Mayor's Asphalt Emissions Request Not Enough For Area Residents
While appreciative of his supportive recommendations, the North Nechako and Heritage Residents' Association for Clean Air says Mayor Colin Kinsley's request for tighter emission standards for asphalt plants in Prince George does not go far enough.
"For too long, industry has been allowed to pollute because of inadequate enforcement laws," says Association spokesperson Kathleen Haines, "People are the number one resource in this town."
She points out the city has just endured five days of an Air Quality advisory and says it's time for the City Council and the Ministry of Environment to act.
Included in tonight's council agenda, is a letter Mayor Kinsley has sent to Environment Minister Barry Penner requesting the province amend its Asphalt Plant Regulation to:
- require asphalt plants operating in urban environments burn natural gas and discontinue the use of waste oil fuel
- establish enforceable and timely standards for asphalt plant testing at the beginning of each season
- consider a permitting system for asphalt plants to manage emissions generally and under more stringent conditions when multiple plants within a common airshed may be involved
- establish more stringent emission limits for the City of Prince George, the same as those imposed for the Lower Fraser Valley
Haines takes issue with the Lower Fraser Valley emission standard, saying it is not enough. She says when her group first approached city hall last July, that standard was seen as an appropriate interim measure to the eventual relocation of asphalt plants in the area.
But Haines says as council did not support a relocation motion this past December, her group would like to see the more stringent emissions standards of the Greater Vancouver Regional District imposed on the valley and bowl areas of Prince George.
"There is no reason that the effort being made by the asphalt industry to provide good air quality for Vancouver residents should not be made for the residents of Prince George," she says.
The group is calling on council to amend its request to the ministry.
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Posted by: Gofaster on February 5 2007 11:01 AM
He must have been too macho to ask for the residents of this city to have the same health protection as those in the GVRD. Then again, he may simply have gone with staff recommendations.
So, the real question is exactly that, isn't it? What caused this City to ask for a standard which is less than one set for the GVRD? Hopefully it is not that they did not think that the government would give PG,and other communities for that matter, the same emission standards. I would not want to see people's health in this province being a negotiable item based on where one lives. We already get lower access to health care due to distance from specialty services available in more densely populated areas.