renewing Catalyst Paper’s Crofton mill emissions
permit.
According to the CACG’s Patti Bauer, the current application is an
ideal opportunity to seek public input on dated emissions standards.
The last time the mill’s permit underwent a similar review was in the early ‘90s.
“Everyone recognizes that the air emissions permit for the mill is
completely out of date and insufficient,” said Bauer. “The rewrite is
an opportunity to bring the regulatory body that the public counts on
to protect their health and environment into the picture in an
effective way.
“Instead we see a regulatory authority that betrays that trust while paying lip service to dialogue.”
The province has set January 24 as the deadline for input from Crofton
Advisory Forum (CAF) members but will not be holding public meetings or
providing public notice of the permit re-write process, according to a
CACG news release.
Bernard Binter, senior industrial pollution officer for the province’s
Ministry of the Environment, said the review process would not require
any public meetings or notice since the change to Catalyst’s Crofton
permit does not constitute any “major amendment.”
Binter said circulating the proposed new air permit to members of the CAF last month was, in itself, a significant step.
“We don’t usually do that,” he told participants at the CAF meeting.
According to Bauer and the CACG, the process usually involves a
trade-off of drafts between the company and its regulator until an
agreement is reached.
Catalyst’s Crofton Division vice-president Don McKendrick said
circulating the proposal at the CAF meeting in late 2005 was one stage
of making the application process known to the public and he welcomed
further input at future meetings.
“The basic fact of life is that the pulp and paper industry is one of
the most scrutinized sectors and we abide by all regulations,” he said.
Over the past decade, the Crofton mill has undergone $50 million in environmental improvements, McKendrick added.
“The numerous improvements in the mill’s air emissions controls and
peripheral infrastructure over the past decade constitute a compelling
reason to update the air permit,” reads the current application
proposal.
Improvements include reducing particulate and greenhouse gas emissions
while increasing the number of ambient air quality monitoring stations
around the Crofton facility.
Despite the improvements, Bauer remains unconvinced the public’s
interest is being looked after since many toxic substances emitted from
the mill are not even considered in the application.
“How this can be termed an improvement is completely incomprehensible,”
she said. “The permit proposal increases emissions volume by over 10
per cent.”
The current application removes some of the existing limits and, she
said, regulates only the same two substances as the old permit without
considering the dozens of noxious emissions coming out of the mill.
“The permit is the only constraint on air emissions and is effectively
a blank check for the mill. Some of the most dangerous toxins known to
man are emitted from the mill and they are not mentioned in this
permit,” she said.
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